Sheldon Keefe an excellent fit for the New Jersey Devils

Keefe enjoyed a successful run with the Maple Leafs and has a wealth of experience working with young players, of which the Devils have many.

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The New Jersey Devils have found their coach. After a lengthy search, the organization announced today that they hired Sheldon Keefe as the team’s bench boss.

The two sides agreed to terms on a four-year deal that includes a raise from what the Maple Leafs – the league’s richest team – were previously slated to pay him.

That the Devils gave Keefe the time that they did to figure things out, and made such a financial commitment, shows how badly they wanted him. Understandably so.

Keefe coached the Maple Leafs to a 212-97-40 record spanning five years with the club. That equates to a ridiculously strong .665 points percentage.

The lowest he posted in any season was .622 and the Maple Leafs only once lost more than 21 games in regulation under Keefe. It’s not as if he had one or two great seasons inflate his totals. The Maple Leafs were consistently excellent.

Although the Maple Leafs didn’t find a way to acheive their goals when it mattered most, it’s not as if Keefe and the Leafs were getting outclassed.

They posted a 16-21 playoff record during his tenure and only once was a series lost by more than a game. He finished with exactly one more playoff loss than win on his record all five seasons with the Maple Leafs.

Before his five-year stint with the Leafs, Keefe enjoyed plenty of success working with the Toronto Marlies – where he won an AHL championship – and the Soo Greyhounds (OHL).

His teams have won games in bulk wherever he’s coached and he has a lot of experience working with young players. That should serve him well heading into a job where a lot of the team’s core members – Jesper Bratt (25), Nico Hischier (25), Jack Hughes (23), Dawson Mercer (22), Luke Hughes (20), and Simon Nemec (20), to name a few – are still developing on and off the ice.

Beyond an experienced coach with a good track record at this level, Fitzgerald wanted someone who would be collaborative and use all the departments (sports science, analytics, etc.) the Devils have put together.

Fitzgerald made it very clear that was important to him in his end-of-year availability and doubled down when announcing the hiring of Keefe.