Sheldon Keefe’s Press Conference…My Takeaways & Expectations

Sheldon Keefe’s Press Conference…My Takeaways & Expectations

in the words of Tom Fitzgerald it’s a brand new day for the New Jersey Devils organization Sheldon Keefe had his introductory press conference and I was in attendance what were some of my main takeaways we have a lot to break down in today’s episode of Locked on Devils buckle up everybody you’re locked on Devils your daily podcast on the New Jersey Devils part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hi this is Grace salv and you’re locked on devil trade Matthews scor St stepped up naed got the a shot the Devils win the Stanley Cup all righty now what is up New Jersey welcome back to the locked on podcast here on locked on network I’m your host College hockey plub play announcer Del Puck pitchforks and also part-time credential Mia member Trey Matthews back on the East Coast for a business trip I had the great pleasure of attending Sheldon Keefe’s introductory press conference had the chance to listen in to Tom Fitzgerald David Blitzer and of course the man of the hour Sheldon Keefe addressed the devil’s media today’s episode is going to be a little bit different because I’ve already expressed my thoughts on Sheldon Keef his history and how I feel like it can leak over to the devil’s organization I basically did a three-part Trilogy series which included a cross over with Michael D stano of lock on Leafs if you have not checked out any of those episodes I highly recommend pausing this episode and giving them a listen but if you want a refresher I like the hiring I think Sheldon Keef saw a great offensive success in Toronto and I think the Devils found the right man for the job and honestly I don’t think personality plays that big of a factor in today’s episode I will play you guys some sound bites from the press conference and share some of my main takeaways keep in mind I’m not really breaking down as to whether or not this was a good hire by New Jersey more or less just sharing some of my main takeaways from the press conference if you need any reassurance that Sheldon Keef is the right person for the job throughout the course of the press conference it lasted for nearly an hour Matt login was the person running the conference he was introducing everybody and he was making sure that everything was running smoothly and a lot of questions that came Sheldon Keith’s way was like how much similarity is there between the devils and the maple Le because we’ve been having this debate on this show which is both of those teams are high octane offenses however they goal tending in their defense a little bit of a question mark But Michael Deano of locked on lease when he appeared on this show he gave a different perspective and if you look at the playoffs offense was the main issue is for the Maple Leaves not really their defense or their goal tending but I think for what it’s worth for the Devils they definitely need to up the ante in terms of defense and goal tending if they want to see any line of success and Sheldon Keef talked about the process and the similarities first and foremost he said like of course he does see certain similarities just because the devil’s core four consists of Jack Hughes Nico heer jper brat and teimo Meyer not to mentioned you also have some upand cominging players like Simo nemit Luke Hughes you have an established player like douge Hamilton there’s a lot of potential for this Devil’s roster and Keith said it was too good of an opportunity to pass up now some people were speculating that Sheldon Keefe was contemplating whether or not he wanted to jump back into the fire including myself because that’s what I was hearing but he clarified just said like he was taking a break from media not necessarily coaching and I think that’s good it means that he he’s in the right space mentally to continue with this task and I’m sure he’s learned a lot of lessons that’s the basic narrative I got from that press conference whenever he was asked between the comparisons of the devils and the maple Lees but the one thing I want to focus on is the team identity and this was asked towards the end of his press conference and I didn’t get the chance to ask Sheldon Keef a question because all the questions that I wanted to ask him were already asked including this big one the Devils had a certain identity to them and he was quoted to say postgame at at the conclusion of a maple e and Devils game that if you give Jack Hughes two breakaways most likely you’re not winning the game and I wanted to see like okay where do you want to take this team what kind of identity do you want to establish how will you utilize the star players because I think that was a big issue from Lindy Ru because he didn’t know how to utilize certain players particularly Dawson Mercer Alexander Holtz and teimo Meyer all three players good in their own aspects and they do have their weaknesses but I don’t think Lindy utilized them the best way he could that’s why Mercer and Meyer saw more productive offense once Lindy was given the can here’s what Keith had to say in terms of establishing a team identity I I think what you would expect from from us is to play a style that is fast and competitive um that prioritizes pressure on the puck in in all zones uh but also leans in on the skills makes plays and uh in order to do that you have to have the proper uh tools to do so and I believe that we have those here so I’m we’re excited to build out a plan that can maximize the strengths of our team but also um