Hmmm, who will finally lead the Maple Leafs out of the Stanley Cup wilderness?
It was all but a foregone conclusion that the axe would fall on Toronto Maple Leaf head coach Sheldon Keefe after the Leafs made another early exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs. GM Brad Treliving made the announcement this week with the usual “He’s a great guy but…” speech.
No need to feel sorry for Keefe. He had signed a two-year extension on his $1.95 million contract earlier this year. That extension, if I understand correctly, still applies so the pay cheques will keep coming while his agent fields new offers.
The average tenure for an NHL head coach is 2-1/2 years. Keefe had a good run as Leaf’s head coach holding the job for five years and compiling a 212-97-40 record. He bested his predecessor Mike Babcock’s reign of four years. But he was nowhere near the legendary Punch Imlach who coached the Buds for 10 years and 760 games including their last Stanley Cup.
Make no mistake: The job of an NHL coach is a lucrative although tenuous gig. The top 10 head coaches by salary as of the start of the 2023/24 season were:
- Todd McLellan, Los Angeles Kings: $5 million
- Bruce Cassidy, Vegas Golden Knights: $4.5 million
- Peter DeBoer, Dallas Stars: $4.24 million
- John Tortorella, Philadelphia Flyers: $4 million
- Paul Maurice, Florida Panthers: $3.9 million
- Gerard Gallant, New York Rangers: $3.5 million
- Craig Berube, St. Louis Blues: $3.5 million (Fired by the Blues in December of last year and rumoured to be a leading candidate for the Leafs head coach job)
- Martin St. Louis, Montreal Canadians: $3 million
- Rick Tocchet, Vancouver Canucks: $2.75 million
- Rick Bowness, Winnipeg Jets: $2.5 million
However, being at the helm of an NHL team is a high pressure job. Regardless of your past record, you are always one losing streak away from getting the boot. Coaching an original six team like the Maple Leafs is particularly stressful with constant media scrutiny and very re
The Maple Leafs have been looking for a head coach to lead them out of the playoff wilderness for decades. The team holds the dubious record of the longest Stanley Cup drought at 57 years. More than 20 coaches have come and gone in that time span.
I went looking for a suitable metaphor for the challenging task of being the Maple Leafs head coach. The best one I could find is working with a cheque book that won’t balance. Money is no object for a franchise with very deep pockets. But the cheque book is not going to balance until
the Leafs captain raises the Stanely Cup over his head for the celebratory skate at center ice.
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Tags: Brad Treliving · metaphor · Michae Robert Dyet · Sheldon Keefe · Toronto Maple LeafsNo Comments