Sheldon Keefe Callouts Out His Captain After Disappointing Performance

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Matt Garland
March 27, 2024 (1:29 PM)

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Sheldon Keefe calls out his captain John Tavares after a disappointing performance

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was furious with his team following their disappointing showing in the 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

Late in the first period, Devils captain Nico Hischier scored the go ahead goal to give New Jersey the 2-1 lead as the period ended. It was the theme of the night, New Jersey was opportunistic capitalizing on Toronto's errors.

After the game Keefe expressed how dissapointed he was in his teams response. Instead of building on a strong first period, the team overdid it, describing it as immature.

«Instead of having a strong (second) period and building on it and continuing to do the things that we had done well, I thought we just overdid it,» Keefe said. «Really immature all the way through our game."

Keefe went as far as to single out his captain.

"John Tavares has been the example for us. He's been outstanding for us for a long period of time. He himself got carried away tonight. That's our captain."

Tavares has been a pillar of consistency since signing with Toronto in the summer of 2018, but has taken a noticeable step back this season. The 33 year old was averaging around a point per game for his career but that has dropped this season, with Tavares scoring 23 goals and 56 points in 69 games this season.

Tavares is signed until the end of the 2024-25 season, carrying a cap hit of $11M. Much more will be needed from Toronto's captain as they are expected to face off with either the Boston Bruins or Florida Panthers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.