The Devils made contact with Keefe the same day he was let go as head coach of the Maple Leafs.
Sheldon Keefe said he had difficulty sleeping the night before he woke up on May 9 with a pretty strong sense that he was going to be dismissed as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
At that point, it was important for him to get some closure on his tenure. He ventured out to a lake area near his home in Oakville where he recorded a video he posted on X thanking everyone from fans, staff and media for his tenure at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
"I went directly from my meeting with (Maple Leafs GM) Brad Treliving that morning to go down and shoot the video and get my message out. And then from there, I didn't quite know what was going to happen next, quite frankly. It's the first time I've been in a situation where I've been let go and unsure of what was going to come next."
The New Jersey Devils wasted no time.
Sheldon and his wife Jackie went from shooting the video to going for lunch when Treliving called to inform him that the Devils were seeking permission to speak about their head coaching position.
"There wasn't a whole lot of time to process things, but it was very clear that I had to make a decision on whether to engage in a process or take the time to recover and regroup from the situation in Toronto," Keefe said during his introductory news conference in New Jersey on Tuesday.
The Devils exercised patience, understanding that Keefe was going through a lot. Having already interviewed as many as nine candidates, New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald gave Keefe enough time to think about it. That's when he consulted with his family and realized that although he had the luxury of time, he wanted to get back into coaching and accepted the opportunity.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiLwwJ3gfFE[/embed]
"From there, I just kind of left this in his court with his family, knowing that if he wanted this job, this job was his," Fitzgerald said." But I completely understood where he was in this process, and I knew this was a family decision."
Keefe starts with a blank slate in Jersey where he gets to coach a talented group of young players not too dissimilar to what he coached in Toronto. Keefe's accomplishments as a head coach were on the radar of Devils co-owner David Blitzer.
"I remember earlier in the playoffs, like every once in a while when I have something on my mind, I just call Tom at random hours, generally during hockey games, and I called Tom up earlier in the playoffs, and I said, 'Hey, you know, you think there's any shot "that Sheldon Keefe might be available?' And Tom said, "I have absolutely no idea, "but he is on my speed dial "in case it becomes a possibility."
It's clear the Devils waited for Keefe and got their guy in the end. His 212-97-40 winning percentage and track record of regular season success was attractive to New Jersey. They acknowledge his lack of playoff success.
"It's hard," Fitzgerald said. I played in the NHL and only got to the Cup Final once, then I was a cup as an assistant coach. A lot of things have to come together."
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