For the first time since Sheldon Keefe joined in the middle of the 2019 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are receiving a new head coach.Although Keefe is now in New Jersey and is going to win Coach of the Year, Craig Berube is the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Keefe is joining the Devils, who had a disappointing campaign the previous year, in a fantastic scenario with a stacked team.Keefe should lead the Devils to a winning season, in my opinion. They will contend for the metropolitan division and easily unseat one of the Eastern Conference clubs from last season to a postseason position.It was a busy offseason for the Devils. Jacob Markstrom, Paul Cotter, Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon, Stefan Noesen, Tomas Tatar, and Kevin Labanc were able to join them.
The addition of Markstrom to this team was the most significant offseason move. The Devils had trouble between the pipes the previous season. The previous season, they started games with five different goalies. Jake Allen, Kaapo Kahkonen, Vitek Vanecek, Niko Daws, and Akira Schmid. Allen was the best option available to them, thus they acquired him at the deadline to strengthen the roster. His save percentage of.900, 1.91 goals saved above expectation, and -1.87 goals saved above average were all recorded during his 13 appearances with New Jersey (all advanced metrics courtesy of Evolving-Hockey.com).
Markstrom gives Allen a supporting role. With Allen as a solid backup and Markstrom playing at a Vezina level for the Flames last season, they have one of the top tandems in the league.Regaining Dougie Hamilton and adding Pesce, Dillon, and Kovacevic bolstered their blue line. Keefe has a powerful blue line teamed with an excellent tandem.
The Devils have strengthened their roster with the addition of forwards, and they are healthy as well. Only Kevin Bahl, Alexander Holtz, Dawson Mercer, Luke Hughes, and Jesper Bratt played all 82 games in the previous season, which was an absolute nightmare. I anticipate a fantastic season from Jack Hughes, who might challenge for the Hart Trophy in addition to strong play from Timo Meier and Nico Hischier for the entire season.The Devils ought to be among the best teams in the Eastern Conference with a healthy roster, much less a healthy forward core.
There was no greater scenario for Sheldon Keefe to enter. Having saying that, Keefe is an excellent regular-season coach. According to NHL.com, he had a regular season record of 212-97-40 in 349 games with the Leafs. To win so many games, you need talent, but you also need to be a skilled coach. Despite my distaste for Keefe because of his failures in the postseason, it’s undeniable that the Leafs were incredibly unlucky in the postseason throughout the majority of his tenure as coach.Since the Jack Adams is a regular-season honour, Sheldon Keefe seems like the best choice. When healthy, this talented team ought to be a cup contender. In just one season, voters will witness Keefe transform this side from a non-playoff squad to a cup contender.
