Shelton Keefe finally addresses his time in Toronto, taking aim at Maple Leafs fans

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Austin Kelly
August 20, 2024 (8:12 PM)

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Former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke publicly on his time with the Leafs and his view on the city of Toronto and the team's market.

Sheldon Keefe, who was let go at the end of last season from the Leafs as the team's coach after five seasons, cultivating just a single playoff series win.

Now the head coach with the New Jersey Devils, Keefe made public comments on his views about Toronto, including his perception on the team from his time there.

«There's nothing that I haven't seen or experienced. I've seen it at the highest level. Perhaps we didn't get deep enough in the playoffs for it to really elevate, but I guess the deeper you go in the playoffs, no matter where you are, the attention and everything that comes with it is going to increase. But in Toronto, it's an everyday thing, and I've experienced that."

Keefe also said that his time in a large market like Toronto helped him find more focus on his team and ignore the noise.

The biggest thing is just to remain true to yourself, keep the focus on the things that matter, and the things that you can control. That's the perspective I've gained, which comes through any experience in life, but certainly from what I've been through with the media attention and the expectations that were on the team in Toronto.

Keefe had a career 212-97-40 regular season record in Toronto, fifth all time in wins and first in win percentange with .665%. Toronto had two of their best seasons under Keefe in 2021-22 and 2022-23, with a 104-42-18 record.