Sheldon Keefe arrives in New Jersey with the kind of résumé that keeps people leaning in, even while the questions keep piling up.
He built his reputation the hard way, winning a Calder Cup with the Toronto Marlies in 2017-18 and emerging as one of the more coveted young coaches around. Toronto kept him in the minors for another year and a half before he finally took over for Mike Babcock, and once he got the job, the Maple Leafs mostly did one thing under Keefe: win in the regular season.
Their offense stayed near the top of the league for much of his time there, but the playoff results never matched the production. Toronto dropped four of five opening-round series, and by the end, the organization had seen enough.
His final year with the Leafs brought a .622 winning percentage, the lowest mark of his five seasons there, and the team moved on. New Jersey moved fast to grab him, hoping the same offensive spark would translate to the Devils. In his first season behind their bench, the team rebounded and finished third in the Metropolitan Division, but the postseason story stayed the same: another first-round exit.
Now the pressure is rising again.
The Devils missed the playoffs in 2025-26, and the biggest reason was the freak injury that knocked Jack Hughes out of the lineup. During that stretch, New Jersey went 8-13-0, a slide that changed the shape of the season. The hope in New Jersey is simple enough: a healthy Hughes gives the Devils a real shot to get back into the playoff mix.
But if the start is slow, Sheldon Keefe’s future is going to become a major talking point fast.
With Hughes back and Luke Evangelista added to help the top six, New Jersey has enough on paper to expect the offense to move. That’s been Keefe’s calling card before, and it’s the reason the Devils believed in him in the first place. The problem is that patience tends to disappear when the results don’t follow.
If 2026-27 goes sideways, the excuses won’t buy much. Keefe’s momentum as a head coach has already started to fade, and the danger now is that the shine from his AHL championship pedigree keeps slipping away. The last time he reached the third round of the playoffs in any league was the 2018-19 season.
There aren’t many obvious fixes beyond a major swing like a Quinn Hughes trade, or waiting to see if he reaches free agency next offseason. Keefe might not get that long if the Devils stumble. And if New Jersey finishes the year and still bows out early, it could make sense for Tom Fitzgerald to look for a new coach to help usher in the Hughes Brothers era in New Jersey.
If the Devils decide to change course, John Tortorella remains a possibility for The Rock. Bruce Cassidy is another name still out there if New Jersey wants a proven long-term option.
In Other News...
Devils Just Got Linked To A Goalie Upgrade Fans Will Debate
Connor Hellebuycks public trade request has instantly turned one of the NHLs biggest goalie questions into a fresh round of speculation, and the Devils are already getting pulled into the conversation. Any time a proven No. 1 becomes available, New Jersey is bound to be mentioned, especially with a roster built to push for more and a fan base that knows how much elite goaltending can matter when the games get tight.
A hypothetical framework has already surfaced that would send Hellebuyck to New Jersey in exchange for several players and a first-round pick, which is enough to spark debate even before anything real develops. For now, though, there is no sign the Devils and Jets have actually talked, and no indication a deal is close, so this remains the kind of rumor that says as much about the market for top goalies as it does about New Jerseys intentions. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Face A Dawson Mercer Decision That Could Get Complicated
The Devils have some contract math to sort through over the next year, and Dawson Mercer sits near the center of it. Under the NHLs new Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams can hand out eight-year deals only until Sept. 16, 2026, which means the window for locking in certain core players is narrower than it used to be. New Jersey also has nine players on track to hit free agency in 2027, so the front office has a real incentive to identify who belongs in the long-term group before the deadline arrives.
Mercer is an obvious name to watch because he has been part of the Devils since 2021-22 and has shown enough talent to stay in the conversation, even if his production has not always been steady. The upcoming season could matter as much for evaluation as it does for results, with New Jersey likely wanting a clearer read on whether he is the kind of player worth committing to on a long deal. If Mercer takes a step, the Devils choice gets simpler, but if the inconsistency lingers, the decision could become a lot more complicated. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Suddenly Linked To A Goalie Move Fans Can't Ignore
The conversation around Connor Hellebuyck has widened beyond Winnipeg and now includes several contenders that would feel the ripple effects if the Jets ever decided to move their star goalie. Among the clubs mentioned are Buffalo, Carolina and New Jersey, with the discussion centered on what kind of return could justify dealing a player of that caliber, including prospects and draft capital. It is the sort of offseason chatter that starts as speculation and quickly becomes a leaguewide talking point once a name that big is in play.
For the Devils, the interest is obvious because goaltending is one of the few areas that can reshape a season in a hurry, and any plausible path to upgrading there will draw attention. The broader analysis from Murat Ates and Anthony Di Marco does not point to a deal as imminent, but it does put New Jersey in the same conversation as some of the other teams that would be watching closely if Winnipeg ever seriously entertained offers. For now, it is more a map of possibilities than a deal on the horizon, which is enough to keep Devils fans reading every twist. [Read more 🡒]