'I've Lost Patience': Maple Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe Frustrated by Amount of Bench Minors to Start Season

If there’s one thing the Maple Leafs can clean up, it’s the bench minors.

Toronto suffered their league-leading seventh bench minor of the season on Friday afternoon in their 4-3 overtime loss against the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Maple Leafs are now two ahead of second place, a four-way tie between the Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and New Jersey Devils.

When asked about the too-many-men penalty post-game, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe wasn’t enthused.

“I’ve lost patience,” Keefe said blankly about the bench minors.

And how does he address it in Toronto’s room?

“I’ve already addressed it.”

Before Friday’s too-many-men penalty, Toronto’s last one came on Nov. 17 while the team was in Sweden for the NHL Global Series. That was when the Maple Leafs took over the league lead in the bench minor department.

“(We’re) talking about it for sure,” Keefe said on Nov. 18 in Sweden.

Since the 2021-22 season, the Maple Leafs have had the most bench minors of any team in the NHL with 30.

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