People keep saying this, but nobody in this thread has once pointed out the specific tactical mistakes Keefe makes.
Here's my general opinion of his tenure. Both tactical and man management wise.
A coach shouldn't be fired for a short burst of bad games but he should have been fired years ago for these reasons.
Excessive pinching by defensemen including incapable ones. Complicated reliance on drop-back passes/turnbacks in big games to maintain possession only to lose it.
This is wonderful if you're rocking a couple of Makars on the backend. Not so much with the Leafs group.
He also has a reliance on man-on-man coverage, which is fine with appropriate depth and skating ability. When you start leaning on specific players, it becomes a lot less manageable and he's finding that out now with a weakened roster.
Yes, all of this is now exaggerated with the bad goaltending and weak defense but a coach has to adapt to his resources. Treliving/Dubas are also to blame because players like Bertuzzi are not built for these systems and can't execute at the same level.
He's also shown an inability to adapt in the playoffs as the other coach runs circles around him. In multiple playoff series, the Leafs have been pressed on the forecheck and cut down in the neutral zone because of their inability to go north-south with their game. Even in the Tampa series, they were getting schooled by Cooper in big chunks of the series. This is one of the main reasons he should be removed because the regular season issues are brand-new and not even the main concern with his coaching.
Keefe is also not a good motivator as seen with their flat starts for the past 4-5 years. This includes big games. Lack of accountability with stars and no consequences for bad play.
