An early playoff exit would likely result in wide-sweeping coaching and front-office changes for the Maple Leafs, James Mirtle of The Athletic said on “The Leaf Report” Thursday. “If there’s another really disappointing first-round exit, they’re gonna want blood. And I don’t know if just firing the coach is enough. I think they’re gonna want more than that,” said Mirtle.
A first-round exit in a likely rematch against the Panthers would likely result in the dismissal of head coach Sheldon Keefe, one of the longest-tenured bench bosses in the league now entering his fifth playoff run with the club. In terms of other executives that could get the axe, team president Brendan Shanahan has only one season left on his contract, according to Mirtle, and could be a candidate to be out of a job with new leadership in the Maple Leafs’ ownership group, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. After GM Brad Treliving was brought in only one summer ago, it seems unlikely he’d be relieved of his duties with such a small track record in the role for Toronto.