Sheldon Keefe admits his fury was toward Tyler Bertuzzi
Keefe was furious on the bench at his players during last night's game.
HockeyFeed
While the Toronto Maple Leafs were ultimately able to secure two points against the division rival Florida Panthers last night at Scotiabank Arena, there was a moment that didn't go unnoticed by fans and media on the bench.
Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe absolutely went off on his players in brutal rant, and appeared to be singling out forward Tyler Bertuzzi during the tirade.
Following their skate today, Keefe clarified that his anger was initially directed at Bertuzzi, but that the entire team was deserving of an angry earful.
"That is a team mindset thing," Keefe said. "Obviously, it was Bert in that instance, but there have been too many instances of that. Sometimes, you get emotional on the bench and you guys can see it. Oftentimes, it is behind closed doors and you don’t see it."
"Regardless, it is an area we have to get better in. I have to do a better job of making them more aware or holding them accountable if it is not going to be the standard that is required. That certainly will be the case."
However, Keefe was sure to clarify that he's been pleased overall with Bertuzzi's performance so far in his first year playing with the Leafs.
"It is just about making the right decisions," he said. "It just so happened that it was Bert in that case, but Bert has played very, very well for us here. To me, it is a team mindset thing that we haven’t gotten right."
The Maple Leafs are back at it tomorrow night at home when they bring in the visiting Seattle Kraken.
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