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Sheldon Keefe makes bitter comments towards Maple Leafs after tough loss for Devils

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Graham Montgomery
October 11, 2024  (10:23 PM)
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New Jersey Devils head coach was not happy with his team in the loss to his former club yesterday, but he refused to give the Leafs credit for playing well.

The Maple Leafs replaced Sheldon Keefe with Craig Berube last May after another disappointing first round loss in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Keefe made sure he was going to stick around in the NHL. Just days later, the Devils signed Keefe to become their next head coach after they let Lindy Ruff go mid-season. Yesterday marked the first time the two teams played each other, making it the first opportunity for Keefe to stick it to his former club. Unfortunately for him, that is not how things went as the Leafs won the game easily by a final score of 4-1, despite the fact that the Leafs had Dennis Hildeby in net, making his NHL debut.

After the game, Sheldon Keefe addressed the media as the head coach always does. Early on in the press conference he was quick to point out that he thought the Leafs did not 'deserve' the big lead they built early in the game. He also said his players were not good enough defensively, implying that they did not compete enough. In other words, they were soft.

"I don't know that they deserved to be up 3 the way that they were, but the reality is that they were... we dug our own hole there. Puck play not good enough and defensive play not even close to hard enough tonight."

Keefe will have to wait for awhile for his next chance to get revenge against his former team. The Devils and Leafs do not play each other again until December 10th, which will come in New Jersey. That game could be very entertaining as Devils will likely want to respond to their coach as well as play better for him in general as they surly know these games mean a little but more to him. Until then, Keefe will continue to have this game in the back of his mind.

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Sheldon Keefe makes bitter comments towards Maple Leafs after tough loss for Devils

Between the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs, which team do you think will have a better regular season this year?

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