Another word on Sheldon Keefe

The Devils' roster is perfectly suited for his style of coaching. I shared some thoughts on why.

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A few more thoughts on Sheldon Keefe, who continues to feel like a perfect fit for the New Jersey Devils:

Winning pucks back

Keefe is a very modern coach. He wants his team to have the puck and he wants them to get it back as soon as they lose it.

That may sound obvious – every coach wants their team to have possession – but the way Keefe goes about regaining pucks is different than others.

He doesn’t have his players back up, clog up the neutral zone, and wait for a mistake. He doesn’t have his guys fall into a shell in the defensive zone and sit on their hands until there’s an opportunity to pounce on a rebound and scoop it up.

He wants his players to apply pressure in the opposite third of the ice and take it back. That shows in the numbers, too.

Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Nick Robertson ranked top-50 among forwards in takeaways per 60 minutes this past season.

Moving down the list a little further, Tyler Bertuzzi and Matthew Knies also cracked the top-70. It’s not a coincidence one team had six of the top-70 forwards in takeaway rate. It’s systematic and it’s coached.

I think Keefe is going to have a field day with the personnel the Devils have.

Jack Hughes is a pickpocket wizard who steals pucks in the blink of an eye. Nico Hischier is damn good at it, too.

Beyond those two, the Devils have a nice mix of slick takeaway artists and heavy puck hounds – Jesper Bratt, Ondrej Palat, Dawson Mercer, Erik Haula, etc. – who are more than capable of pressuring high up the ice, getting bodies on opponents, and pushing to get the puck back immediately.

I would not be the least bit surprised if a handful of Devils see their takeaway numbers soar under Keefe.

Yes, the Devils will want to be good defending in-zone as well. But that isn’t as important when you can pressure high and end a lot of opposing possessions well before they ever extend to your side of the ice.

Christmas came early for Keefe