Despite reaching the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of his six seasons as an NHL head coach, it seems as though New Jersey Devils bench boss Sheldon Keefe is starting to become underrated by the broader hockey community.
Consistency is key, in the eyes of captain Nico Hischier, and Keefe has brought that in spades to New Jersey and Toronto over the last six years.
A sour end to a promising 2024-25 season probably ruined the perception of the 44-year-old former NHLer in the eyes of many, but even with dreadful final few months, the Devils still hung on and made the playoffs.
Players like Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt became reliable penalty killers, and Simon Nemec, by the end of the season, was playing a huge role for the injury-marred Devils in the playoffs.
Plus, the Devils didn't even make the playoffs under Lindy Ruff and Travis Green in 2023-24. With Keefe, the Devils have a higher floor than they've had in quite a while.
Speaking of Ruff and Green, sportsbooks give them better odds (+2500) to win the Jack Adams Award than Keefe (+3500). Overall, Keefe has the 18th-best odds to be named the NHL's best coach this season.
It's probably fair to assume that sportsbooks are tracking public sentiment around the Devils, which has been mostly negative due to a slow summer, bargain-bin free agent signings, and a continued failure to re-sign Luke Hughes.
The x-factor is going to be incoming rookie Arseniy Gritsyuk, but these same sportsbooks give him virtually no chance of winning the Calder Trophy, so who can say?
With another season with this crew of talented players, Keefe should now have a better idea of how to maximize his roster and avoid the catastrophic slide the Devils suffered in the final few months of the 2024-25 regular season.