Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – And Then There Were Two (Canadian Teams) episode on the future of Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“So we are where we are and there are going to be changes. Well Jeff, one thing we know now is that Keefe and the players are talking on Monday and management isn’t talking until . So we might not know about Keefe, by then.
Honestly. I think Keefe is a better coach than the market gives him credit for. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Keith ends up going somewhere else and proving his critics in Toronto wrong. I think he did a good job in very difficult circumstances this year with all the injuries and everything.
And this is one and we’ll bookmark it. In three or four years we could all come back and look at this and say Elliotte was right, or Elliotte was wrong. And if I’m wrong, I’m sure I’m gonna hear it, but it would not surprise me at the least if he goes somewhere else and does really well.
But look, I do think the Maple Leafs are gonna look at what else is out there. You’ll remember going back last summer, before they committed to keep and extended him, they definitely discussed alternatives. Like if we don’t bring him back, or we don’t extend him, who makes sense? Who would we bring in? So it’s impossible to believe they don’t have some ideas.
It’s also impossible to believe, knowing the way this organization thinks and knowing the way that they constructed their roster, especially during the season, that they haven’t or wouldn’t have considered someone like (Craig) Berube.
So one of the things that happens here is they figure out potentially, what are their alternatives?
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – And Then There Were Two (Canadian Teams) episode on the future of Toronto Maple Leafs president and alternate governor Brendan Shanahan.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
The other ones that everyone’s going to talk about here are going to be (Brendan) Shanahan and (Mitch) Marner.
Okay, again, Shanahan, the heat is on right now. This is going to be Keith Pelley’s decision. And for me, the only question here is, how much time does Pelley need to make the call? Is he keeping him or is he moving on?
And Pelley has been quiet. He has done everything he can to prevent himself from being the story. And that’s the question I have. What is his timetable for making this decision?
Now, in addition to that timetable, I had someone say to me, ‘well, if they remove Shanahan who replaces him?’
Honestly, I’m not sure that’s the question to ask because I’m not convinced anymore that ownership wants that kind of layer of management. I don’t necessarily believe they want a president of hockey operations anymore. Pelley is the act of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment president and it’s possible that that layer is eliminated and not replaced and the general manager, (Brad) Treliving, simply reports to him.