Former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe is about to embark on his first season as head coach of the New Jersey Devils this season.
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Before training camp opens up in less than a month, he took some time to answer fans’ questions with Devils play-by-play voice Matt Loughlin and was asked the lessons he learned from his five-season tenure with the Leafs that would help him with his second head coaching spot in the NHL.
“There’s nothing that I haven’t seen or experienced. And I’ve seen it at the highest level, perhaps we didn’t get deep enough in the playoffs for it to really elevate, but I guess the deeper you go in the playoffs, everyone, no matter where you are, you know, the attention and what have you is going to increase, but it’s on an everyday basis in Toronto and I’ve experienced that,” Keefe said. “I think the biggest thing is just to remain true to yourself, keep the focus on the things that matter and the things that you can control. So that is the perspective I’ve gained, which comes through any experience in life, but certainly what I’ve been through as it relates to the media attention and the expectations that were on the team in Toronto.
“But the reality is I felt well equipped, even as someone who had never coached in the league for that and simply because everywhere that I’ve coached, I felt like there’s expectations. First of all, I’ve only ever coached teams with expectations and I love that.
Related: NHL Schedules Sheldon Keefe’s New Jersey Devils to Host His Former Toronto Maple Leafs in Their North American Season Opener
Keefe led the Toronto Marlies to a Calder Cup championship in 2018 and when he took over as head coach of the Leafs in 2019, Toronto was and continues to be a team expected to not only make the playoffs but achieve more.
In New Jersey, it won’t be that different. Although the Devils missed out on the postseason, that certainly wasn’t the expectation given their loaded talent with the likes of Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes. The Devils finished with the second-best record in the Metropolitan Division with a 52-22-8 record in 2022-23.
Related: ‘It Kept Coming Back To Craig’: Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving Spoke to ‘Nine Individuals’ in Head Coaching Search Before Hiring Craig Berube
The Maple Leafs dismissed Keefe on May 9 following another playoff exit. Craig Berube was hired a few weeks later as Keefe’s replacement.
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