According to Morgan Rielly and the rest of the Toronto Maple Leafs players, Sheldon Keefe should stay behind the team’s bench.
Confidence in the 42-year-old driver has quickly faded among observers as the Queen City team only advanced to the first round of the playoffs once in four seasons.
Among players, we prefer to see the glass half full.
“[Sheldon] was great. If you look at our standings for the seasons he played, we’re there. Did we succeed in the playoffs? No, not yet. But we keep knocking on the door and pushing. He was a good point guard for us and you can’t look up the results,” Rielly said in an interview with NHL.com on Thursday.
“What he’s done for this group is spectacular, just by making the playoffs every year he’s been here,” added the 29-year-old defender. It’s great and we are grateful to him. As a player you want to do your best for him and I have a lot of faith in him.”
That season, the Leafs defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, advancing to the second round for the first time since 2004. They were then eliminated in five games against the Florida Panthers.
Will Matthews go?
Rielly doesn’t have to worry about his contract for a long time. In 2021, he accepted an eight-year extension for a salary of $7.5 million. However, Auston Matthews’ future is more uncertain.
July 1 marks the start of the American’s final pact campaign, as does his full no-trade clause. Will Matthews agree to set foot in Toronto after 2023/24?
“As a friend, teammate, whatever… you want this guy on your team,” Rielly said. I think he likes playing in Toronto. So if he comes back with a long deal, a short deal or whatever, we’ll take him. He’s a great player and has helped our team tremendously over the years.
Matthews now has to deal with Brad Treliving and not Kyle Dubas, who has been general manager since his debut. For his part, Rielly doesn’t think this personnel change could have affected him or his teammates.
“I think I was surprised at first,” he admitted. I believed in Kyle and his way of managing, but I think with the changes in this industry you almost get used to it and it doesn’t take long to move on.”