Why the Maple Leafs’ new guys are already on thin ice with coach Sheldon Keefe

There is nothing like lining up at the blue line in that iconic arena, waiting for the anthem to begin and beaming with pride. We were given a key responsibility of setting the tone of the game for our first-place Rangers that night against the struggling Sharks.

But seconds after the puck hit the ice, we became hemmed in our own zone and were completely powerless. We were under siege, and before we knew it, we were down 1-0.

While San Jose was celebrating, Olczyk and I looked at each other, petrified to skate to the bench to face the wrath of “Iron Mike.”

“You go first,” I said to him.

“No, I’ve been in the league longer, you go first,” he yelled back.

As the next line jumped out to replace us, we dejectedly took our places at the end of the bench. There was no yelling, no ranting, no accusatory stares. We sat there in silence thinking, “Boy, did we ever dodge a big one?”

Then we heard Keenan address the bench in a very calm voice: “Boys, shorten the length of the shifts because we’re only going with three lines tonight.”

And just like that, our night was over before it had really begun.

It’s the perfect example of one of the most effective tools a coach can wield over his players — ice time. Coaches can challenge you to be better privately, or even publicly, but the moment he takes away the thing that is crucial for your career, he strikes a raw nerve. Without ice time, you are at his mercy.

The new Maple Leafs players already know the feeling.

So far, two of the four significant free-agent signings that cost GM Brad Treliving a total of $14 million (U.S.) have had their “candy” taken away, and if they’re not careful it could get worse. Even if fans haven’t seen the wrath of Sheldon Keefe publicly just yet, it is glaringly obvious how displeased he is with some of the performances of his new players.

Tyler Bertuzzi, who finally scored his first five-on-five Leafs goal in Wednesday night’s loss to the Senators, has been the subject of some real criticism for his lack of offensive instincts and his lack of physicality to start the season. He has not come as advertised. Keefe reduced Bertuzzi’s ice time in four consecutive games until it sunk to a paltry 11:32 in his return to Boston.

“He just needs to simplify his game,” Keefe said afterward. “Today we had a very simple plan, and he failed to execute that, so other guys had to take his place.”

Heavyweight Ryan Reaves, who signed a three-year deal this summer, had his ice time reduced in this week’s thrilling comeback win over the Lightning. Reaves didn’t play after the 12:01 mark in the second period, finishing with 4:32 of ice time.

He wasn’t brought in for his offensive capabilities, but zero points, 12 penalty minutes and a minus-9 through 13 games isn’t pretty. And after back-to-back fights to start the season, the physical presence he was meant to bring this team has effectively become non-existent.

Reaves will have to do a much better job of identifying opportunities to make an impact the only way he can. The egregious takedown by Bruins captain Brad Marchand on young Leafs defenceman Timothy Liljegren was one example of a complete miss by Reaves. Sure, he was on the bench when it happened, but there was plenty of game left.

The lack of physical response from the Leafs after that particular incident struck a nerve with fans and, while Keefe refused to single out Reaves after this incident, his recent ice time indicates it struck a nerve with his coach, too.

“I hated everything about it,” Keefe said Saturday. “I’ve addressed it.”

Meanwhile, on the blue line, Toronto’s reclamation project of one-time top-four defenceman John Klingberg has hit a new low. The hope was that the 31-year-old would be spending a lot more time in the offensive zone rather than his own. Instead, his inability to defend and make a clean exit from his end have been glaring weaknesses.

In a perfect world, Keefe would surely love to cut Klingberg’s ice time significantly, or give him a night off to reset in the press box. But with Liljegren, Jake McCabe and Conor Timmins out with injuries, the coach’s hands are tied.

The only free agent signing whose game and ice time are trending upward lately is Max Domi.

In the last handful of games, he’s seen significantly more playing time than he did to start the season. With Domi’s move to the centre position, Keefe seems to have freed up his skating and highlighted his ability to move the puck.

But no matter how successful Domi’s season turns out to be, it won’t make up for the lack of value Treliving has extracted from his additions if things don’t take a drastic turn for the better. And the pressure he is undoubtedly feeling has passed right on to Keefe.

For those who are worried about the new guys costing the Leafs more wins as the season goes on, there are two ways this can go.

Ideally, they will eventually settle in and do what they’ve been brought in to do. And if not? Well, Keefe has already shown he has no problem putting the squeeze on — and he might be just getting started.

Kyper’s Korner

With the lack of depth on the blue line, it’s clear the Leafs are among the most aggressive teams in the league in trying to find a top-four defenceman. By calling up Nick Robertson from the Marlies, they are looking to raise his stock in the event they find a trade partner ... It doesn’t sound like there are any major snags holding back a future announcement on the NHL returning to the Olympics. While it doesn’t appear imminent, look for a major announcement in the new year ... With Nicklas Backstrom’s $9.5-million contract off the Capitals’ books, don’t sleep on Washington looking for somebody to replace him. With Alexander Ovechkin sitting at just two goals his first 10 games, they are watching the Elias Lindholm situation in Calgary closely.

Change(d) my mind:

On the legitimacy of the Vancouver Canucks: They could still find a way to miss the playoffs — like 12 other teams in a packed Western Conference — but they now have me convinced they are just as good as any other team in the race.