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Devils’ Sheldon Keefe drops truth bomb on facing Leafs after offseason firing

Originally posted on NHL on ClutchPoints
By Colin Gallant | Last updated Oct 10, 2024 2:00 PM ET

It won’t take long for Sheldon Keefe to face his former team after being fired as the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the offseason. He was quickly hired by the New Jersey Devils on May 23, and will coach his first game of 2024-25 in North America against those same Leafs on Thursday night.

“I got nothing but love and respect to the people on the other side … I do think the team is in a really good place,” Keefe said ahead of Leafs-Devils from the Prudential Center, per TSN’s Mark Masters. “Love the moves that [general manager Brad Treliving] made in the off-season. The team is as good as it’s ever been and I wish them nothing but the best.”

Keefe spent five seasons behind the bench in Toronto, but the squad was only able to manage a single postseason series win in that span. He was fired on May 9 after the Leafs were again knocked out by the Boston Bruins in a Game 7 in Round 1.

“It was a tremendous honor to coach in Toronto,” Keefe said earlier this week, per NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale. “Just to coach the minor league team was a big deal because I grew up in the area, in Brampton, Ontario. I had a chance to coach professional hockey in, essentially, my hometown, raise my kids. We spent nine years there and it was an incredible opportunity for me and my parents.”

Despite a difficult playoff showing, Keefe was extremely effective with the Leafs. The 44-year-old went 212-97-40 in the regular season in what was his first coaching job in the NHL, helping Toronto win the division in 2020-21.

That success didn’t translate to the playoffs, though, with Keefe going 16-21 in his tenure. And he’ll be hoping for better postseason luck with a Devils team that has high expectations in 2024-25.

Sheldon Keefe looking for better fortune with Devils

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe speaks to the media after being defeated by the Boston Bruins in game seven of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden. Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

New Jersey has already gotten off to a phenomenal start, shellacking the Buffalo Sabres in back-to-back games in the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia to begin the season 2-0. That has the Devils in first place in the Metropolitan Division, a place they would love to stay all campaign long.

For Keefe, coaching against a former NHL team will be a first.

“I don’t know if it will be an emotional night because I’ve never coached against a team that I’ve been associated with in the past,” Keefe admitted, per Morreale. “I like to believe that I’m focused and content enough with where I’m at that I’m not too concerned about anything else outside of the task of competing against one of the league’s top teams.”

The Leafs lost their first game of the season to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night, and it’ll be a quick turnaround for the Auston Matthews-led club.

It’ll be intriguing to see how Keefe fares in his first season in Newark, but it’s very likely that both his Devils and the Leafs will qualify for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Puck drop between the two Eastern Conference powerhouses is set for just past 7 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on NHL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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