Kevin Bieksa calls out Sheldon Keefe on Saturday night.
Kevin Bieksa did not agree with a tough decision made by Sheldon Keefe on Saturday.
On Saturday night Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe made the surprising decision to make veteran forward David Kampf a healthy scratch against the Carolina Hurricanes. It wasn't the biggest lineup change ever made but it was enough to draw the ire of former National Hockey League forward Kevin Bieksa, who openly challenged Keefe's decision during the broadcast of that game.
"It's another excuse we're making for the goaltending," said Bieksa on Hockey Night in Canada. "It's another bad goal by Samsonov."
Bieksa clearly felt that Samsonov, the Maple Leafs goaltender, and not Kampf had been the one to blame on what would prove to be a pivotal play against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Bieksa also argued that Kampf has more than earned the benefit of the doubt.
"You're picking the wrong guy," exclaimed a frustrated Bieksa. "You're picking Kampf, a guy who is your number one defensive center who makes a million great defensive plays on a team with a lot of guys that don't make a lot of great plays with the puck."
Bieksa argued that if Keefe wasn't willing to send a strong message by benching a top 6 player, he shouldn't be sending the message at all by targeting what he feels is the wrong man in David Kampf.
"How many turnovers have there been tonight? Has the message been sent?" asked Bieksa. "Or is it just we are gonna pick on this one guy and hopefully everyone else gets in line?
Bieksa certainly isn't happy with Keefe's decision to sit the veteran forward on Saturday night.
