New Jersey Devils Hire Sheldon Keefe As New Head Coach

New Jersey Devils Hire Sheldon Keefe As New Head Coach

Former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe wasn’t out of a job for long, as the New Jersey Devils are set to introduce him as their new bench boss.

According to reports, Keefe will join the Devils on a 4 year deal, replacing Lindy Ruff who will coach next season in Buffalo, and interim head coach Travis Green who was hired by the Ottawa Senators.

After spending parts of 5 seasons with the Maple Leafs, Keefe joins a Devils squad loaded with young talent, which has failed to turn their potential into postseason success. During his time in Toronto, the 43 year old amassed a 212-97-40 record behind the bench.

New Jersey has had an uneven showing over the past 3 seasons. The club posted a merger 63 points in 2021-22 before exploding for 112pts the following year. Unfortunately that success was short lived as the club fell back to earth in 2023-24, securing only 81 points and once again missing the playoffs.

The Devils will hope that Keefe’s track record of developing young players will pay dividends for the franchise after winning 5 straight CCHL championships and a Calder Cup during his rise through he coaching ranks.

New Jersey is expected to make the announcement official on Thursday, May 23rd.

Photo: TheAHL. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.