New Jersey Devils’ newly appointed coach Sheldon Keefe had a challenging time leading up to his departure from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Keefe was relieved of his duties by the Leafs earlier this month.
In a phone interview with the Toronto Star, Keefe revealed a strong gut feeling about being dismissed and saw it coming. The decision was made after the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Bruins.
Sheldon Keefe has now moved on and is looking forward to having a fresh start with a different organizationline combinations winnipeg jets. Despite some established coaches throwing shade at the Maple Leafs’ job in messages to Keefe, he remains grateful for the opportunity to serve the club.
He said (via Toronto Star):
“It was tremendous honour to coach the Maple Leafs,” Keefe said. “There’s a lot that goes into that. I’ve had a number of well-established coaches in the league reach out to say that I should be happy now that I get to coach in the real NHL. Toronto is quite unique … it’s not like the rest of the league.”
Keefe took a moment by Lake Ontario to express his gratitude to the players, organization, and fans for their support during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs as their coach for five seasons.
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The New Jersey Devils announced about a week ago that Sheldon Keefe would take over as coach after Lindy Ruff was fired mid-season after the team failed to make the playoffs. On Tuesday, GM Tom Fitzgerald officially introduced Keefe as the fresh face behind the Devils’ coaching reigns.
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