Kerfoot 'not overly thrilled' with inconsistent 1st year with Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Alexander Kerfoot isn't satisfied with the impact he's made in his first season with his new club.

Kerfoot was acquired in the July 1 blockbuster deal that also brought Tyson Barrie to Toronto and shipped Nazem Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche. Kerfoot was expected to capably fill Kadri's old spot as the Maple Leafs' No. 3 center behind big guns Auston Matthews and John Tavares, but he doesn't think things went quite according to plan.

"I am not overly thrilled with how things went from a personal standpoint," Kerfoot told reporters Thursday, including TSN's Kristen Shilton. "Everything was a little bit inconsistent. I think there were times when I was happy with my game, (but) overall it was a little bit more inconsistent than I would like. Maybe I didn't contribute/produce as much as I would have liked to. I'm still confident in myself. I think I can still be a big part of the team and I'm excited to get back and keep improving and get better and help out."

Kerfoot signed a four-year, $14-million extension after the trade. He produced nine goals and 19 assists across 65 games in which he averaged just under fifteen minutes per contest.

The 25-year-old missed time due to a broken jaw and was also suspended two games for boarding Avs blue-liner Erik Johnson. Both absences occurred in November around the time head coach Mike Babcock was replaced with Sheldon Keefe. Kerfoot admitted it was a lot to deal with, but he doesn't believe it was at the root of his up-and-down play.

"I think that there was just a lot that happened this year," Kerfoot said. "You come in from one organization to another organization. You meet a new coach, get comfortable with the new coach, and then the coach gets fired and then there's a whole new coach coming in, running a whole new system, and you have to get used to that. And I get suspended for a couple games. I break my jaw. I don't mean to make excuses; I just think there was a lot of things thrown at you. But I don't know if that necessarily was the reason why I didn't play up to my personal expectations."

Barrie also had some issues adjusting to Toronto, recording just 39 points after a career season in Colorado in 2018-19. Kadri, meanwhile, registered 36 points in 51 games with the Avs before the season went on pause.

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