Keefe 'thrilled' to remain Maple Leafs coach

NASHVILLE -- Same team. Same city. Fresh start.

Such is the feeling Sheldon Keefe has these days.

The 42-year-old, who has compiled a 166-71-30 record as Toronto Maple Leafs coach since taking over from Mike Babcock on Nov. 20, 2019, had been in limbo after his team was eliminated in the Eastern Conference Second Round by the Florida Panthers. With his contract expired and his pal Kyle Dubas not retained as general manager, Keefe wondered what his future held.

Incoming GM Brad Treliving ended that speculation Tuesday by publicly announcing Keefe would return, an opportunity the coach says he's embracing.

"Obviously I'm thrilled to be back," Keefe said at the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday in his first public comments since Treliving's announcement. "It's been great to work with Brad and [special adviser to the GM] Shane Doan, for that matter.

"It's been a process but a good process and a thorough one. Obviously at times it was uncomfortable and uncertain but it was a good and necessary one. Understanding the position that Brad and the organization are in, I'm thrilled to be continuing on."

Treliving certainly was thorough in his endeavor to find out if Keefe would be retained. The GM estimated he spent 17 hours sprinkled over a handful of days getting to know the coach and learning what his thoughts and philosophies are, both when it comes to the game in general and the Maple Leafs in particular.

"I just approached it as if I was starting anew in a lot of ways," Keefe said. "It's a new relationship. There was nothing pre-existing with Brad."

That wasn't the case with Dubas, of course. He and Keefe were close friends and spent most of the past decade professionally locked at the hip. In fact, the Dubas-Keefe duo worked together at three different levels; Sault St. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League, Toronto of the American Hockey League and the Maple Leafs.

With Dubas having been hired as president of hockey operations with the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of Treliving's first orders of business was the Keefe situation. During their subsequent lengthy chats, he told the coach he was impressed with the way the Maple Leafs have improved their team defense during his tenure.

"I'm happy Kyle has landed on his feet," Keefe said. "I mean, he's in a good spot and he seems happy. And then, for us, I think fresh perspective and working with new people has been really good for me and I'm excited about it.

"I think [Brad's] personality, I think it's very similar to Kyle's. Easygoing. Great to talk to. Fun to be around. Treats people very well. Respectful of people and their circumstance, their situation."

Asked about the prospect of potentially having a similar core of players to years past, Keefe pointed to the skill possessed by the likes of centers Auston Matthews and John Tavares, forwards William Nylander and Mitchell Marner and defenseman Morgan Rielly.

"Brad put it very well: It's hard to get good players in this league," Keefe said. "Brad's going to go through his process and give us the best possible team on the ice. But I've talked to a lot of people -- the entire hockey community has come together here in Nashville -- and everyone you talk to talks about how great our players are and the number of people who want to be part of our coaching staff."

To that end, Keefe said one of the pressing priorities is to replace former assistant Spencer Carbery, who was hired as coach of the Washington Capitals on May 30.