NHL Rumors: Insider speculates Sheldon Keefe's state after sabbatical will affect New Jersey Devils hiring

Sheldon Keefe was fired as Toronto Maple Leafs coach on May 9, 2024, five days after the Boston Bruins eliminated his team from Round 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was reported earlier that the Leafs management would be making major changes to the team if the team didn't make a deep playoff run this season.

In his final press conferece, Sheldon Keefe was uncertain of his future with the Maple Leafs. He said that the NHL is a "results business" and took responsibility for the team's failure in the playoffs.

In the last five playoff seasons, the Leafs had four first round exits. Maple Leafs' most recent first-round exit triggered the front office's 'major changes' plan, and Keefe was shown the door.

TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger, on Jay Onrait's show, JayonSC, discussed Sheldon Keefe's NHL future and addressed rumors linking Keefe and the New Jersey Devils. He said that the New Jersey Devils aren't quite in a position of advantage when it comes to hiring Sheldon Keefe:

"But there's been a few conversations between Tom Fitzgerald and Sheldon Keefe. And I think that again, this is Fitzgerald doing his due diligence, and I wouldn't call Sheldon the front runner just yet. But he's a strong possibility."

Sheldon Keefe released a video on social media captioned, 'Thank you, Leafs nation 💙 ✌' wherein he accepted responsibility for Toronto's struggle in the playoffs during his time and even called his time in Toronto, 'a dream come true for a boy from Brampton.'

In the video, Keefe mentioned that his next steps would be prioritize his personal life and spend time with his family and recharge his batteries. Dreger speculated that Keefe's plan to recuperate, from years of coaching a star-studded team with a passionate fan base but no results, may be difficult to fulfill in a matter of days.

He added that the New Jersey Devils would need assurance that Keefe would be fully committed to coaching in the NHL after returning from his sabbatical. Dreger said:

"You don't recharge your batteries in NHL head coach in a handful of days. So that's what the New Jersey Devils are waiting for is to just make sure that he's in it that he's ready to jump back on an NHL bench. If he is then yeah, he's he's a strong contender."

Sheldon Keefe was fired before a two-year contract extension would have kicked in. Regardless of his coaching status over the next two years, the Toronto Maple Leafs will pay Sheldon Keefe his full salary.

There are currently six vacant head coaching positions in the NHL - Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils. Dreger predicts that Tom Fitzgerald will wait for the head coaching market to become more transparent before making his final decision.

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Craig Button criticized Sheldon Keefe's coaching methods at Toronto Maple Leafs

Before Sheldon Keefe was fired by the Maple Leafs, TSN analyst Craig Button had broken down the flaws in the coaching system at Toronto. Talking about the team's shortcomings under Keefe, Button said:

"When you look at where the Toronto Maple Leafs are - terrible power play, penalty kill wasn't that great."

Button opined that the Leafs' problems stemmed from a coaching-level rather than player-level.

The Leafs had some of the highest scorers in the league this season with Auston Matthews, who won the Rocket Richard Trophy for scoring 69 goals in the regular season, William Nylander (40), John Tavares (29), all three of whom were in the top-50 scorers list. He added:

"Coaches implement their plans. Players are gonna carry out the plans that their coaches implement, that they instill. The players don't go running out there doing their own thing, they don't go rogue. They follow what the coaches do."

Button urged that the Maple Leafs' problem were at the helm, in the coaching department with Keefe and not with players, and said:

"So, when you're not getting the results, who do you look to? It's a coach's job to instill a system of team play that the players can get results from and maximize their abilities. That hasn't happened."