Devils Should Not Be Opposed to Giving Sheldon Keefe Another Shot – The Hockey Writers – New Jersey Devils

New Jersey Devils fans are (rightfully) impatient. Their failure to reach the postseason means they still have just one single playoff series win in the past 14 seasons.

Given that, there’s no more grace period; they need to win as quickly as possible. The recent addition of general manager Sunny Mehta, who was instrumental in the Florida Panthers’ rebuild, is a great starting point.

The next most important starting point is the direction the organization decides to go for the bench boss. Sheldon Keefe, who has assumed the role for the past two seasons, is still under contract but the prospect of his return remains up in the air:

“I’m sure there’ll be a process here, a chance for discussion, and you know, we’ll see where that goes,” said Keefe. “I don’t have an expectation at this point. I’ll just continue this job, which I’ve been directed to do, which is to get through the season, to have these discussions with the players as you normally would have at the end of the season, approach it like any other, and we’ll see where things go from there.”

From what we’ve seen so far, Mehta carries the conviction and resume for Devils fans to give him their full trust. If he decides to pivot to a different head coach, there’s probably a good reason.

The Case for Keefe

But with that being said, Keefe has not been given the benefit of anything close that remotely resembles a championship-caliber roster in his tenure thus far. Sure, the criticism will always be his inabiity to lead a team past the first round of the playoffs. But the reality is: you have to get there first.

Remarkably, this past season was the first time in 20 years of coaching across various levels that a Keefe-led team failed to reach the postseason. “I’ve never experienced this before,” he said. “It’s embarrassing.”

In his three final seasons as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs (2021-22 – 2023-24), they went 150-67-28 (.669 PTS%). Their 592 5v5 goals in that span were the most in the entire NHL — 24 more than the second-place Colorado Avalanche (568). (via Natural Stat Trick)

With the same coach but different players in the Garden State, two seasons of hockey yielded entirely different results. They had three more regulation losses despite one fewer season — 84-70-10 (.543 PTS%) — and their 285 5v5 goals were 27th in the NHL.

That points to a roster that clearly pivoted away from what made them successful in their franchise record 52-win 2022-23 season. That team succeeded primarily off the rush, but the Devils’ loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in round two caused them to focus more on physicality and less on their speedy identity that helped them achieve a historic 49-point season-to-season turnaround.

While Keefe can only work with what he has, he started to unlock the best of this Devils team post-Olympics. Since Feb. 28, the team finished the season with a 14-8-1 record (.630 PTS%), as their 3.48 goals per 60 minutes (GF/60) was the fifth-best mark in the league. And that was despite still dealing with some key injuries throughout the lineup.

“I think we had a good relationship together in terms of coaching, finding ways to get better, finding ways to score against different teams,” said forward Jesper Bratt. “I think he’s been a good, demanding coach in terms of he expects a lot from his team (…) I still think that the foundation of the team is in a good spot. I think that he as a coach will grow, and I think that we players will grow together with him as well.”

While some attributed the late-season turnaround to simply improved finishing, they actually finished six goals fewer than expected, signaling that the process and chance creation in of itself was much improved. Furthermore, while Jack Hughes was out or severely hindered by his non-hockey hand injury for a good chunk of the season, the Devils were 26-14-2 (.643 PTS%) with a fully-healthy Jack.

“He’s been good for me, good for my game,” said Jack. “You know, obviously a lot of things are up in the air right now, but our relationship’s pretty good. He’s been a good coach for me.”

Jack, who trailed only Connor McDavid in post-Olympic points, is irreplaceable. It’s on the general manager — not the coach — to build a team better able to withstand that sort of absence, but look no further than the back-to-back champ Panthers for how vital a team’s 1C is.

Sans-Aleksander Barkov, the Panthers missed the postseason entirely, finishing 25th in the NHL with three fewer standings points (84) than the Devils (87).

None of this means Keefe is scot-free for the Devils’ shortcomings; he admitted as much after general manager Tom Fitzgerald was fired: “For myself specifically, fundamentally, I believe the coach’s job is to deliver on the vision of the general manager, on people that put you in a position by showing belief in you. So, we’ve fallen short of that, and I take responsibility for that. It’s not a good feeling.”

At exit interviews, he expressed his willingness to return: “I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned a lot about this team, more importantly, and the players within it and where it needs to go. I think I can be a great ally for whoever does come in here. I think I have a good sense of the team and where we need to improve upon (…) I know I’m in a far better position now than I was when I first came in here two seasons ago. To that end, I’m hopeful we’ll have an opportunity.”

Nonetheless, given Keefe’s track record of regular season success and the fact that he started to unlock the best out of a limited roster, a potential return shouldn’t be scoffed at.

“For me personally, [working with Keefe] has been great,” said captain Nico Hischier. “Obviously he has taught me some new things, playing a lot under him, he gives me a lot of responsibiltiy. His door is always open to me.”

Sunny Mehta will speak to media in New Jersey tomorrow (Apr. 21) at 3:00 PM EDT. Stay tuned to The Hockey Writers for any relevant updates.