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)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Sheldon Keefe is being hired as the coach of the New Jersey Devils, less than two weeks after he was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
A source close to the franchise confirmed the hiring in a telephone call with The Associated Press, adding the official announcement will be made on Thursday.
Keefe is the Devils’ fifth coach since 2019 and 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 Keefe’s second head-coaching job in the NHL 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.
Keefe, 43, will now be tasked with trying to get New Jersey back into the postseason. The Devils, with the sixth-worst save percentage in the league, could not outscore their problems to make it this year after reaching the second round in 2023.
Ruff had led the Devils to a franchise-record 112 points in 2022-23, a 49-point improvement from the previous year. They finished 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.
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