Sheldon Keefe: ‘Nothing but love, respect’ for Maple Leafs

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Sheldon Keefe’s class following his departure from the Maple Leafs wasn’t a one-off.

You will recall that when the Leafs fired Keefe on May 9, he filmed a video on the shores of Lake Ontario, later posting it to X, in which he thanked the Leafs organization for giving him the opportunity to coach in the National Hockey League and took responsibility for failing to guide the club to a deep playoff run.

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On Thursday in Newark, hours ahead of the first meeting between his new team, the New Jersey Devils, and his old one, the Leafs, Keefe again took the high road.

He was not out of work for long, as he was hired by the Devils on May 23, a few days after the Leafs named Craig Berube as his replacement.

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“I got nothing but love and respect to the people on the other side,” Keefe told media at the Prudential Center. “I leave Toronto disappointed that I was not able to help them push through in the playoffs, but I do think the team is in a really good place. Love the moves that Tree (general manager Brad Treliving) made in the off-season. I think the team is as good as it has ever been and wish them nothing but the best.”

Of course, that does not apply to Thursday night, which marks the Devils home opener after they beat the Buffalo Sabres in pair of games last week in Prague to open the 2024-25 NHL regular season.

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The Leafs arrived in town in the early morning hours after failing to score in their season opener in Montreal, losing 1-0 to the Canadiens, and did not have a morning skate nor early availability.

Keefe did a lot of regular-season good with the Leafs after he was promoted from the Toronto Marlies to take over as head coach upon the firing of Mike Babcock in 2019, compiling a record of 212-97-40.

That never translated to the playoffs, as the Leafs advanced to the second round only once under Keefe. After the Boston Bruins beat the Leafs in seven games in the first round last spring, Treliving fired Keefe less than a week later.

On Thursday morning, Keefe was anticipating coaching against a team he had previously been in charge of.

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“I don’t know what to make of it,” Keefe said. “I’ve never been in this situation before. We’ll see when we get out there and the game gets going.

“It’s going to be strange to be on the other side. But for us, it’s our home opener, it’s my first time in front of the Devils fans. In that sense, I’m more focused on that.

“It’s a little bizarre that the Leafs are coming in here (so early in the season), but we’ve got a lot to prepare for because it’s a very good team to play against.

“I’m on the other side now and getting a sense of what other teams have had to contend with in dealing with what has been a top-five or top-10 team in the regular season over the last number of years, that’s what my focus is on.”

The Leafs will be back in Newark for another meeting on Dec. 10.

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Keefe will return to Toronto with the Devils for the club’s lone visit of the season to Scotiabank Arena on Jan. 16.

Keefe watched the Leafs game in Montreal on TV.

“Quite honestly, there are a lot of similarities in how both teams want to play and things we have been trying to establish and things we did establish when we were there,” Keefe said. “In terms of structure, it’s pretty similar. There are some differences in the neutral zone and the defensive zone but offensively, it’s a lot of what you would expect.”

How was Keefe going to go about defending against Leafs captain Auston Matthews?

“Keep the puck away from him, make him defend, minimize your mistakes and get some love from the cross bars,” Keefe said with a smile.

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X: @koshtorontosun

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