Sheldon Keefe has never been one to shy away from being critical of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ performances throughout his 4 1/2-year tenure as their coach, but rarely has his captain, John Tavares, drawn his ire.
And yet after a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, Keefe didn’t hesitate to do just that, calling out Tavares and several other veteran players for a performance he said he “hated” a lot about.
The Leafs came out firing with a strong first period bolstered by 26 shots on goal. But hours later, after squandering multiple opportunities with the puck, one of Keefe’s more forceful and fiery but still shorter postgame news conferences became the story.
Not that I necessarily think he should’ve been called out but I think Tavares’ stats were better than his defensive performance. He made a bunch of uncharacteristically dumb plays that resulted in high quality chances against. I also think Domi is what he is. Leopards and spots.
I can’t remember if it’s mentioned in the article, but on the Leafs Report podcast, they say that calling out Tavares may have been meant to shock the room more than the player. But who knows?