Kyle Dubas Gets His Man

Dubas and Keefe Beginning

During the 2012-13 season while serving as GM for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Kyle Dubas hired Sheldon Keefe to replace Mike Stapleton as head coach. Dubas and Keefe would work together with the Greyhounds until the end of the 2013-14 season.

In the 2014-15 season Dubas would go on to become Assistant GM of the Maple Leafs and GM of the Marlies in the American Hockey League (AHL). The 2014-15 season also saw Keefe win both the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and OHL awards for coach of the year. Both awards were well deserved after coaching the Greyhounds to a 110 point season with a record of 54-12-0-2.

Back Together

All that success in the OHL brought Keefe back to his friend Dubas in Toronto. At the start of the 2015-16 season, Keefe was hired by Dubas to be the new head coach of the Marlies.

In his first season as Marlies head coach, Keefe helped the Marlies win 54 games and finish with 114 points. After losses in the conference final (2016) and conference semi final (2017) Keefe finally lead the Marlies to a Calder Cup Championship in 2018. The championship came after another 54 win season which saw the Marlies finish with 112 points.

Promoted to the Maple Leafs

Keefe’s first day as head coach for the Maple Leafs will see him behind the bench while the Maple Leafs play against the Arizona Coyotes. Keefe will be looking to find a way to help the Maple Leafs fix their early season struggles. We will see how long it takes before Keefe feels the pressure of Leafs Nation as he tries to right the ship before it sinks.

Final Thought

I’m sure that being a head coach in the National Hockey League (NHL) is a dream come true for Keefe. The job of a head coach can be stressful in any city, but in Toronto there always seems to be added pressure. Let’s hope that Keefe is the right man for the job.

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