have a group that can develop uh cohesion and connectivity within the group on both sides of the puck that that really shines through in all zone so um and then ultimately building a team that that is very good not just in the skilled parts of the games not just the defensive parts of the games but the game within the game and I think there’s in our sport uh as you see this time of year you’re turning on your TV watching the playoffs there’s a lot that goes on that you have to be very comfortable in in the group house to really stick together um and those are areas that uh I think you know we’ll be focusing on a lot and uh you know as we we bu the plan for training camp and into the regular season we’ll be working uh towards towards that end from the start good to see that he is keeping the same identity this Devil’s team they got to play to their strengths which is play Fast and the results will come because you have a lot of players that like to run and Gun Jack Hughes Jesper brat Nico heer I would argue and say that the devils are one of the fastest teams in the league but at the same time they still have some areas to clean up but if you just play to their strengths this team can be dangerous case in point when we saw other players step up their game once there was a different voice behind the bench and Keith did say during his press conference that he did reach out to I believe all of the players and I think they’re all on board which is they’re not happy with how last season went they had a lot of expectations they dealt with a decent amount of injuries and there were a lot of other obstacles that were in their path that they couldn’t overcome and the pressure is on from having a historic season to missing the Playoffs but the one thing I want to reassure to Devil’s fans is that this team is going to be just fine if we just think about this logically this Devil’s team they were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in early April and let’s think of some of the things that were in their path injuries they didn’t win no more than three games in a row but they didn’t lose no more than three in a row they were sellers at the deadline getting rid of Tyler to Foley they had a coaching change moving on from Lindy Ruff and bringing in Travis Green as their interim head coach A lot happened with the devil’s organization and I think it’s impressive that they weren’t mathematically eliminated from playoff contention until there was like a few weeks left in in the regular season I think that speaks volume and I really hope that Sheldon Keith gets through to his players and establishes that team identity and some people have brought up the fact saying that shelden Keef he might be a little too soft he might go a little easy I’m going to call BS on that one once again the Devils don’t necessarily need a drill sergeant but an example that I brought up in the past is John torella a guy who’s notoriously known for being a hard ass but he always has his players best interest at heart and Sheldon Keef did play with torella while Keith was in the league on the Lightning roster before they won the Stanley Cup in 2004 and he brought that up in his press conference I’m sure he’s going to take some of those ideologies and lessons that he got from torts and translate it over into New Jersey and he even jokingly said that once the team got too good there was just no room for him on the roster but if you just need any sort of reassurance I think he’ll get through to the players unfortunately something didn’t get through in Toronto but let’s see how translates over to this Devil’s Team all right we’re going to talk more in great detail as to what Keith wants to see out of this player specifically but before we continue let me tell you guys about FanDuel it’s winner take all time in the NBA and NHL and FanDuel is giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks to bet on spreads money lines player props and more visit fanduel.com logdon and make every playoff shot count FanDuel America’s number one sports book and if I had to give you guys a suggestion bet on the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA finals and bet on the Dallas Stars to win it as well a dual championship in Dallas Texas and this would be like the third championship in Texas the last few months because remember the Texas Rangers won the World Series please remember to gamble responsibly okay let’s talk about a word that was brought up frequently in Sheldon Keef’s press conference I’m gonna play you the sound bite and I will give you guys my thoughts My Philosophy accountability is giving the players what the players and the team what they need in the moment you know I don’t think you can have one philosophy hey this is how I do it uh and that’s it I think is you have to be able to read adapt to what this to the situation to each player each personality and with where the team is at sometimes you’re doing it on a one-on-one basis um in your office sometimes you’re doing it right out in front of the team because it’s uh the team needs to know it and and see it and and know that uh uh the expectations are higher and we’re not meeting them so I I think you’ve got to be flexible and everything you do as a coach that you got your core values and your non-negotiables and that’s all our work through you know um I’ll I’ll I’ll be committed till being as educated as I can about what this team has been through to get to this point uh and then we’ll chart a path to continue to grow and build from here and then you know standard will