Ahead of Thursday’s game in Dallas, Sheldon Keefe discussed Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner’s five-on-five play together so far this season, Jake McCabe’s first six games, and the penalty kill’s rocky start to the season.
Joseph Woll is starting again in Dallas. What is your thought process behind that decision?
Keefe: He is playing extremely well. That is part of it. The other part — equally as significant — is that it gives us more time for Sammy, coming off of a day off yesterday, to get a good workout today, a good practice day tomorrow, and then he can get ready for Nashville. I think it works out well for both guys.
What is your sense of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner’s connection at five-on-five as they try to get the offense going at evens again?
Keefe: I wouldn’t say it is executing at the level we have come to expect from them. It is early, obviously, but some of the passing, in particular, hasn’t been quite crisp and sharp. Execution hasn’t been happening. We have focused a lot on the left winger and who has been with them, but if we just focus on those two guys, it hasn’t been executing at the level we would expect.
They are going to stay with it. They are both working hard and doing good things defensively, but offensively, there are a lot of plays that in the past were connecting that right now are getting broken up.
Is that just an early-season thing?
Keefe: That is all I can go to. We have come to expect such a high level of execution from those guys that when plays are breaking up or not quite connecting, you think it is just early season, timing, and stuff like that.
We will continue to work with it and give those guys time. They still have been very good. It is just a matter of there being another level that they haven’t quite gotten to yet.
Are you still trying to find comfort with the personnel on the penalty kill and trying to sort that out?
Keefe: Very much so, both in how we roll the guys out and also just those who are new. If you look at it, between Matthews, Knies, Gregor, and Nylander, we have guys that have killed not at all or very little in the NHL. We are working through that. It is definitely an area we have to continue to give attention to.
How would you assess Jake McCabe’s game so far this season?
Keefe: I think it has been inconsistent. At times, he’s been very good, physical, strong, and moving the puck well. I think he is just really trying to settle into a role with our team. We are continuing to work with him on that. Mike Van Ryn is working with him every day and talking through it.
At times, we just want him to really simplify things and understand what we need from him. At the same time, his skating and his feet get him into really good spots on the ice. You don’t want to take that way from him, but at times, we just want him to get back, settle into his position, and help us defensively.
Is your message to all of your defensemen to pinch whenever there is an opportunity to, or are there different instructions depending on which defenseman it is?
Keefe: Generally, if there is an opportunity to, you want to go. 32 teams in the NHL play that way. That is the way the game is played today. You don’t want to take that away. The moment you get passive at times when you can be aggressive, you are going to spend a lot of time in your own end and you are not going to get the puck back much offensively.
Every team in the league plays that way. When there is an opportunity and there is support, you want to be aggressive and you want to go. I am less concerned about that than I am about the times when we are on offense and we are being over-aggressive at times when it is not the right time and there is no real reward to come from it. In that case, we want to make sure we are settling back into position and we have structure if the puck goes the other way.
With Fraser Minten, is it a case of waiting for an opportunity to get him back in with everything clicking lately?
Keefe: Yeah, we like what Holmberg has brought and how it has changed things. That is part of it. We have some guys who have been nicked up on this trip and are day-to-day or at least are on the injury report and we are waiting on their status the next morning. It was the same again here today. We have kind of gotten through that situation.
There hasn’t been an opportunity for Fraser to get back in at this stage, but I think there is a lot of value in him being around our group on a trip like this, in particular, and experiencing life in the NHL. He is continuing to work with the reps that he does get. He is putting in his time.
I think there is great value in that. He will be ready if he is needed here.
Pete Deboer in Dallas mentioned the energy Max Domi brought to the Stars’ dressing room last season. Are you seeing something similar now in Toronto?
Keefe: Yeah, very similar. He has lots of personality. He always has a big smile on his face. You can tell he loves the game and loves being around the guys. We have loved what he has brought there.
He has been really eager to please. He wants to really do what the coaches are asking him to do. He has worked his way through that.
His last couple of games have been his best as a Leaf. He is just a fun guy to be around. He has lots of experience in the league. He has played on different teams and different coaches. I think he has taken a little bit from all of that.
He is at a stage in his career where he is really looking to find a role and find a home. That is something that we enjoy working with him on.
There is talk about the NHL changing how the draft works to a decentralized format. What do you remember about your draft day as a player, and as a coach, meeting new players like Easton Cowan on the floor?
Keefe: My draft day was a very long time ago. But is a very exciting time for you and your family. It is a lot of uncertainty when you are not a guy who is expected to go real early. You don’t know when you are going to go, and you are sort of on eggshells, especially when it gets to the neighbourhood where you might be picked. But is an exciting time.
I do enjoy it both in my current role and previous role with the Marlies. I do enjoy being there on day one when the player enters the organization. I think there is something to that. I enjoy being a part of it and getting to know the player and see them right away. There is some value in that for sure.
I have also experienced it on the other side — through Covid and such — when we were in our own facilities, and it is a lot more comfortable. You are able to have a lot more conversations openly and those kinds of things.
I see benefits all the way around. It is not an easy decision to make.
