One of the Toronto Maple Leafs best decisions in over the past several months may have been who they chose the new head coach of the Toronto Marlies.

Sheldon Keefe came into Toronto fresh off of turning around the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and has been everything, and more, that the Toronto Maple Leafs could have hoped.

He’s implemented the Maple Leafs universal system and is focused on developing the kids for the pro’s, and why wouldn’t he? He’s likely going to be in the NHL with them in a few years on Mike Babcock’s bench. The players aren’t the only ones with a mapped out career path.

He’s also been tremendous with developing William Nylander, helping the 19 year old to top spot in the scoring race (10 goals, 13 assists in 17 games).

Sheldon Keefe on Nylander development: “There’s a lot left there that he can do better away from the puck” pic.twitter.com/HFUKfYUgkR — Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 26, 2015

Keefe has the Toronto Marlies in first place for points in the entire American Hockey League, and that’s nothing to scoff at.

He’s also the beneficiary of some great goaltending from Garret Sparks, but Sparks solid play also speaks well about the players and the system in front of him.

For the Toronto Maple Leafs, this year’s Marlies team couldn’t have gone any smoother during their transition to a new coach, new system and increased amount of young players filling up the roster.

Keefe has this team on track to compete for the Calder Cup and, at the very least, give the young players some valuable experience through the regular season and playoffs – something they wouldn’t get as members of the Toronto Maple Leafs this year.

What do you think Leafs fans? Is the Sheldon Keefe hiring one of the best moves the Leafs have done this year?