Sheldon Keefe highlights New Jersey Devils' biggest area for improvement

By Cole Shelton

Modified Aug 16, 2024 16:49 GMT

Sheldon Keefe was hired by the New Jersey Devils as their new coach after getting fired from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Keefe has had success as a coach in the NHL but failed to get Toronto over the hump.

Entering his first year as the coach of the Devils, Keefe believes getting the team to play more physically is the key to success. The coach knows being a hard team to play against pays dividends in the playoffs.

“Physicality comes in different forms in our game. Different players have their own version of physicality that they can bring,” Keefe said to NHL.com. “The root for me and physicality in our game is looking at it as a tool in our game to drive the competitiveness and give you an advantage in the game. Each player brings that in their own way.

“Along the way, you’ll need different players to step out of character at different times and key moments. Sometimes that’s engaging in a physical battle and coming out with the puck, establishing body positioning, sticking up for a teammate or blocking a shot. There are so many different areas and levels of physicality in our sport, and they are important. They are vital to embrace to have any level of success.”

The Devils failed to make the playoffs last season, as New Jersey suffered from poor goaltending and injuries.

However, New Jersey went out and acquired Jakob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames to solidify their goaltending. After all the changes, New Jersey is tied for the third-best odds of winning the Stanley Cup.

Sheldon Keefe says improving powerplay is key

Along with being more physical, Sheldon Keefe points to the powerplay as a point of improvement.

New Jersey ranked 13th in the NHL last year with a 22.5 percent success rate. However, the Devils did lose key powerplay players like Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton and Timo Meier for long periods of time, which hindered their powerplay.

“We have enough depth to have two units that can be successful, push and challenge one another,” Keefe said. “(Assistant coach) Jeremy Colliton is coming in and he’ll lead our power play, and we’ll work together. We have different looks, different handedness of defensemen that we can work with."

In the offseason, the Devils also added Tomas Tatar, Paul Cotter and Stefan Noesen to help bolster the offense, which could help the powerplay.

The Devils are set to open their 2024-25 NHL season on Oct. 4 against the Buffalo Sabres.