Should Toronto Keep Sheldon Keefe and Kyle Dubas?

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Jim
May 14, 2023 (10:26)

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Following the Leafs loss to the Florida Panthers in five games in the second round, upper management above our pay grade have some decisions to make.

Toronto made some improvements this year. They made it past the first round for the first time since 2004. Of course, Maple Leafs fans never fail to disappoint, making a meme out of themselves once again, chanting "We want Florida" and then losing in five games to them.

But the future is very questionable for them. Kyle Dubas' (GM) contract is up. He needs a new contract this year. Should he get one? I think so.

He's done a decent job. Kyle went out and built a Stanley Cup winning team on paper but has nothing to show for it. Dubas went out and traded for Ryan O'Reilly, Nolan Acciari, Luke Schenn, and more, destroying the Leafs future. But he also made some questionable trades. He passed on Dimitry Orlov and got aging defenseman Jake McCabe, while also acquiring Sam Lafferty who he never played. But no manager is perfect. For the term of the contract, I doubt he's taking another short term deal. He could get a lot of money and a long term deal somewhere else, preferably the Pittsburgh Penguins. Or go and rebuild a team.

Sheldon Keefe is an intriguing topic. He has ties with Dubas.

Dubas has gave him a promotion every chance he could. They both think very highly of each other. But Dubas did all he could. Built a championship winning roster. Keefe has to go. He isn't good enough. His heart is on his sleeve but he just doesn't have the coaching tools to bring this team to victory. The thing is, I don't think Dubas has the heart to fire him. And if I had to guess, that'll be a question the owners ask, what do you think of Sheldon Keefe? If Kyle isn't going to fire him if he gets a new contract, will management tell him to fire him, or do they give Keefe one last go?

Another aspect is that he's entering the final year of his contract. He has to make something happen or he's out.