be high we’ll continue to raise the bar on a daily basis to get to the point where you know we have something sustainable here that um you know ultimately runs itself and the players are pushing and challenging one another that’s my goal uh to grow uh leaders we’ll have we’ll have leaders that are obvious right from day one and then we’ll have emerging leaders that will develop underneath them that will allow us to continue to grow um you know day by day and year by year throughout the course of the season I think amongst the players the fans whomever there was a lot of finger pointing which is this was the issue for Devils that was the issue for Devils defense goenda not being a good Captain there was a lot of finger pointing and it seemed like the Devils had more questions and answers and how does this apply to the players well sometimes the players said that they were a little immature playing scared which is why they sometimes got off to slow starts players words and coaching staff’s words not mine there was no accountability in my opinion and I loved when shelden Keef was saying the word accountability throughout the course of his press conference because I think that is so vital for New Jersey because this this Devil’s team is young but they have so much upside and a lot of unta potential that it’s ridiculous and I think now you have the right man for the job to try to reach that potential and you can say whatever you want to say about Sheldon Keefe but 18 years of being a head coach he saw great success whether it was in minors like the AHL or the NHL that man knows how to reach the playoffs which I think is the ultimate goal going into the season for the Devils get back to the playoffs and let the pawns fall as they may and another point during the press conference is that Sheldon Keefe talked about the potential that this team has possibly winning a Stanley Cup obviously I’m sure any coach that’s hired is going to say like I think this team can win a Stanley Cup within the near future well Define near future like one two three four years whatever the case might be but I think this Devil’s team has the right pieces they just need a little bit more assets before they become a legitimate title Contender but they are far from rebuilding and Tom fitgerald also talked about the shortcomings and I talked about the shortcomings in the previous segment and basically I think this team has a lot of potential this team has a lot to show once again to the NHL and I think people should be really excited here’s what Sheldon Keith had to say about how the roster is currently constructed as I say the team is very good which is why the expectations are high uh and the team is good because the players are good there’s incredible depth here um there’s there’s a great mix of of Youth and experience um there’s skill at all at all positions on forward and defense that are very exciting to be able to get those get those groups connected on both sides of the puck offensively and defensively and to be able to capitalize on on those skill sets and continue to grow them together so lots of things are exciting there um you know with with us how quickly things have gone um I don’t sit here and say I have all the answers um and have all the information frankly uh but I’m very excited to get to work what I do know is the the talent is there uh the hunger is there and the commitment is there I can tell from from the initial conversations that I’ve had uh you know going back and forth with with some of the players it’s it’s been very clear that they’re not happy with last season and they’re excited to to look ahead and get to work uh so all those things together uh for me you know made it very clear that you know that I was ready to get back into this and this was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up now I did you guys a favor I asked Tom Fitzgerald how the offseason is treating him because as I like to call on my show there’s been a lot of Silly Season discussion particularly a bigname player out in Ottawa that’s not going to happen or Mitch Marner he could be available via trade I was basically trying to ask Tom fero like is this it or can we expect something else I think he knew where I was getting at and he just said like this is just the first step and now he’s just going through a checklist and I think that’s a sign of things to come now what’s going to happen down the line I don’t really know but Tom fer was teasing me a little bit saying like this is just the first step and I think we can expect a lot more knock on wood so I’m very excited to see how the Devils proceed with this offseason and I’m I’m also intrigued with how Tom feral reached out to Shel ke and how he was considered for the position I think it’s safe to say that some people were antsy when it came to figuring out who the next head coach was going to be for the Devils because Pierre LeBron he was saying like the Devils would have an answer in seven to 10 days and then those seven to 10 days turned into 15 days before the Devils made it official with sheld and Keef and Fitzy actually talked about the process of reaching out to Sheldon Keef and basically convincing him to come to New Jersey check it out you know when I look back at uh the process um it was pretty thorough um I called it The Gauntlet to to the people who went through it because it was extensive um we spent I spent a lot of time with a lot of great candidates um you know one thing that I was consistent with with was waiting and being patient in the process allowing the first