The Devils’ coaching overhaul didn’t stop with the front office shakeup. Sunny Mehta replacing Tom Fitzgerald as general manager set the stage, but the bigger ripple came behind the bench, where Sheldon Keefe stayed on as head coach and most of the staff was turned over around him.
One of the most notable exits was Jeremy Colliton. The reasons for his departure after one season in New Jersey aren’t clear, though it sounds like he has moved into a job outside hockey.
That left the Devils moving quickly to fill out the staff, with Brad Shaw the lone holdover among the key assistants. New hires brought in a different approach, including a new plan for goaltending coaching and development, and the overall picture points toward a staff built to help the Devils reset.
The name that drew the most attention was Ted Donato. After 22 seasons as Harvard’s head coach, he’s now stepping into an assistant role with the Devils, a move that stands out on its own. It’s not every day a long-tenured college head coach leaves that kind of security for a job at the next level, but with NIL and the transfer portal changing the college landscape, that shift makes some sense.
Donato arrives with a long track record in both coaching and development, and that gives Keefe another experienced voice in the room. He can be a sounding board, and if the Devils ever need an interim option, he’s at least part of that conversation, along with Shaw. But the real intrigue is what Donato can do to sharpen what Keefe already has in place, especially on the power play.
That’s where the fit gets interesting. Last season wasn’t a great coaching year, even if plenty of the chaos wasn’t controllable.
Jack Hughes’ injury, the Quinn Hughes trade debacle, Dougie Hamilton’s ill-advised benching and constant trade rumors, Simon Nemec’s final season in New Jersey, Jacob Markstrom’s ineffectiveness, and a long list of injuries - especially Brett Pesce - made life miserable. Still, the product on the ice showed that all of it bled into the team’s performance, and that part falls on the coaching staff to manage.
Donato spent 22 years coaching at Harvard, where there’s no shortage of pressure outside the rink to win and keep things steady. That background should help him handle the kind of season-long turbulence the Devils dealt with.
His most important task in New Jersey looks to be the power play, and that’s where his résumé jumps off the page. Harvard’s man advantage was above 22% in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, and his recent work with Sean Farrell and Matthew Coronato is a useful example of how he likes to operate. Farrell drove the play, Coronato finished it.
That kind of structure maps neatly onto the Devils. Jack Hughes is the driver, and he’s going to be that as long as he’s in red and black.
The difference is that Donato’s power play is built on movement, while New Jersey’s unit has drawn criticism for looking too static around Hughes. Hughes keeps moving.
The rest of PP1 often waits for him to make the next play. Donato won’t want that.
For the finishers, Anthony Mantha is the most intriguing option. The newly signed forward scored 33 goals with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, and he brings the kind of big-bodied scoring profile that fits a power-play role.
His shot matters, but so does his positioning. He took 65 shots from high-danger areas last season, according to NHL EDGE stats, more than twice the league average.
Donato’s zone-entry ideas should also help in an area where the Devils were especially weak last season. Jesper Bratt, who can hold the puck when Hughes doesn’t, and Nico Hischier should both benefit from that kind of structure, on the power play and at even strength.
The bottom line is simple: Donato gives the Devils a system that can complement what Keefe already has. If it works the way it should, New Jersey’s power play can stay among the league’s best and, just as importantly, keep that level going over the course of the season.
In Other News...
Devils Prospect Faces A Big Next Step With Roster Implications
Samu Salminens decision not to return to college hockey has turned his summer into a real crossroads in the Devils system. The 22-year-old forward now has to sort through his next professional move, and for New Jersey, that kind of choice matters because every step a prospect takes starts to shape the organizations roster picture and contract math.
Bill Dalys latest comments only add to the broader backdrop, with the league still moving toward awarding a 33rd franchise in Texas if the remaining approvals come through. For the Devils, though, the more immediate question is what Salminen does next and whether he can turn this moment into a path that keeps him on the rise in the organization. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Just Got A Reminder Of What Raises Their Ceiling
The NHLs latest center rankings offered a neat reminder of why the Devils believe their ceiling looks so much higher than it did a few years ago. Jack Hughes landing at 10th and Nico Hischier at 15th put New Jersey in rare company, with only the Oilers also boasting two centers on the list. For a team still trying to turn promise into consistent contention, that kind of recognition matters because it speaks to the foundation in the middle of the ice, where games are often won long before they show up on a scoreboard.
Hughes brings the speed and offensive flash that can tilt a matchup in a hurry, while Hischier gives the Devils the steadier two-way center presence every contender needs. Together, they give New Jersey a one-two punch that opposing teams have to account for every night, and that sort of center depth is exactly the trait that can separate a good team from a dangerous one. The rankings do not finish the argument for the Devils, but they do sharpen the question of how far this core can carry them when the rest of the roster catches up. [Read more 🡒]