Sheldon Keefe finally got an opportunity to take a breath.
In the whirlwind 96 hours since taking over for the fired Mike Babcock on Wednesday, the newly-minted head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs barely had time to process anything other than what was right in front of him.
Keefe rushed to join the scuffling team – losers of six straight at that point – in Arizona, where he picked up his first win behind an NHL bench the following night against the Coyotes.
Then it was onto Colorado where Toronto jumped out to an early lead against the Avalanche before hanging on for another victory in the thin mountain air.
When the Leafs arrived back home for a day off, Keefe had a chance to reflect on his journey from junior-A to arguably the game’s highest-pressure job in just seven seasons.
“Had a lot of time for those types of things (on Sunday),” the 39-year-old said following his first on-ice session in Toronto with the team Monday. “I also had a chance to connect with a lot of important people in my life that I hadn’t had a chance to get back to.”
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