For the last few seasons in the National Hockey League, we’ve seen many instances of how when a team gets a new coach, they find themselves becoming extremely successful, after struggling in seasons prior.
This happened to the Vancouver Canucks last year when they hired Rick Tocchet as their head coach and named defenseman Quinn Hughes as captain. Now, it’s happening to his brother’s, Jack and Luke’s team, the New Jersey Devils.
With the new edition of Sheldon Keefe behind the bench, the Devils have found themselves extremely successful this season and are currently sitting at No. 3 in the entire league.
Most recently, the Devils swept the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers, on their home ice on Nov. 12 and 14. In both games, the Devils took the win, having scored at least two more goals than the Panthers in the final result.
On Thursday, the 14th, the Devils defeated the Panthers 6-2, with Jesper Bratt notching his second hat trick of his professional career and newcomer Stefan Noesen adding two goals to his resume, all contributing to their team’s win.
“Noesen did an unbelievable job at winning some hard puck battles and then we’re getting to use our skill and our creativity when the pucks get to the open area. But it starts with the really hard puck battles that keep the puck in,” Bratt said to NHL.com when asked about his teammate, Noesen.
Despite the Devils having gritty opponents on their schedule’s horizon, including the Carolina Hurricanes later this week, it will be a test for this Eastern conference team given their current record of 12-2-7 and multiple players averaging numerous points per game.
Even though Keefe was not as successful when he previously coached the Toronto Maple Leafs, he is a coach that has experience developing younger players with lots of talent.
“Sheldon jumped to the top of my list when he became available, and I was thrilled when he agreed to be a part of what we are building here. He is an excellent communicator, believes in collaboration and will take what he has learned previously to make this team a Stanley Cup contender,” general manager of the Devils Tom Fitzgerald said to ESPN after Keefe was hired.
With the Devils having players like Bratt, Jack and Luke Hughes and more, he is a great addition to the team’s leadership as the Devils hope to make it to the Stanley Cup playoffs again.