Coach Keefe stops practice, rips into Leafs players in expletive laced tirade

The puck is set to drop on the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2022-23 season in just 15 days and head coach Sheldon Keefe is doing everything he can to get his team ready for a pivotal campaign. 

The Leafs, of course, are under incredible pressure this season after failing to progress in the post-season for the sixth consecutive season this past Spring. The players, the coaches and the management staff are all expected to take a major step forward this season and if they don't... well... I hope they've been keeping up with their unemployment payments because they're gonna need 'em...

This morning at practice Keefe reportedly stopped practice and ripped into his team for a lacklustre effort. In particular, Keefe took offense at the team's lack of physicality and let them know in no uncertain terms.

Check it out courtesy of Leafs reporter Jonas Siegel:

Honestly... I like this from Keefe and wish he did it more often.

Leafs' training camp has felt more like a country club than a conditioning camp the past few seasons and the team's lack of killer instinct and lack of physicality is what comes back to bite them in the post-season again and again. Now is the time to set the expectations for the season and let the players know where they stand. For these reasons, I think Keefe is doing the right thing by going hard on his players. The smart players, the leaders, will realize this and will follow his lead to provide others with a positive example. After all, vacation is over. Now it's time to get to work.

In particular, I think top players like Auston Matthews and John Tavares could stand to play more physically. I don't expect Mitch Marner or William Nylander to play the body hard though, as it's just not in those players' makeup. Matthews and Tavares though have shown that they're not afraid to grind a bit if an offensive opportunity presents itself, what I'd like to see them do more is grind a bit harder in the defensive zone.