Devils’ Sheldon Keefe: 'I Don’t Get Involved in Player Personnel Discussions'
New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe does not get involved in player personnel discussions. He says his job is to make the best of what the organization has.
NEWARK, N.J. -- The New Jersey Devils roster will undergo changes this summer, as it always does when a team fails to reach its goal.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald has already re-signed a handful of players, including Kurtis MacDermid, and found his bench boss in Sheldon Keefe.
There is still plenty of work to be done, as Fitzgerald said he would be "big game hunting" for a goaltender to complete his tandem with Jake Allen.
While Fitzgerald was looking for a coach with whom he could collaborate, it does not sound like Keefe will be involved in discussions regarding player personnel.
During a recent interview with Jeff Marek, host of The Jeff Marek Show and 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Keefe explained that, for him, player personnel and "that stuff" sort of becomes secondary.
"Sheldon, there's one NHL coach that I know who, whenever he interviews, his first question is always to his general manager, or potential general manager, is, who's our goaltender? What was your first question to Tom Fitzgerald throughout this process," Marek asked.
"As a coach, for me, the player personnel piece is obviously very important. The players that are here, I'm excited about," Keefe said. "I don't get involved in player personnel discussions or conversations, be it getting involved in the job or being on the job."
The 43-year-old was very clear that his job is "to make the best of what we have."
Keefe will have plenty of talent to work with in New Jersey. Between Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, Jesper Bratt, Simon Nemec, Timo Meier, Luke Hughes, and Nico Hischier, there is no shortage of stars.
"There are tremendous players here, Keefe said. "My job is to make the best of the group that we have here. Tom and his team will be extremely committed to putting the best team possible on the ice."
Fitzgerald used the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline to set the foundation for an active summer. He traded Tyler Toffoli, Colin Miller, Vitek Vanecek, and two picks while acquiring Allen, Kaapo Kahkonen, and three draft picks.
"We looked at this deadline as a transitional deadline," Fitzgerald said back in March. "Moving forward how we can set ourselves up in the off-season cap-wise, grabbing some assets now."
Keefe shared during that interview with Marek that Fitzgerald communicated that improving the goaltending position remains very important, leading the head coach to believe his general manager will continue to be as proactive as he was at the trade deadline.
Some believe coaches are only as good as their goaltenders, and now it is up to Fitzgerald to spend the next couple of months putting together a roster that can compete once the 2024-25 season begins.
