New Jersey Devils hire former Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe

new jersey devils hire former maple leafs coach sheldon keefe

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe speaks to the media at an end of season press conference in Toronto Monday, May 6, 2024. The Maple Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup NHL hockey playoffs. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Less than two weeks after being fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sheldon Keefe has been hired by the New Jersey Devils and given the task of turning a young team led by a superstar forward into a Stanley Cup contender.

Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald announced the hiring on Thursday, saying Keefe would be introduced at a news conference on Tuesday.

“This was an invigorating process for me, having met with many qualified candidates and hearing how attractive this position was to them,” Fitzgerald said. “Sheldon jumped to the top of my list when he became available, and I was thrilled when he agreed to be a part of what we are building here. He is an excellent communicator, believes in collaboration and will take what he has learned previously to make this team a Stanley Cup contender."

new jersey devils hire former maple leafs coach sheldon keefe

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe speaks to the media at an end of season press conference in Toronto Monday, May 6, 2024. The Maple Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup NHL hockey playoffs. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

In Toronto, Keefe had Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to lead the team to five consecutive playoff berths. New Jersey has young forwards Jack Hughes and Nico Hischer, both No. 1 overall draft picks.

“This is an exciting time, and I’m honored to be a member of the Devils’ organization,” Keefe said in a statement. “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."

new jersey devils hire former maple leafs coach sheldon keefe

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, top right, Martin Jones (31) and Pontus Holmberg (29) prepare to shake hands with the Boston Bruins after losing in overtime during Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Keefe is the Devils’ fifth coach since 2019 and the third since March. They fired Lindy Ruff late in the season, replaced him on an interim basis with Travis Green and missed the playoffs anyway. Green left to coach the Ottawa Senators.

This is the second head coaching job in the NHL for the 43-year-old after spending the past four-plus seasons with Toronto, making the playoffs each time but winning just one series in the process. That led the Leafs to seek a new voice and hire Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube.

The Devils finished with the sixth-worst save percentage in the league and could not outscore their problems. The step back came a year after reaching the second round of the playoffs in 2023.

New Jersey posted a 38-39-5 record this past season, a 31-point drop from the previous one. They had several injuries, with the biggest being a torn pectoral muscle that limited defenseman Dougie Hamilton to 20 games. Defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler also missed time with a broken foot and a concussion. Hughes missed 20 games, while Hischier was out for 11.

new jersey devils hire former maple leafs coach sheldon keefe

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe talks to players on the bench during a timeout during the third period of Game 3 of the team's NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins in Toronto on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

New Jersey also lost key faceoff man Michael McLeod in February after he was indicted in Canada on charges related to a sexual assault case in 2018.

Goaltending was the team's major problem last year as Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid were inconsistent. New Jersey got help late when it acquired Jake Allen at the trade deadline, but the netminding remains an issue heading into next season.

Besides Hughes (27 goals, 47 assists) and Hischier (27-40), the Devils' roster includes forward Jesper Bratt (27-56) and Timo Meier (28-24) up front. Defenseman Luke Hughes — Jack's brother — had a franchise-record 47 points (9-38) in his rookie season.

Ruff led the Devils to a franchise-record 112 points in 2022-23, a 49-point improvement from the previous year. They finished second in the Metropolitan Division riding a career-best season by Jack Hughes. New Jersey rallied to beat the Rangers in seven games in the opening round and lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in five in the second round.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

OTHER NEWS

14 minutes ago

Mark Cuban offloads 14 NFTs from his collection in two days

14 minutes ago

Rashee Rice on maturity: 'This is a step in a better direction for me'

14 minutes ago

Oleksandr Usyk no longer undisputed champion just a month after beating Tyson Fury

14 minutes ago

Julian Assange formally admits spying charge as part of a plea deal with US authorities

14 minutes ago

The Continuous Hockey Hall of Fame Snub of Former Maple Leafs Forward Alex Mogilny is Starting to Get Ridiculous

17 minutes ago

Kelowna city manager earned $100K more than B.C. premier in 2023

20 minutes ago

Higher ed: Top CUNY official gets eye-popping 16% pay bump, bringing salary to over $320K

20 minutes ago

Sydney’s Luna Park listed for sale, tipped to fetch $70m price tag

20 minutes ago

LeBron James And Anthony Davis Want The Lakers To Go "All-In" On Another Superstar

20 minutes ago

Kane on England - Slovenia and Bayern Munich future

20 minutes ago

Government lays foundation for social housing upswing

20 minutes ago

Glastonbury weather forecast: Festival to be dry says Met Office - but it still may rain

20 minutes ago

Fatima Payman avoids expulsion from Labor Party

20 minutes ago

Alimentation Couche-Tard earnings drop as consumers watch spending

20 minutes ago

Ravens TE says he's a 'chess piece,' will play all over field

20 minutes ago

PFF ranks Falcons' defensive line among the worst in NFL

20 minutes ago

England booed after advancing at Euro 2024

22 minutes ago

Canada beat 10-man Peru 1-0 to boost Copa America knockout stage hopes

22 minutes ago

Keppel Infrastructure Trust unit secures $612.5 million green loan

27 minutes ago

American woman goes missing while attending yoga retreat in the Bahamas

27 minutes ago

Woman pleads guilty to murder of Hollywood consultant and social justice advocate

27 minutes ago

BHP shares fall on decarbonisation update

27 minutes ago

When was the first Black Barbie made? Later than you think, as we learn in this new Netflix documentary

27 minutes ago

There may be a deeper meaning to Andy Petree's sudden retirement

27 minutes ago

New York judge lifts parts of Donald Trump's gag order ahead of presidential debate

27 minutes ago

Jonathan Jackson is returning to “General Hospital” as Lucky Spencer

27 minutes ago

AMD: ‘We are running as fast as we possibly can’

27 minutes ago

This is Fernando Alonso’s ‘extreme’ Aston Martin: the V12, manual-only Valiant

27 minutes ago

Moses injury scare forces crucial Blues switch

27 minutes ago

Apartment, townhouse regulators to face new crackdown

27 minutes ago

How The 1958 Bonneville Saved Pontiac From Chevrolet

27 minutes ago

T20 World Cup semi-finals - schedule, key players & how to follow

27 minutes ago

Kylian Mbappe makes goalscoring return to France line-up but draw could prove costly

30 minutes ago

Stanley Cup fun facts: Height, weight, names and more

30 minutes ago

Multiple people ID'd teen in shooting of retired CPD officer, 2nd attacker sought, prosecutors say

31 minutes ago

Urgent need to investigate Trump’s business assets in Scotland, say Greens

31 minutes ago

Joe Wicks and Trinny Woodall to join BBC Dragons' Den panel in shake-up

31 minutes ago

OpenAI to cut access to tools for developers in China and other regions, Chinese state media says

31 minutes ago

Conor Gallagher the fretful fall guy in England’s midfield tragedy

31 minutes ago

William grins at King's Pokemon joke