round to to see through and see what possibly could shake out um and I stuck with that and I wasn’t going to budge from that I wasn’t going to move off of waiting to just hire somebody um and there were they were great great candidates great qualities um but when the Toronto M police lost out immediately I called um Brad tree Liv in the GM of the Leafs and asked if it was possible to have permission to talk to to Sheldon um I asked him to call Sheldon and asked Sheldon if he would accept my phone call um great I’m grateful he did um that one phone call that night led to the possibility of another phone call he accepted that call that phone call led to another phone call of just talking hockey philosophies the the things that you believe in as as a coach that conversation was about 3 hours long um from there um I just kind of left left this in his court with his family knowing that um if he wanted this job this job was his but I completely understood where he was in this process um and I knew this was a family decision um that one call led to a text that text led to another text this this this is a great day for the New Jersey Devils but I can tell you last Tuesday night was a great day great day for me knowing this day was coming that we’ll be able to announce Sheldon Keef as our next head coach so um Sheldon checked a lot of boxes that I was looking for like I said there was really no rush for Tom feral to make a decision right then and there and I found it interesting that he said that he interviewed like what 10 candidates for the position and some of them had no shot of getting the job but he said he was curious and he wanted to see where their head spaces were at and once Sheldon Keefe was eliminated from playoff contention with the Toronto Maple he was like maybe Sheldon Keef will be available and maybe we should bring him over to New Jersey and I think that’s when the reports came out saying that Sheldon Kee was the front runner to land the devil’s position because some notable NHL in insiders were talking about it and I even talked about on my show saying that I think there is a new front runner because we talked about Craig baru we talked about Todd mclen we talked about Mike Sullivan there was basically a decent amount of choices that the Devils could choose from but they ultimately settled on Sheldon Keith and I liked how Tom fitgerald took his time with the process because I’ve been saying it the past few episodes you cannot keep playing musical chairs when it comes to finding a coach you cannot just like set on this coach and then one to two years later you fire him that’s not going to work with this young Court they need an established identity which is why I think it was important for Sheldon ke to say like here’s where the devils are going to thrive in here’s where I hope to utilize them correctly you need that established identity and I think that’s been one of the detriment for this young which is they’ve gone through a decent amount of head coaches and I think it’s time for some stability so if you’re saying like fire Tom F sherald fire this person fire that person I say pump the brakes if you really want the Devils to be successful they need some established chemistry and we saw how that can sort of pan out on the ice I’m excited for Sheldon Keef and I think he said all the right things he needed to say at his press conference there was nothing really ground break breaking there was nothing really surprising and if you’re wondering why we the media did not ask Tom fisherald his offseason plans in terms of acquiring this player or that player it’s not the place or time to ask that type of question it’s a happy day New Jersey let’s focus on Sheldon Keith because similar to what Tom Fitzgerald said during his press conference it’s a new day for the New Jersey Devils and it’s an exciting day let’s just focus on Sheldon Keef and I think he a lot of people are going to fall in love with him and he’s a proven winner Calder Cup leading the Maple Leaves to the second round for the first time since 2004 the power play success the regular season success the development of the core 4 I think that can all translate to New Jersey and I think the devil’s discourse we should consider ourselves lucky that Tom fero got a great piece added to this organization but those are just my thoughts and those are some of my takeaways from the press conference let me know what you guys think I know the press conference was nearly an hour long and I didn’t break down every single thing but those are some things that really stood out for me but if I missed something let me know in the comment section like I said it was nearly an hour long couldn’t cover every single thing but I’m curious to hear you guys thoughts leave a comment down below if you’re watching on YouTube if you’re listening on podcast streaming service hit me up on my personal xpage app at trap 4 or the show’s xpage app at lockon Devils as’s episode that’s all the time I have for you continue to stay safe have a wonderful day in New Jersey go Devils I’ll catch you guys in the next episode thanks for listening once again

I had the pleasure of attending Sheldon Keefe’s first official press conference. He was introduced to the New Jersey Devils’ media and had a lot to share. He talked about his time in Toronto and what he expects from this Devils team moving forward. Tom Fitzgerald also explained why the front office ultimately settled with Keefe.

Interview soundbites: Sheldon Keefe & Tom Fitzgerald

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