Sunny Mehta, the new general manager of the New Jersey Devils, has many decisions to make. Among the top priorities is deciding if Devils coach Sheldon Keefe is the right person to run the show from the bench. The Devils had a disappointing 2025-26 season. It was the 11th time in 14 seasons that the Devils failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It was also the first time in Keefe’s coaching career that he would not be part of the postseason.
Devils Coach and Staff Needs Full Reign
Credit Image: © Mike Langish/Cal Sport Media
Keefe’s consistency as a coach has followed him his entire career up until this past season. For the first time, he led a team that felt destined to fail since early on. Following the Devils 8-1-0 start, they just fell off mightily. New Jersey could not score five-on-five for much of the season, and losing Jack Hughes to injury did not help.
The Devils could never find their scoring touch, and because of it, they quickly derailed a season that felt promising for the franchise. The lineup lacked depth, which was worsened by injuries and overall lack of production from the top guys for most of the season.
The roster that Keefe was given is not his fault. Tom Fitzgerald was in the hot seat the entire year for his lack of change, and some might wonder what Keefe could have cooked up if he had been given the right pieces. There were tensions in the locker room and among the fanbase following the failed Quinn Hughes trade. Devils management sat silent until January before finally addressing the fans’ calls for jobs.
We will never know how much control Keefe had over the roster and lineup decisions with Fitzgerald in the GM chair. If one thing is certain, whether or not Keefe returns behind the bench, the coach needs to have full control of the lineup on a game-by-game basis.
Whoever the Devils Coach Is, the Philosophy Needs to Remain
The Devils 2022-23 team set franchise records with 112 points and 52 wins. Some might argue they were ahead of their rebuild, and they did take a step back the next year. They found a style that year that worked wonders for the roster they constructed.
Gone are the old boring days of “The Trap” the Devils teams of the early 2000’s deployed in an effort to suffocate opposing defences and keep them pinned in their zone. These new era Devils thrived in a fast-paced and high-flying pace.
New Jersey went away from that last season after losing Hughes. They were a more dump-and-chase and grind team. The Devils have plenty of offensive talent in Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Jesper Bratt to be able to outscore opponents most nights.
Defence and goaltending have not been strengths recently, but they have been solid enough to make the Devils a formidable team much of the past four seasons. The sudden lack of offence last year, however, is not something the team can survive with the current roster.
Devils Style Changed after Break
In the 57 games before the Olympics, the Devils scored five goals in a game only six times. They reached that number eight times in the 25 games following the league’s pause. They finished 14-8-1 over the last 23 games and showed signs of life. They tallied 82 goals over that stretch and seemed to play with more freedom.
Fitzgerald was fired amid this stretch, which might have been a wakeup call to everyone in the organization. His dismissal might have allowed Keefe to freely utilize his roster.
Devils Other Options?
The coaching market is fairly stale at the moment. Both Peter DeBoer and John Tortorella were hired in the final weeks of the regular season. Bruce Cassidy has been rumored around the Devils recently, but making a change just for the sake of the name is not always the best move.
Keefe was present at Mehta’s introductory press conference. Keefe is by no means a lock to return to the Devils in 2026-27, but given the lack of candidates and the spark the Devils had following the firing of Tom Fitzgerald, the coaching situation may not be finalized until late in the offseason.
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