The Sheldon Keefe Era in New Jersey is Off to a Rough Start and the ex-Leafs Coach Isn't Happy
Sheldon Keefe landed on his feet after being fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs, but his tenure with the New Jersey Devils is off to a very rough start.
Sheldon Keefe was a very successful regular season coach during his five seasons with the Maple Leafs, setting a franchise record with 115 points during the 2021-22 season. Over his five seasons in Toronto, Keefe became the best coach in franchise history in terms of points percentage, amassing a .665 points percentage and a record of 212-97-40 through 349 games. He also became the fastest Maple Leafs coach to reach 100 wins.
Unfortunately, his lack of playoff success led to him being fired in May of this year and replaced by Craig Berube. However, it didn't take long for him to land a new job with the New Jersey Devils.
While he was expected to help the Devils rebound from a poor 2023-24 season, things have not gotten off to a good start. During the Devils' pre-season game against the New York Islanders Friday night, Keefe berated his team during a tv timeout while they were losing 5-1. His animated speech didn't do much to inspire the Devils as they went on to lose by the same score.
Through four pre-season games as the Devils' new head coach, Keefe is 0-4-0 with a -11 goal differential. There is obviously a learning curve any time a new coach comes into a new organization, but no one thought the Devils would struggle this much to begin his tenure.
The pre-season doesn't matter, but if the Devils struggle to start the regular season, Keefe will quickly be under some major scrutiny from Devils fans while Leafs fans will likely have no qualms with pointing the finger and say "I told you so".
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 28 | 1985 ANSWERS The Sheldon Keefe Era in New Jersey is Off to a Rough Start and the ex-Leafs Coach Isn't Happy Are you surprised the Devils are struggling so much under Sheldon Keefe? | ||
| Yes | 595 | 30 % |
| No | 1390 | 70 % |
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