Three days after watching his Toronto Maple Leafs fall in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth straight season, team president Brendan Shanahan said Tuesday that general manager Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe will return for the 2022-23 campaign.
“We’re not going to make any excuses. I thought our players battled hard, I thought that they played well, and they lost to a great hockey team. As players, management and ownership, we share in everybody’s frustration in not getting the job done,” Shanahan said Tuesday.
“Certainly, as we look forward to next year, there’s always going to be new faces. That being said, we will not be making changes just simply for the sake of saying we made changes.”
Dubas has served as the Maple Leafs’ GM for four seasons, guiding the club to four playoff appearances in that span, after serving as assistant general manager for the previous four campaigns.
Keefe has served as head coach for two full seasons, after taking over the club during the 2019-20 season.
“I think that Kyle built a very good hockey team,” Shanahan said of Dubas. “I think he made excellent adjustments along the way, and I think Sheldon is an excellent coach. As we look forward to next year, and getting to work towards next year, I think it’s important to state that I see both of them as being extremely important in getting us to the next level, so that when we do approach next year, and we do come back, that we are ready to take that next step.
“As Kyle said to the players today, the work for next year begins right now. And I look forward to getting to work with Kyle and Sheldon for next season.”
More to come…
