Still likely to miss this year. Hope for a top ten pick

Still likely to miss this year. Hope for a top ten pick

Keefe didn't smile for Matthews' goal like he did for Engvall and Barrie. Controversy brewing? Well at least it will be a short trip to Matthews' parents house to patch things up tonight.

Keefe on pace to be the winning coach in NHL history by 2021.

I think you meant your Sharks team in terms of missing and hoping for a top ten pick. Do me a favour and google Sheldon Keefe coaching record and read over the information carefully to really get a proper understanding of who is now coaching the Leafs. Keefe has a tremendous record in coaching hockey teams and you need to educate yourself on what his impact is going to be to the Leafs as the team becomes a powerhouse.

Better start shopping for depth, d, grit and a back up before making any playoff bets...

Pump the Brakes...

It’s first game, obviously it’s good to get the win for Toronto after a rough patch, but a lot of questionable areas need some attention such as a Backup Goalie and Shoring up the Defensive game a little bit and some Special Teams stuff. Keefe could be able to do that, but again it was only first game against a rather hot team, but down the road you have a few struggling teams for a patch of about 6-7 games then you hit the big test with St.Louis, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton as a 4 game stretch. If Dubas is willing to listen and get a high quality Defenseman for one of the High Quality Forwards (which also could reduce cap makes it even easier to be cap compliant for more Defense. I think you guys can be good but this team is too Forward-heavy and Offensive-minded.

I’m hopping on

This happens literally every time a head coaching change is made. Also against the Coyotes lol. Give it time before getting too excited.

You do not sound like a Leaf believer like Isles777 and myself. Not interested in your points because I am placing my bets 100% on Sheldon Keefe and his ability to coach winning hockey teams.

It's just the Stache. He's probably aware of Matthews 12 year old girlfriend and does not approve.

I think why people are excited is exactly why you are criticizing the roster. This team was built for Keefe and his style. He knows how to get the defence he needs with the players available and is ready to let them loose and play a heavy offence and puck possession game. The defence was great tonight. Going against 3 pp’s and none of our own and still outshooting. The keefe defensive scheme looks great and should get better as everyone gets comfortable.

I think the leafs will be trending in the right direction. Hopefully the backup situation is fixed with either a roster move or some better deployment.

The system they are now implementing is going to change a lot of minds. The collapsing they did to protect the front of the net is the solution to their biggest issue. The defensive system Babs was using didn't work with the team he had. The style they ran tonight was more about keeping the play to the outside. Getting turnovers and transitioning which is what this roster should be doing.

I think the worry about the backup is overblown. Hutchinson wasn't good enough but he got almost no help either. I liked how hard Kass battled in such a lacklustre game, I hope he takes the job and runs with it.

Yeah I think we will get a better idea of KK really is as backup as the team and Keefe get more comfortable with the style of play he implements.

I feel it be at least 10 games for players to get the hang of this style.

Went to buy "TML Champions 2020" sweater but they were all gone......

Do not think it will take 10 games for the players to get a hang of this style of play because a good portion of the players have already played for Sheldon Keefe with the Marlies. You are about to watch an immediate transformation of a team with the players enjoying comming to the rink every day.

Calm down buddy. They win a game and you sound like you're bouncing off the walls...lol

It's going to take time because even tho you are right about some players being familiar with Keefe, there's a few that are not.

Grain of salt time....take breath. Lol

Buddy, Keefe has coached 1 NHL game. It's not like the Leafs are some sort of powerhouse all of a sudden, the defense is still atrocious.

PenGoater99

You need to do some homework on the coaching record of Sheldon Keefe. Are you sure a defence of Reilly, Barrie, Muzzen and Dermott is atrocious. The Leafs defence is actually fine. What was the problem was that the Leafs forwards were not comming back and supporting the defence under Babcock. This will nolonger be a problem under Keefe as all the Leafs forwards have been freed from the controlling Babcock and are allowed to attack, attack and attack if they support their defence. Keefe showed alot of confidence in the Leafs defence tonight by giving them the green line to go on every shift which is something that Babcock would not allow. Interesting that Barrie gets first goal of the year after getting Keefe as his coach.

You do not seem to also realize the quality of the young players that the Leafs have comming on the Marlies which Keefe has actually developed and will be intergrated into the team over the next few years. I think you may just be a little jealouse that your Penquins are now a sinking ship like the Hawks.

What are you talking about?? The other players like Tavares, Anderson, Muzzen, Marner, Barrie and Kerfott are great and smart hockey players and can actually adapt to Keefe very fast. You need to remember that Keefe was coaching the same system with the Marlies as the Leafs, so it is not like he is going to be changing the system. You need to be a believer instead of a doubter.

A) Barrie has been awful this year, one game doesn't change that, Rielly sucks in his own end, and Cody Ceci is still actively employed with a top 4 role. So yes, the defense is still atrocious.
B) AHL coaching is largely irrelevant when looking at the NHL
C) The Penguins are above the Leafs in the standings even though they're currently missing their 1C, 3C, 1RD, and 2RD and not having had a healthy lineup at any point at all this year

My response is as follows:
A) The games played prior tonight mean nothing towards the future. Barrie totally mis-used by Babcock like Zaitsev until tonight, Reilly has been hurt and not put with a good partner until tonight. Ceci moved to bottom pairing tonight. A defence including Reilly, Dermott, Muzzen and Barrie is not atrocious just like a defence of Pietrangelo, Parayko, Bouwmeester and Dunn was not atrocious last year at this time.
B) There are more AHL trained coaches in the NHL than from any other source so AHL coaching records are relevant.
C) The standings todate mean nothing and my reference is the St.Louis Blues from last year. The bottom line is that your Penquins best days are over and the ship is sinking as they rely too much on Crosby and Muarry to win.

I never said he was a bad coach? The leafs have a better probability of missing the playoffs based on a bad start and tough division. They will need to play great to catch up now statistically