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Ex-Maple Leafs bench boss Sheldon Keefe reveals the most important lesson he'll take with him to New Jersey

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Nick Matthews
August 20, 2024 (3:12 PM)

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Photo credit: Yahoo Sports

Former Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe has revealed how he believes his experience in Toronto will affect his new role with the New Jersey Devils.

Sheldon Keefe will begin his next coaching chapter with the New Jersey Devils in the 2024-25 season, following a five-year tenure as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, in which he experienced mixed results. While the Maple Leafs thrived under Keefe in the regular season, they advanced past the first round only once in five postseason attempts.

Keefe appears ready for this new opportunity with the Devils, believing his experience with the Maple Leafs has provided valuable insights on how to obtain success.

''There's nothing that I haven't seen or experienced. And I've seen it at the highest level, perhaps we didn't get deep enough in the playoffs for it to really elevate, but I guess the deeper you go in the playoffs, everyone, no matter where you are, you know, the attention and what have you is going to increase, but it's on an everyday basis in Toronto and I've experienced that.''

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Keefe also discussed how his time in Toronto and the extensive media attention taught him to handle pressure and emphasized his preference for teams well-equipped for playoff success, that have more expectations on them.

''I think the biggest thing is just to remain true to yourself, keep the focus on the things that matter and the things that you can control. So that is the perspective I've gained, which comes through any experience in life, but certainly what I've been through as it relates to the media attention and the expectations that were on the team in Toronto. But the reality is I felt well equipped, even as someone who had never coached in the league for that and simply because everywhere that I've coached, I felt like there's expectations. First of all, I've only ever coached teams with expectations and I love that.''

The Maple Leafs have replaced Sheldon Keefe with Craig Berube as head coach ahead of the 2024-25 season. Berube's approach will differ from Keefe's, as he brings a more old-school style of coaching and aims to instill greater discipline in a Maple Leafs team that has struggled with playoff success in recent years.

Source: The Hockey News'There's Nothing I Haven't Seen Or Experienced': Devils Head Coach Sheldon Keefe Reveals What He Learned About Himself During His Time Coaching the Maple Leafs

Previously on MapleLeafsDaily

Former Maple Leafs coach reveals why Craig Berube gets his seal of approval

Craig Berube reveals the real reason the Maple Leafs hired Marc Savard

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20 AOUT \| 1952 ANSWERS Ex-Maple Leafs bench boss Sheldon Keefe reveals the most important lesson he'll take with him to New Jersey Will Sheldon Keefe be more successful with the Devils than he was with the Maple Leafs?
Yes	780	40 %
No	960	49.2 %
Unsure	212	10.9 %
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