The New Jersey Devils have named Sheldon Keefe as their new head coach, Spittin’ Chiclets host Rear Admiral reported Wednesday. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the report to NJ Advance Media.
The 43-year-old will be introduced at a press conference at the Prudential Center at a future date. Keefe spent parts of five seasons as an NHL head coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs and has an overall record of 212-97-40.
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Keefe’s most successful season behind the bench came in 2022-23, when he led Toronto’s “Core Four” (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander) to the franchise’s first victory in a postseason series. in 19 years. Toronto finished third or better in all five of Keefe’s seasons and recorded more than 100 points in the last three seasons.
Lack of playoff success in a championship-hungry market did him in.
The Leafs were eliminated in the first round four times under Keefe and experienced significant drops in expected goals percentage from the regular season to the playoffs. The final straw for Keefe was his team’s dramatic Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins on May 4, in which Toronto blew another lead in the third period.
But now he will have another chance. Keefe will attempt to revive the coaching image of him building a Stanley Cup culture with a Devils team brimming with potential but desperate for discipline and structure.
After setting team records in wins (52) and points (112) and dancing to Round 2 of the playoffs with Lindy Ruff in 2022-23, New Jersey took a nosedive last season, leading to Ruff’s 61st dismissal. games, a 38.-39-5 final record (8-12-1 under interim coach Travis Green) and another season without playoffs. In all, the Devils have failed to qualify for the postseason for their 10th time in the last 12 years.
There are plenty of holes in the roster to address this summer (goalie and defense depth, to name a few), but Keefe will have the opportunity to lead a core of Jack and Luke Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Dougie Hamilton and others. to the dynastic roots of the franchise.
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You can contact Ryan Novozinsky at rnovozinsky@njadvancemedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter. @ryannovo62.
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