The New Jersey Devils’ Wednesday was packed with roster news, but the biggest shift came behind the bench.
Before the coaching announcements, the Devils had already added Anthony Mantha, the top free agent on the market, after a 31-goal season that helped the Pittsburgh Penguins reach the playoffs. They also learned their home opener will come against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, October 1st. Still, the move that could shape the season most was the overhaul of Sheldon Keefe’s staff.
Since Sunny Mehta took over as GM, the Devils have seen Dave Rogalski, Jeremy Colliton, and likely Sergei Brylin move on. That left only Brad Shaw from the previous season, and the organization clearly needed to rebuild the bench around Keefe. On Wednesday, that rebuild came into focus.
The Devils added Ted Donato, the longtime Harvard head coach who spent 22 seasons leading the program before making the jump to New Jersey. Donato has worked with a long list of future NHL players, including Adam Fox, Alex Kerfoot, John Marino, and Alex Killorn.
Bringing in someone with that much head-coaching experience for an assistant role is notable, but it also gives Keefe a seasoned voice to lean on. That kind of position often carries real freedom to help shape late-game strategy and power-play work.
New Jersey also brought in AJ MacLean, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the Syracuse Crunch. The 42-year-old already knows Keefe well, having worked under him with the Toronto Marlies from 2015 to 2020, when Keefe was also in charge of the Maple Leafs. MacLean was also on Keefe’s staff with the Soo Greyhounds.
The most significant change, though, came in goal. After Rogalski had served for years as the Devils’ lead goaltending coach, Mehta went in a new direction by hiring Leo Luongo to oversee all goaltending operations for the organization, with Luongo reporting to Martin Brodeur.
Dan Stewart is joining Luongo in that department. Stewart previously worked as a goaltending coach for the St.
Louis Blues and was in that organization when Brodeur was still there before 2022. He also coached goalies for the Soo Greyhounds, though that stint came after Keefe had already left for Toronto.
For a Devils team expecting a strong season in Mehta’s first year running the show, the staff changes matter. The front office has spent the day making clear that it wants the right people in place as the team pushes toward contention.
In Other News...
Anthony Mantha Joined The Devils With More To Prove Than Expected
Anthony Manthas move to New Jersey came with more questions than the contract number alone might suggest. The Devils brought in the big winger on a two-year, $9.5 million deal, a shorter commitment that reflects both the teams caution and the reality of a market that never seemed to fully line up with his asking price. For a player who had flashed enough finishing ability to draw attention, the fit in New Jersey is about opportunity as much as money.
Mantha still arrives with something to prove after a season that ended without playoff production, a detail that matters for a Devils team trying to add offense without losing flexibility. Interest from other clubs never developed into the kind of bidding war that might have changed the shape of the deal, and New Jersey clearly saw a chance to buy in without overextending. The next question is whether Mantha can turn that bet into the sort of impact that makes the shorter term look like a bargain. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Fans Can Feel It Sunny Mehta May Not Be Finished
Sunny Mehta has already spent much of the offseason reshaping the Devils, and the early returns suggest he is not done trying to close the gap on the leagues elite. New Jersey has added pieces with an eye on matching up better with teams like the Hurricanes and Capitals, but the front office still appears to be working from a larger checklist than a finished product.
The latest ripple came through a trade that sent Jacob Markstrom out and brought in Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist, both of whom drew strong reactions around the league because of the value they bring beyond the box score. Add in the kind of team-first talk coming from players elsewhere, including Macklin Celebrinis willingness to think about flexibility for the sake of building a contender, and it is easy to see why Devils fans are watching this summer closely for whatever Mehta does next. [Read more 🡒]