Sheldon Keefe on the Maple Leafs’ five-game performance: “Whether it’s five-a-side or a power play, we haven’t started clicking yet… We will.”

After Friday’s practice, head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke about Wayne Simmond’s entry into Saturday’s lineup in Winnipeg, Nicolas Aube-Kubel’s absence, the upcoming five-game road trip and his team’s five-game performance (3-2-0).

Practice Lines – October 21st

Snakes at Leafs practice

Ammer-Malgin*-Marner
Robertson-Tavares-Nylander
Aston Reese – Kerfoot – Jarnkrok
Engvall – Fight – Simmonds
Aube Kubel

Rielly-Brodie
Sandin – Holl
Giordano-Mete

Maintenance: Matthews*@TSN_Edge

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) October 21, 2022

Is today just a maintenance day for Austin Matthews?

Keefe: Yes, we give him these days during the season. He played many minutes yesterday. He’s also a little wacky. Giving him something was pretty easy. He was there, got his job, and did his thing at the gym to get ready for tomorrow.

Wayne Simmonds said Matthews never complains despite what he’s going through. What does it say about him that he can keep going?

Keefe: It’s really impressive for a guy who draws so much attention from the opposition. We’ve talked over the years about him not taking many penalties. I don’t know if you could find many examples of when he complained or was emotional about it. He simply plays the game and allows the umpires to call the game as they see it. The coach may have a few things to say every now and then, but Auston himself only plays and takes care of what he can take care of. He is not looking for additional help or anything like that.

The calls against him last night were definitely warranted and there were probably a few others that could have been called on top of that. There was a subtle and underhanded Benn on Auston rehearsal there – hard to find or to call – but those are the ones the league doesn’t want to see. Most of the time such things would be invoked when they were seen.

Again he just played through the rest of the game and in the end he made the big game to win us the game in overtime.

Why did you want to catch a glimpse of Wayne Simmonds in Winnipeg tomorrow night?

Keefe: We don’t want him sitting too long now that we have the flexibility to move guys in and out. I thought Wayne had a good camp with us. There’s a bunch of guys – whether it’s Wayne, Kyle Clifford or guys who haven’t played with us who are done with the Marlies – who’ve had good camps.

Wayne and Kyle Clifford in particular were guys who were important parts of our team, our culture and our group. Having Wayne up here and having the flexibility with our lineup and squad, it’s important to include him.

What’s the message for Nicolas Aube-Kubel who is new and trying to find his feet in the team?

Keefe: I think he did some good things for us. Physically, he’s done quite a lot for us in the games he’s played. That’s what we like about his game. I think there are other areas that haven’t quite come together here yet. We talked about that.

His departure from the lineup is frankly less about him and more about wanting to include Wayne. At the same time, my message to Kubie is that he hasn’t done enough to make room for Wayne where he’s not part of this conversation.

That’s about where we are at. Everyone here is important and we will need everyone to do their best. That includes Simmer, who will go in.

If you get your opportunity again, you’ll keep getting better.

You now have the option to bring additional bodies on the list. What’s the value of that and could you take a few extra people with you on the road trip?

Keefe: It’s nice to have, especially when you hit the road and head west. Getting guys is a challenge. I think it’s just really good to get more people involved because you know you’re going to need more than what you started the season with. Turns out we needed guys pretty quick. That’s the reality.

We talked to Wayne about not letting him sit around too long and getting him in for some action. We’re going to need boys. Having more people around and playing is good and healthy for our team.

At the same time, it’s an added layer of competition and responsibility for everyone’s game. This is important. We still haven’t found our groove and rhythm as a team, so making some of these decisions is a little easier for me.

How satisfied are you with how Ilya Samsonov fitted in and how he played?

Keefe: He was great. It’s not just about how he did, but also how he brought the work and behavior to the facility to get on a new team. I think he’s really starting to earn the group’s respect and trust. The guys are starting to get a sense of his personality and he fits in really well that way. We can’t help but be genuinely encouraged and positive about what he has brought us so far.

Wins and losses pile up early in the season, but it feels like a lot has happened around this team in the first week and a half of the season. Is it the nature of a Canadian market?

Keefe: It is the nature of the market. That’s because of the way it’s done, but also because there are high expectations of our team. There are also high expectations of us internally, but we have to keep an eye on things. We know it’s an 82 game grind. We just have to get better every day.

What have you liked about the team so far? There was a lot of outside criticism, but what did you like about what you’ve seen in five years?

Keefe: The three games we won were very close games where we have to be very disciplined or resilient and react to moments when things go wrong. Our team showed that. That’s what you’d expect from a team as experienced as ours. That has really had a positive impact on me.

We found ways to get six points here, even if we haven’t quite found our rhythm yet. Whether it’s five-on-five or the power play, we haven’t started clicking yet. We will. We have great confidence that this is the case. It’s no different than last season. It ended up being one of the best offensive teams in the league with a lot of guys who had career highlights. We assume that we will get there again.

It’s a process. We have to be patient with that. We just have to try to get better every day.

What are you looking forward to in the next five away games?

Keefe: It comes at a good time early in the season when the boys can get away. A five-game journey sure is long, but we’re going to great cities. It’s a good opportunity for the group to be together, have fun and compete in the streets. I think it’s a very good and healthy thing.

We had our trip to Gravenhurst, and that was good for us, but this is mid-season. Competing against each other every other night and traveling to different cities together is a really good and healthy thing for our group.

Is there any clarity on Jake Muzzin’s status? There have been some reports that it looks like it might be long term.

Keefe: I had no updates anyway. I think it could be today that he should have another check-up appointment. There may be more after that, but for now we’ll continue to let things settle down for him and get a better idea of ​​where he is.