The New Jersey Devils made official on Thursday the hiring of Sheldon Keefe as the team’s next head coach. The former Toronto Maple Leafs bench boss was high on the Devils list as Devils’ GM Tom Fitzgerald said in a statement, “Sheldon jumped to the top of my list when he became available, and I was thrilled when he agreed to be a part of what we are building here.”
Related: New Jersey Devils Name Sheldon Keefe Their New Head Coach
Keefe gets a four-year deal that will void the extension Toronto was required to pay when they released him this off-season but his new deal hadn’t kicked in yet.
As per Pierre LeBrun, “Of note with NJ making the Sheldon Keefe hire official, the Leafs are 100 percent off the hook financially” He adds, “Keefe’s 2-year extension with the Leafs was ripped up as part of the Devils giving him a fresh, 4-year deal which pays more. Leafs won’t owe anything as part of it all.”
Maple Leafs Off the Hook
This is a significant off-ice victory for the Leafs, as they were on track to pay two coaches for a full two seasons. Keefe and Berube would have remained on the payroll if Keefe had not accepted the job in Jersey, where his raise nullified his extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Keefe worked with a talented roster including Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares. He’ll now work with another young team with elite talent like Jack and Luke Hughes, and Nico Hischier. Keefe said it was the prospect of working with such strong young players that drew him to the job. The fact he received a raise and a four-year deal also helped.
Otherwise, he would have stayed at home with his family and collected a cheque from the Maple Leafs for the next two seasons.
Also with the Maple Leafs, it is expected that Marc Savard will join Berube’s coaching staff. Savard and the Calgary Flames agreed to mutually part ways on Wednesday. He was an assistant coach with the Flames.
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