Devils play up positives, officially announce Sheldon Keefe as coach

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Where Sheldon Keefe’s playoff minuses were the focus of the last days in Toronto, the New Jersey Devils pushed the plus sign a few times in officially announcing him their new coach on Thursday morning.

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“Just bragging about the new bench boss’ was the tag on a post on X that listed Keefe’s three straight 100-point seasons with the Maple Leafs, that he was the second-fastest to 200 wins in National Hockey League history and was the 2018 Calder Cup winner with the AHL Marlies.

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There also was a reminder Keefe led the Leafs to five straight post-season appearances, though only one resulted in a first-round victory.

Still, Thursday was reason to celebrate for Keefe that he was in demand barely two weeks after being fired and replaced by Craig Berube — who also had interviewed for the Devils job.

“Speak of the Devil … Let’s go New Jersey!,” Keefe posted on his personal feed.

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The 43-year-old, who had a .607 regular-season winning percentage that was second only to Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour in league history among the top 80 coaches in overall victories, takes over a team that has not qualified for playoffs in 10 of the past 12 years, including a flat finish this season.

The Devils finished with a record of 38-39-5 for 81 points in the Metropolitan Division, a lodge where the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes dominate and Jersey will once more have to battle the Islanders, Flyers, Capitals and Penguins for third place or a wild-card spot.

With Devils interim coach Travis Green resurfacing in Ottawa, the fired Lindy Ruff returning to Buffalo and former Leafs assistant Jim Hiller staying in Los Angeles, it leaves Winnipeg, San Jose and Seattle with vacancies.

Todd McLellan, who interviewed in Toronto, could move up the list in Seattle and Winnipeg. Most teams like to have their coach in place by the draft in late June.

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X: @sunhornby

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