Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) CEO Keith Pelley revealed that a lack of chemistry between management and former head coach Sheldon Keefe was one of the factors that led to his dismissal.

Pelley spoke with Sportsnet’s Caroline Cameron on Tuesday, and was asked about the changes the Toronto Maple Leafs have undergone in the seven months since he took on his role. He believes it boils down to all of the key members of the team being on the same page and setting a standard.

“People ask me how the Leafs are different this year, and I say culture and chemistry is the right ‘Double C.’ It makes a difference,” Pelley said. “We, right now, have what I call the perfect triangle [with] the Toronto Maple Leafs. I have no idea what happened over the last 10 years, [but] I know that culture, I know that chemistry is there [now]. That [became clear] when I really observed Brendan Shanahan and Brad Treliving, and I looked at the chemistry they had, and it was phenomenal. The chemistry wasn’t quite there with the previous head coach, so after the season we brought in Craig Berube to that triangle of chemistry.”

This is consistent with Pelley told reporters back when Keefe was fired, about being impressed with the chemistry between Treliving and Shanahan, which helps explain why Pelley opted to give the Leafs’ president another shot with one year remaining on his contract. The same cannot be said with how things ended with Shanahan and former GM Kyle Dubas as the two were engaged in a power struggle and Dubas ultimately joined the Pittsburgh Penguins as their general manager and president of hockey operations.

The synergy between Keefe and Leafs’ management often didn’t appear to match the chemistry shared by Treliving and Shanahan. This may partly explain why Toronto decided to relieve its former coach of his duties after losing in the first round to the Boston Bruins. Treliving admitted that while had a ton of respect for the job Keefe did in the one season they worked together, he felt that the time was right to make a change.

“Sheldon is an excellent coach and a great man,” Treliving said in May. “However, we determined a new voice is needed to help the team push through to reach our ultimate goal. We thank Sheldon for his hard work and dedication to the organization over the last nine years, and wish him and his family all the very best.”

With Berube behind the bench, there seems to be a strong working relationship between the three key members of the Leafs staff, which has resulted in a changed approach. Headlined by the offseason acquisitions of Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Anthony Stolarz, the team is playing a “north-south” style of hockey and the hope is for it to work in the playoffs. Although there have been some growing pains since the start of the regular season, the early signs suggest that this could get the best out of the core group of players.

“The team is obviously playing a different style of hockey this year, it takes a while to learn [that],” Pelley said. “With the style of hockey we’re playing, it’s not about beating teams 6-4. So, they’re learning that style. When you go into the dressing room after the game, you see the chemistry, you see the culture and you can’t win in business, you can’t win in sport, without the right chemistry and culture.”

Keefe has done quite well for himself since landing his new role with the New Jersey Devils, who have rebounded quite nicely after missing the playoffs the previous season. The same can’t be said for Dubas and his Penguins, who are coming off a rough loss to the Dallas Stars allowing six goals in the first period on Monday night.