Keefe snaps on Kovacevic

[johnnyonthspot]

Did anyone see Keefe post game say Jonny has to play better?
Was that a case of coach overreacting to the press after a tough loss or the coach speaking the truth and being frank n honest.
Perhaps Keefe is feeling the heat or should have taken a year off before coaching again!

 

[andora]

Wait until we apologizes to Marner

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

 

[ACLEVERNAME]

Well deserved. Ugly game tonight.

 

[BHD]

Didn't he criticize players in TO, only to backpedal once the media talked about it?

 

[A1LeafNation]

He will apologize to Marner tomorrow

 

[Thechozen1]

Crappy look for a douche of a coach. Good coaches don’t throw their players under the bus in front of the media. They address an issue behind closed doors.

Singling out a player will do wonders for your locker room.

 

[Breakers]

didn’t watch

Just pointing out that Brendan Dillon got slaughtered tonight possession wise

Kovecevic was on the ice for a short handed goal against and it was a weak goal against
I mean Giroux shoots and Kovacevic isn’t screening the goalie

Kovacevic controlled the play when he was on the ice at even strength handily but the stats.

 

[WatchfulElm]

He was the 7th defenseman for a bad Habs team these past few years. Now the Devils give him a big contract and they expect him to play top 4 on a playoffs team? Never saw that coming.

 

[Barrie22]

Crappy look for a douche of a coach. Good coaches don’t throw their players under the bus in front of the media. They address an issue behind closed doors.

Singling out a player will do wonders for your locker room.

Worked for a certain coach in Tampa

 

[johnnyonthspot]

Worked for a certain coach in Tampa

He is a disciple of John 'pop' TARTorella
That explains some things but he seemed unhinged after the game.

 

[britdevil]

He was the 7th defenseman for a bad Habs team these past few years. Now the Devils give him a big contract and they expect him to play top 4 on a playoffs team? Never saw that coming.

Common Tom Fitzgerald disasterclass.

Please fire the GM.

As for Keefe... Embarrassing shit.

 

[edevils]

I see no problem with it.

The team needs a fire lit under their asses ASAP. The time for closed door meetings has come and gone. It's desperation time in NJ.

However, there are other players far more deserving of being called out than Kovie.

 

[Divine]

Keefe is being unnecessarily hostile here.

Kovacevic says they need to have a playoff mentality going down the stretch. Nothing wrong with that comment, the season is winding down and the Devils are in a playoff spot.

Keefe decides to use that opportunity to take a personal shot at Kovacevic's performance.

It can be somewhat justified (although still wrong) if Kovacevic said the team sucked, or the coach sucks, or made a negative comment about the team in which case Keefe's comment would basically be saying worry about yourself. But he didn't, he said the team needs to have a playoff mentality which is a generic comment that every player makes all the time and Keefe took it as a chance to criticize Kovacevic's play. Keefe clearly has issues with the player but there's no reason to bring it up to the media.

He could have just said Kovacevic is right and we need to play better. If he's still pissed at Kovacevic, go in the locker room and talk to him away from the cameras. The media feeds into this. Now they're going to be asking Kovacevic what he thinks about Keefe calling him out and he has to (hopefully) be the bigger man and put out the fire his coach unnecessarily started. If he responds with a shot back at Keefe, now this becomes an ongoing story until one of them leave the team or acts like the bigger man.

 

[PaulD]

He is a disciple of John 'pop' TARTorella
That explains some things but he seemed unhinged after the game.

Not to mention the David Frost cult before that.

 

[PaulD]

Keefe is being unnecessarily hostile here.

Kovacevic says they need to have a playoff mentality going down the stretch. Nothing wrong with that comment, the season is winding down and the Devils are in a playoff spot.

Keefe decides to use that opportunity to take a personal shot at Kovacevic's performance.

It can be somewhat justified (although still wrong) if Kovacevic said the team sucked, or the coach sucks, or made a negative comment about the team in which case Keefe's comment would basically be saying worry about yourself. But he didn't, he said the team needs to have a playoff mentality which is a generic comment that every player makes all the time and Keefe took it as a chance to criticize Kovacevic's play. Keefe clearly has issues with the player but there's no reason to bring it up to the media.

He could have just said Kovacevic is right and we need to play better. If he's still pissed at Kovacevic, go in the locker room and talk to him away from the cameras. The media feeds into this. Now they're going to be asking Kovacevic what he thinks about Keefe calling him out and he has to (hopefully) be the bigger man and put out the fire his coach unnecessarily started. If he responds with a shot back at Keefe, now this becomes an ongoing story until one of them leave the team or acts like the bigger man.

Kovacevic wouldn't be acting.

 

[OldCraig71]

Keefe you idiot! The guy learned nothing about leading a group of players and is doing the same thing in New Jersey. This won't go over well in that locker room.

He gave the media some fuel to go after individual players and will only create division. A peewee coach would know this!

 

[Better Call Sal]

I don’t necessarily like the snippiness of his reply, but I also understand why Keefe reacted the way he did. The team had had to be in a playoff mentality for two weeks now. Kovacevic hasn’t played bad necessarily but he’s become a part of the problem with poor, panicky puck decisions that have proven costly.

He’s far from alone. This roster is patched and glued together right now. Even if they hold onto a playoff spot, I don’t expect much when they get there.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Very unprofessional.

 

[Sam de Mtl]

Kovacevic is a really good guy. I am happy for him that he managed to bring his play up to another level and get a nice contract out of it, but as mentioned before, in the past he has always had some good moments, but ultimately looked like a guy who had limitations on how much he can be relied on.

I don't know if half a season of good play was enough to warrant his contract and those new expectations...

 

[HockeyVirus]

Let's see if Keefe walks it back today or not

 

[Jerzey Devil]

The whole team needs to play better

 

[BHD]

Imagine your coworker talking about how everyone needs to focus on a project that's due soon, yet he's not moving the needle at all for your group. In fact, he's handing in work full of errors. On top of that, your boss catches him going on about this in passing. I'd pull the guy into a spare room and tell to focus on his own work.

Should Keefe have responded like that? Maybe, maybe not. IMHO, he has too worried about being bust buds with the players in Toronto. I think this was sorely needed for a team that got too comfortable after their run in the first half. Besides, Devils social media constantly release clips of Keefe praising them after wins.

 

[TS Quint]

I don't know what happened here but I have my doubts that this was out of left field like some here are suggesting. Keefe knows a little something about making chicken salad turning the Leafs into one of the best defensive teams in the League with Holl in his top 4. The team should listen to him. Kovacevic was only worth a 4th round pick until he met Keefe. Kovacevic should be kissing Keefes feet for that big contract he got.