The NHL hit Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe with a $25,000 fine for “unprofessional conduct directed at the officials” on Thursday – making it the second time in two years he has been disciplined for how he speaks to officials.
Keefe was ejected with 2:14 left in regulation of Tuesday’s 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. He had expressed frustration with referees Garrett Rank and Peter MacDougall.
when they assessed a questionable tripping penalty to Mitch Marner two minutes earlier and was warned to stop, according to a source that heard the exchange.
Keefe could be seen on the bench reacting to the call as a “f—- joke” and was further steamed when he got a look at the replay.
When he continued to point out the referees missed the call during another stoppage in play, Rank handed him a game misconduct.
Keefe declined to discuss his early exit with reporters post-game, saying: “Not going there.”
On Thursday, he addressed it, saying, “I don’t feel like I lost control or anything like that the other night. But I’m not focused on the right thing.
My job is to be focused on the right thing. The players’ job is to be focused on the right thing. I’ll be better in that area. It’s a chance for me to reflect and grow from it.
The fifth-year Leafs coach was previously fined $25,000 for what the NHL called “demeaning conduct directed at the officials” on Dec. 28, 2022. During a 5-4 overtime victory over St. Louis the night prior,
Keefe lit into referees Wes McCauley and Brian Pochmara for what he felt were multiple missed penalty calls against his team.
You get emotional in the game because you’re competing just like anyone else is,” Keefe said then.
Keefe’s latest fine comes at a time when the NHL has been trying to curb terse exchanges that tend to go viral on social media.
That message was delivered during a meeting that included all 32 general managers and head coaches in Chicago before training camps opened in September.
After being shown a video montage featuring about 20 clips where coaches had lost their cool on camera, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman hammered home the point that it was in everyone’s best interest to tone it down with officials. He emphasized the value of communicating, rather than cursing.
During Tuesday night’s exchange with the referees, Keefe didn’t openly lose his cool to the same degree he’s done in the past. There was no evidence of him swearing or yelling as he left the bench after being ejected, either.
Still, the NHL seems intent on enforcing a stricter standard at a time when more microphones and cameras than ever before are being used to document what’s happening in and around the ice surface.
Rookie Anaheim Ducks head coach Greg Cronin was fined $25,000 earlier this season for “unprofessional conduct directed at the officials” after he was ejected late in the second period of an Oct. 30 game in Pittsburgh.
Former Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft was also in line for a fine after he was ejected for questioning officials during a Nov. 7 game in Vancouver,
according to a source familiar with the decision-making process, but he ended up being spared because he was fired by the Oilers and replaced by Kris Knoblauch within days of that incident.
And on Thursday, the NHL announced Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato was fined $25,000 for unprofessional conduct directed at referees Michael Markovic and T.J.
Luxmore after he was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct minor for arguing a tripping penalty assessed to Sabres forward Zach Benson.
Leave a Reply