Report: Devils receive permission to talk to Sheldon Keefe for coaching job

Keefe, 43, was fired by Toronto on Thursday after five seasons with the Maple Leafs. 

After the announcement, the former Leafs coach posted this message on social media: 

“I didn’t get it done in the playoffs, I didn’t help push our team over the line and deliver. I accept responsibility for that. No excuses. That’s the job, I didn’t get it done,” Keefe said. “It’s the reality of the business and I accept it.” 

Since taking his first NHL coaching job and replacing Mike Babcock on Nov. 19, 2019, Keefe and the Maple Leafs have gone 212-97-40 in the regular season. 

More importantly, Toronto was 16-21 in the postseason under Keefe, winning just one of their six playoff series. Keefe was responsible for the Leafs’ first playoff series win in 19 years, knocking off the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games last spring. 

The Devils fired head coach Lindy Ruff on March 4 and finished the 2023-24 regular season with interim coach Travis Green behind the bench.

Ruff was hired by the Buffalo Sabres on April 22, and Green was brought in as the next head coach of the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. 

New Jersey missed the playoffs for the fifth time in the past six years.

In the 12 seasons since losing to the Los Angeles Kings in the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, the Devils have made the playoffs only twice (2018, 2023). Their only series win came against the New York Rangers in 2023.

New Jersey has also reportedly spoken to coaching candidates Jay Woodcroft, Craig Berube and Todd McLellan.