The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a tough old time recently. And that's come at a big price for one man in particular — Mike Babcock. The head coach was dismissed by the Leafs after several years of working with the team. In a statement posted by the LeafsPR Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon, the Leafs announced Babcock's dismissal after four and a half years in charge. UPDATE: In a statement on Wednesday evening, Babcock reflected on his time in Toronto. "I thought we did an amazing job taking a franchise from where it was to where we had 100-point seasons, we set franchise records if I'm not mistaken, got into the playoffs. I'm disappointed," said Babcock, per TSN's Pierre Le Brun. EARLIER: The Leafs' own statement read: "Toronto Maple Leafs President and Alternate Governor Brendan Shanahan announced today that Mike Babcock has been relieved of his coaching duties and Sheldon Keefe has been named the club's new head coach." Keefe has spent the last four years as head coach of the Leafs' American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Shanahan said of Keefe: "Sheldon's record with the Marlies in terms of development and on-ice success during his time in our organization has compelled us all to feel that he is the right person to take us to the next stage in our evolution." The Leafs' form has nosedived in recent weeks, and they've lost their last six games on the spin. The final straw for Shanahan and Co. appears to have been the 4-2 defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night. Babcock took over as Leafs coach in May 2015 and despite the team finishing dead last in his first year, he helped to rebuild them into postseason contenders. Toronto Maple Leafs President and Alternate Governor Brendan Shanahan announced today that Mike Babcock has been relieved of his coaching duties and Sheldon Keefe has been named the Club’s new head coach. #LeafsForever— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) November 20, 2019 He also helped oversee the drafting of leading star Auston Matthews and the emergence of young talent such as current stars Mitch Marner and William Nylander. Successive playoff losses to the Boston Bruins had been tough for fans, though, and a poor start to the current season seemed to have threatened Babcock's position. Amid that speculation, earlier on Wednesday, the Toronto Star ran a piece in which Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas had commented on Babcock's future. Just spoke with Mike Babcock. He got the news today from Brendan Shanahan and Kyle Dubas. Wishes the team nothing but success moving forward. More to come.— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) November 20, 2019 "My view on the matter remains the same as last week after the game against the (New York) Islanders: For our team to reach its best, we must all collectively attack times when we are not playing to our standard," Dubas explained. "That starts with management but includes coaches and the players as well." "We must be honest with each other, be aligned in where we are falling short, and work collectively to use times of suboptimal results to build our resolve and come out on the other side stronger, better and close to reaching our ultimate potential." And that translated just hours later into Babcock being canned. The Leafs face the Arizona Coyotes in their next game on Thursday night, looking to snap the winless run. And they'll be doing it without Babcock at the helm for the first time since 2015. So long, Mike. There are stories everywhere. If you spot a newsworthy event in your city, send us a message, photo, or video @NarcityCanada on Twitter and Instagram.