Kevin Bieksa Publicly Calls Out Sheldon Keefe On Hockey Night In Canada

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Tyler Ball
December 30, 2023 (9:44 PM)

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Former NHLer and current Hockey Night In Canada analyst Kevin Bieksa took time to address a decision made by Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe. Bieksa ripped into Keefe for the decision and the reasoning behind it.

Keefe Benches Forward To Send A Message To The Team

Earlier tonight before the puck drop of the Maple Leafs game it was announced that forward David Kampf would be scratched. This was reportedly a decision made by Sheldon Keefe to send a message to his team about playing better defensively.

Sheldon Keefe says there is going to be «less tolerance» for defensive mistakes going forward and cites David Kampf as a scratch as an example of that tonight. Pontus Holmberg will draw in.

This announcement was met with mixed reviews by fans and media. One media personality did not hold back when calling out Keefe for this decision.

Bieksa Publicly Calls Out Sheldon Keefe On Hockey Night In Canada

During a segment on Hockey Night In Canada former NHL defenseman Kevin Bieksa spoke about the decision to bench David Kampf. Bieksa first calls the decision by Keefe an excuse for the team's bad goaltending.

"It's another excuse we're making for the goaltending," said Bieksa on Hockey Night in Canada. "It's another bad goal by Samsonov."

He then continues and says that Keefe picked the wrong guy to scratch if the defensive effort was the problem Keefe was trying to get fixed.

"You're picking the wrong guy," exclaimed a frustrated Bieksa. "You're picking Kampf, a guy who is your number one defensive center who makes a million great defensive plays on a team with a lot of guys that don't make a lot of great plays with the puck."

Finally, a frustrated Bieksa asks who will be scratched next after the Maple Leafs struggle again defensively even with the scratch and message supposedly sent.

"How many turnovers have there been tonight? Has the message been sent?" asked Bieksa. "Or is it just we are gonna pick on this one guy and hopefully everyone else gets in line?

Bieksa spoke a lot of the words that were on the minds of Maple Leafs fans heading into this game. One has to wonder how many more bad goaltending performances Maple Leafs fans will need to endure before a move is made.

As Read On - Hockey Feed - Kevin Bieksa calls out Sheldon Keefe on Saturday night. Kevin Bieksa did not agree with a tough decision made by Sheldon Keefe on Saturday.