Sheldon Keefe admits he doesn’t quite know what to expect when his new team (the New Jersey Devils) faces his old team (the Toronto Maple Leafs) on Thursday night in Newark, N.J.
“I mean, I don’t know what to make of it. I’ve never been here before,” said Keefe, who began his NHL coach career with the Leafs, after coaching the minor-league Toronto Marlies to an American Hockey League championship. “But what does it mean to me? Not a lot, to be honest.”
Keefe was behind Toronto’s bench from November 2019 (when Mike Babcock was fired) until this past May, when the Leafs relieved the 44-year-old of his duties. He wasn’t out of work for long, hired by the Devils less than two weeks later.
Keefe insisted there was no bad blood between himself and his old club, only love and respect for a team for which he posted a 212-97-40 regular-season record, but won only a single playoff round in five appearances.
“For us, it’s our home opener, it’s my first time in front of Devils fans,” he said. “In that sense, I’m more focused on that.”
Keefe’s players aren’t buying it.
“We know this is an emotional game for him, obviously, and we all want to help him get that win,” said forward Jesper Bratt, while Nico Hischier acknowledged there was some “extra motivation” in the room for their coach.
Keefe, however, insists it’s all about the hockey, even cracking a joke about the Leafs-Devils game from November 2022, when the home team had three goals disallowed, prompting Devils fans to litter the ice with debris amid the loss.
“I’m excited here for tonight, to get a taste of it on this side,” he said, “And hopefully get through without them throwing anything at us like they did a few years ago.”