Toronto Maple Leafs fire head coach Mike Babcock, replace him with Sheldon Keefe

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Babcock, the richest coach in NHL history thanks to the eight-year contract worth $50 million the Maple Leafs handed him in 2014, led the Maple Leafs to the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. But playoff success has eluded him; he’s lost eight of his past nine playoff series. It was no secret that Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas and Babcock didn’t see the game the same way. And Babcock had little success getting the team on track this season, winning just nine times in 23 games.

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The Leafs have lost six straight games and sit outside a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 9-10-4 record.

In parts of five seasons under Babcock, the Maple Leafs posted a record of 173-133-45 in 351 regular season games and an 8-12 record in three post-season appearances.

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