The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe, the team announced Thursday.
“The organization will immediately begin the search for a new head coach,” the team said in a statement.
In a video released on X, formerly Twitter, Keefe said he will be forever grateful for the opportunity to coach the Leafs.
“It’s a dream come true for a boy from Brampton,” he said.
Keefe’s Maple Leafs performed well in the regular season, with a 212-97-40 record in 349 games.
The team recorded three consecutive 100-point seasons with Keefe behind the bench, including a team-record 115-point season in 2021-22.
The Leafs routinely came up short in the playoffs with Keefe at the helm however, sporting a single playoff round win against the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, and a 16-21 postseason record overall. After an up and down season in 2023-24, Toronto lost to the Boston Bruins in a series-deciding seventh game last weekend.
Despite finally getting the organization over a painful playoff hump last spring when the Leafs advanced to the second round for the first time in nearly two decades, Keefe was unable to keep that momentum going.
