Sheldon Keeke jokes about losing to the Maple Leafs

On Thursday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs completed the comeback by forcing the game to overtime and getting the 4-3 win over the visiting New Jersey Devils. Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe was back at Scotiabank Arena as a visitor for the first time since being fired by Toronto last spring and probably wanted to leave with the two points.

After the game, when asked about losing to his former team, Keefe made a great joke per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, proving that he had a great relationship with the Maple Leafs’ organization and enjoyed his time there:

“Disappointed we don’t leave with two points here, but, you know, I probably owe the Leafs an extra point.”

Say what you want about the guy, he is a class act.

Keefe came to Toronto when he took over for Mike Babcock in November 2019. He also became the second-fastest coach in NHL history to reach 200 career wins during his time with Toronto. While he did have lots of success with the Leafs during his regular seasons, he went 1-5 in post-season series — including May’s seven-game loss to the Boston Bruins that ultimately sent him packing.

During the game on Thursday, Keefe received a warm reception from the Toronto crowd in his return to the city.

He however left immediately when Leafs forward William Nylander scored the overtime winner, though he was able to have a good laugh afterwards in his postgame interview.