"It's a shame Sheldon Keefe took it away from him": PK Subban rips into Maple Leafs head coach for latter's comment on Auston Matthews' 70-goal hunt

By Nestor Quixtan

Modified Apr 19, 2024 02:12 GMT

Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews ended a historic goal hunt that saw him come one goal shy of the vaunted 70-goal mark.

During a press conference, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe commented on Matthews’ quest for 70.

"Yeah, obviously that’s a major distraction, " Sheldon Keefe said.

Those comments did not sit well with former Norris Trophy winner PK Subban. In a recent comment, Subban ripped into the Leafs head coach, pointing out his lack of support for Matthews.

Subban compared Keefe to Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper in his commentary. Cooper was publicly supportive of Nikita Kucherov’s quest for 100 assists. Subban underscored the fact that the entire Tampa Bay club was cheering for Kucherov, hoping he’d hit the mark. He did, and the organization praised him for it.

In contrast, the Leafs organization, namely Keefe, called Auston Matthews’ quest a distraction. Keefe’s attitude led Subban to declare:

"It’s a shame Sheldon Keefe took it away from him."

Subban believes that Auston Matthews deserves more praise from his head coach. Instead of calling his quest a distraction, Keefe should have focused on the Leafs’ poor play down the stretch.

The Leafs lost four out of their last five games, including back-to-back poundings in South Florida.

With the hunt for 70 in the rearview mirror, it’s time for Matthews, Keefe, and company to turn the page and focus on the Boston Bruins. The two clubs will square off in game one on Saturday night at the TD Garden.

Auston Matthews thinks it wasn’t meant to be

Matthews entered the final game of the regular season against the Tampa Bay Lightning sitting on 69 goals. Unfortunately, the much-anticipated 70th marker just didn't happen.

"I wanted it for sure, but it just wasn’t meant to be. For myself, we look forward, you turn the page, and the most important thing is the team and the team’s success," Matthews said as reported by The Hockey News.

Teammate Tyler Bertuzzi added these comments per the Hockey News.

"We tried everything we could (to get him the puck). As you can see at the end, everyone was trying to give him the puck as much as possible no matter where he was."

Matthews ended the season’s final game with 12 shots on goal, including a rocket that bounced off the crossbar. But lucky number 70 never came.

"Sixty-nine goals is an unbelievable season," Keefe said at the end of the game.

Auston Matthews is part of an elite group of players with multiple 60-goal seasons. Can he do it a third time? Perhaps. Nevertheless, winning the Stanley Cup would be a wonderful consolation prize for missing out on the 70-goal plateau.