After talking with different head coach candidates such as Jay Woodcroft and Todd McLellan, the New Jersey Devils officially found there guy. In a formal announcement last week, followed by an introductory press conference on Tuesday, Sheldon Keefe is officially the Devils new head coach.
Keefe will be under contract with the Devils for the next four years and will look to spearhead this Devils group to taking the next steps. After being fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs, you wondered how long it would be until he found his way behind the bench. When the Devils came calling, it was hard for him to say no. He has the right approach and level of excitement you want to see and here’s what he said about the opportunity, “To have the chance to lead this young, dynamic team and to see the potential that can still be unlocked is all very attractive for me. I know this organization has a great history of winning and I look forward to getting started to work on leading them back to that level.”
After a disappointing season in 2023-24, the Devils can hit the reset button and have a new bench boss. With this roster ready to compete now, is Keefe the right man for the job?
Success Everywhere He Has Gone
The biggest knock anyone can say about Keefe is the playoff failures for the Maple Leafs. Sure, you can blame him, but only to a certain point. The criticism towards the players and that group of guys is warranted. Also, those playoff failures should not dictate whether Keefe is a good coach or not because he is in fact a good coach behind the bench.
Keefe did well with the Toronto Marlies (AHL affiliate of the Maple Leafs) and won the Calder Cup in 2018. He was then promoted to the Maple Leafs and when he took over, the Maple Leafs were still a young team. Success became immediate for Keefe, as he had the Maple Leafs reach the postseason five years in a row. Also, the Maple Leafs had three-straight 100 point seasons while Keefe, himself, became the third-fastest coach to reach 200 wins.
Despite winning only one round in his tenure, the team was a consistent playoff team and you knew would always punch their ticket. Why does this pertain to the Devils? Well, since losing to the Los Angeles Kings in 2012, they’ve made the postseason twice and have won one round. With a roster like this that can compete, being a consistent playoff team is important. They’ve tasted the postseason and they want more and Keefe should be the guy that can bring them more.
You can always point to the high caliber players on the roster that pave the way, such as Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner. The Devils have that in the room and locked up for the majority of this decade. As a team and a system the Maple Leafs were good. That will have benefits, as the Devils have a deeper roster and skillful players at his disposal.
Leafs’ System was Effective
All the playoff appearances happened for a reason, as the Maple Leafs were a good hockey team. Over the last three seasons, they showed how strong they are from an offensive standpoint.
Under Keefe, over the last three seasons, the Maple Leafs had an expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) of 53.38 at five-on-five. This number ranked in the 79th percentile of all coaches to coach at least one game from 2021-24 and ninth among coaches who coached at least 82 games since 2021. This shows that the Leafs both excelled at getting good quality on net, and limiting quality against their own net (65th percentile in expected goals against per 60 minutes).
Not to mention, the power play was always really strong under Keefe (seventh in power play goals per 60 minutes since 2021) and the penalty kill was no slouch either (66th percentile in goals against per 60 minutes since 2021).
Despite not punching a ticket to the postseason, the Devils were still a strong team at five-on-five. They finished seventh in CF%, fourth in expected goals for (xGF), and 14th in expected goals against (xGA). With the personnel and depth on the roster, Keefe should be able to come in and thrive. Especially given his previous success, as well as the fact there’s clearly a stable of players who can replicate the way Keefe wants to play. It will all come down if the Devils are able to address the burden in between the pipes.
Devils Are in a Good Spot
This was a desirable job and for a good reason. The Devils have a roster that is ready to win and compete now. As for Keefe, he has the tools to work with at his disposal and those tools should thrive in his system. Hopefully, the regular season success Keefe has experienced continues elsewhere and finally translates into playoff success.