Maple Leaf Hot Stove did a great service and transcribed the entire Brendan Shanahan press conference, which is linked right here and below with the other links. One of those sentences was a vote of confidence for GM Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe.

“With that, I think Kyle built a very good hockey team. I think he made excellent adjustments along the way. I think Sheldon is an excellent coach.” [MLHS]

There is a world where Shanahan gets overridden by Larry Tannenbaum and people are fired, but I do not think we are in that version of the multiverse. I definitely think of Shanahan loses the ability to make decisions, he might as well leave himself.

As much as I am disappointed and destroyed, I think it’s the right decision. This team isn’t going to get better if the big players get traded. The Leafs will likely never get the best player in a Nylander or Marner trade. The Tavares situation is interesting in that he needs more support from his linemates more than in the past. Either that’s Marner moving down, or finding upgrades to Kerfoot and Mikheyev. A real 2LW has been a need for a while, and it’ll be a need again.

For the most part, Kyle Dubas has made tinkering moves that have helped this team. Giordano and Blackwell, Bunting, Kämpf, Lyubushkin for Ritchie, trading Dermott, and finding Källgren all happened this year. I think he can do it again. The Leafs analytics staff seems to be better at finding cheap, valuable players that (for the most part) work with the system and style of the Leafs (except Ritchie).

For Sheldon Keefe, the coaching adjustments from last year to this year have been substantial. Notably the penalty kill was much more effective and dangerous. The power play was much more dynamic. And at even strength, Keefe found ways to get Nylander valuable minutes and maximize all his big four players while not overplaying Kämpf’s line. I think if he can find ways to make adjustments within games and within series, he’ll be a good coach to keep. He’s been adaptable so far.

All that being said, I can’t say I’m completely convinced, but I can understand and see the justification for the decisions that have been made so far. They’re not my decisions, so what else can I do.

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 in Game 1 of their second round series last night. The Colorado Avalanche were up 2-1 on the St. Louis Blues in the second intermission in their Game 1 as I tucked in for the night.

Edmonton will play in Calgary tonight, along with the Rangers in Carolina.

Various Leafs and Branches

Brought to you by Katya and MLHS

The Shape of This Offseason for the Leafs | by: Katya

Maple Leafs End of Season Player Quotes | by: Katya

Video: Maple Leafs management, coach and players | by: Katya

Kyle Dubas press conference transcription | by: MLHS

Brendan Shanahan press conference transcription | by: MLHS

Maple Leafs confirm Mitch Marner was carjacked | by: Katya

‘A crime of opportunity’: Leafs star Mitch Marner carjacked at gunpoint in Etobicoke | by: Toronto Star

David Kämpf and Kristiāns Rubīns headed to Worlds | by: Katya

Tim Hortons reprises marketing collaboration with Justin Bieber, launches Biebs Brew | by: CTV News

The Arizona Coyotes won’t be able to put their logo on the ice at Arizona State University when they play there next year. They also must have “good behaviour” as part of their contract.

Mark Giordano and Timothy Liljegren are probably going to reunite next year. This pleases me.

Andrei Vasilevskiy had this to say about the Leafs series. The thing he didn’t say was that the Lightning made good adjustments to stop that from happening.

Hmmmm....

Seldo’s former team might have gone from terrible to merely bad.

From The Branches