NHL coaching carousel: Devils hire Sheldon Keefe as team’s next head coach

The NHL coaching carousel continues to be quite active as the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue. The New Jersey Devils have hired former Toronto Maple Leafs bench boss Sheldon Keefe as the franchise’s next head coach.

Keefe spent the last five seasons as the Maple Leafs head coach before being fired following the team’s first-round playoff exit earlier this month.

Keefe, 43, tallied a 212-97-40 regular-season record as the Maple Leafs head coach and those 212 wins are the fifth-most in franchise history. His points percentage (.665) also ranks first among all head coaches in Maple Leafs history.

The former Maple Leafs head coach became the second-fastest coach to reach the 200-win mark in their NHL career behind only former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma. Toronto made a playoff appearance in all five of Keefe’s seasons behind the bench.

Starting with Mike Babcock resigning from the Columbus Blue Jackets last September, there have been 12 NHL coaching changes in 2023-24, and several of those teams still need to figure out who will be behind the bench for the 2024-25 season.

Three teams fired their head coaches in the middle of the season and immediately appointed a new full-time bench boss. The Edmonton Oilers made the switch from Jay Woodcroft to Kris Knoblauch, the Minnesota Wild replaced Dean Evason with John Hynes and the New York Islanders hired Patrick Roy on the heels of firing Lane Lambert.

Keep track of every NHL coaching carousel hiring and firing below.