These are Sheldon Keefe’s Maple Leafs now.Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan, who hired Mike Babcock in 2015 in a move intended to reinvigorate a moribund franchise, fired his hand-picked head coach on Wednesday.“It wasn’t an easy conversation to have. It wasn’t pleasant,” Shanahan told media in Glendale, Ariz. “Days like today are not. But it was what we felt was important for the club. Once you realize that there’s something that you should do and have to do, then it’s best to act on it.”Keefe, who has coached the AHL Toronto Marlies since 2015, inherits a Maple Leafs group that has aspirations of winning the Stanley Cup. But they are well out of a playoff spot with a 9-10-4 record and are on a six-game losing streak, with special teams that are among the worst in the league.“We believe in Sheldon, obviously, in making this decision,” Shanahan said. “And so we’re still optimistic that we’re going to get it back on track.”Babcock had his ups as coach: He guided the Leafs to record point totals (105 in 2017-18) and to three consecutive playoff appearances. But he had his downs: Three consecutive early exits from the playoffs, and the current stuttering start to this season, for which he took responsibility in a statement Wednesday.“I’m disappointed we didn’t have the start to the year we wanted to, that’s on me,” said Babcock, who was behind the bench for two Olympic gold medals with Canada and one Stanley Cup in Detroit. “I want to thank the fans, I want to thank the media, I want to thank the city. It was spectacular. I loved every second of it.“And I wish the new group, nothing but success. Morgan Rielly has been there the whole time. I can’t thank him enough. And all the players I got an opportunity to coach. It’s been fantastic and I wish them nothing but success.”The coaching change happened on the one-ye ...
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