Devils expected to have interest in ex-Leafs coach Keefe

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun believes the New Jersey Devils will have interest in interviewing Sheldon Keefe as part of their ongoing coaching search.

Keefe was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday after four seasons with the team. He was previously set to enter the first of a two-year extension, signed with the team last August, next season.

Keefe ended his Leafs tenure with an overall mark of 212-97-40 (.633) in regular-season action, but 16-21 (.432) in the playoffs and winning just one series in five years.

"I didn't get it done in the playoffs," Keefe said in a video posted to social media Thursday. "I didn't push our team over the line and deliver. I accept responsibility for that. No excuses. That's the job. I didn't get it done. That's the reality of the business and I accept it."

The Devils fired head coach Lindy Ruff in early March during his fourth season behind the New Jersey bench and replaced him with Travis Green on an interim basis. Green is expected to join the Ottawa Senators as their next head coach while Ruff will make his second coaching stint with the Buffalo Sabres next season. 

After making the playoffs for the first time since 2018 last season, the Devils were expected to be a postseason contender once again in 2023-24, but got off to a slow start and eventually finished seventh in the Metropolitan Division with a 39-39-5 record.