It was another Game 7 for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night. This time, they took on the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers. And the Maple Leafs lost in a Game 7 again on Sunday night. It was the seventh time in a row that this happened to a Toronto team that is desperate for playoff success.
The Maple Leafs have tried this with a different supporting cast, a change in front office philosophy, and what's most important to New Jersey Devils fans, they tried a different coach. Yet, the season ends the same way. A Game 7 disappointment.
This year, Sheldon Keefe could not be blamed for the lack of success. See, he is now in New Jersey. He was let go last year after Mitch Marner made a mistake in overtime and allowed David Pastrnak to score in Game 7 of the first round. That was a disappointment, and Keefe was forced to find employment outside of Toronto.
He found a home in New Jersey, and the Maple Leafs hired former Stanley Cup Champion Craig Berube. The Devils were also tied to Berube, but rumors stated he preferred Toronto. That turned out to be true when Berube signed on the dotted line.
Despite the success, nobody will mention Sheldon Keefe in Toronto
Berube got the Maple Leafs to win the Atlantic Division, something they hadn't done since 2021. It was important to give them a better matchup in the first round. The Leafs got to face the Ottawa Senators instead of the Panthers or Lightning. When they won their first-round matchup and took a 2-0 lead on the Panthers in the second round, the rumblings started that Keefe was the problem in Toronto, and Berube could get this team to a championship.
Fast forward a little over a week, and the Maple Leafs are once again packing up for the summer. A different head coach, but mostly the same result.
Was Keefe a perfect head coach in Toronto? Of course not, but just like his lack of success in New Jersey this season, the issues run way deeper than him. He's a positive impact on the bench, but hockey needs more to make a team championship-level.
Toronto fans know that all too well. They've had the best coaches. They paid out the behind for Mike Babcock and developed a guy like Keefe. Nothing is working there.
The Keefe legacy would have taken a hit if the Maple Leafs won this game. Whether it's right or not, Berube taking the Leafs to the Eastern Conference Championship in his first season would look immensely bad on Keefe, and the Leafs' fans would not relent. Now, Devils fans can sleep knowing that Sheldon Keefe won't be mentioned by the Leafs' faithful.
They have their hands full with Brendan Shanahan's future, Brad Treliving's next move, a contract for John Tavares, and a likely divorce with Mitch Marner. Maple Leafs fans have no capacity to worry about the Devils. And that includes caring at all about Sheldon Keefe.