Sheldon Keefe gets honest about time in Toronto
The new Devils coach talks about his experience in hockey's biggest fish bowl.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made a major change in leadership this offseason following their latest playoff disappointment, firing head coach Sheldon Keefe and later replacing him with 2019 Stanley Cup winning coach Craig Berube.
It brought an end to the tenure of Keefe as Leafs head coach that began in November of 2019, replacing Mike Babcock. Keefe became the first coach since Pat Quinn to manage to lead Toronto past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but did so on only a single occasion.
Now the head coach of the New Jersey Devils, Keefe is opening up about his time in hockey's biggest media fish bowl, and is sharing what he learned and how the experience has made him stronger.
"There's nothing that I haven't seen or experienced. And I've seen it at the highest level, perhaps we didn't get deep enough in the playoffs for it to really elevate, but I guess the deeper you go in the playoffs, everyone, no matter where you are, you know, the attention and what have you is going to increase, but it's on an everyday basis in Toronto and I've experienced that," Keefe said. "I think the biggest thing is just to remain true to yourself, keep the focus on the things that matter and the things that you can control.
So that is the perspective I've gained, which comes through any experience in life, but certainly what I've been through as it relates to the media attention and the expectations that were on the team in Toronto."
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