REPORT: Maple Leafs Sheldon Keefe on the HOT SEAT

After setting Maple Leaf records last season for wins and points, the Toronto Maple Leafs have started this season 2-2-0 after losing to the Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes, and barely slipping by the Washington Capitals and Ottawa Senators.

While the poor start should be put on the players, when you have a team with this much star power, the blame is always put on the coach.

Sheldon Keefe has produced back to back seasons which were the best in the franchises long history. HIs current coaching record is 118-52-19 with the Leafs, and has a win percentage of .675, which is insane for a head coach.

The Maple Leafs rely heavily on their ''core 4'' to win games, and through the first 4 games they've been a bit of a disappointment. After Auston Matthews put up 60 goals last season, he only has 1 goal in his first 4 games, and a mere 2 points. Tavares is currently leading the team with 5 points, and Nylander and Marner both have 4. This is not what we've come to expect from players all capable of 80-100 points.

Kyle Dubas is on the hot seat right with his head coach, but if Keefe can't get this team playing better, with Dubas' job also on the line this season, it wouldn't surprise us to see him make a coaching change early if it means getting his team fired up and winning some games.

I'm not saying it's full hot seat time for Sheldon Keefe quite yet.

But are you clicking on Barry Trotz's LinkedIn page maybe just for one little peek if you're Kyle Dubas?— Matt Larkin (@MLarkinHockey) October 18, 2022

This may be overreacting, considering we are just 4 games into the season, but points at the beginning of the season are just as valuable as points at the end.