When the New Jersey Devils hired Sheldon Keefe last season, they made the surprising decision to keep a lot of the Lindy Ruff-Travis Green staff on the books. Travis Green took the head coaching job in Ottawa, so he was automatically going to get replaced, but the Devils decided to keep defensive coach Ryan McGill, goaltender coach Dave Rogalski, and assistant coaches Sergei Brylin and Chris Taylor.
The only new assistant coach Keefe was able to hire was former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton. This offseason, Keefe is getting the chance to revamp the staff.
The Devils announced on Friday that coaches Ryan McGill and Chris Taylor, along with Head Video Coach Jerry Dineen and Utica Comets assistant coach David Cunniff. It appears to be a large departure from the coaching staff, but many of them had expiring contracts, so the Devils were forced to make a decision.
Both Keefe and Tom Fitzgerald talked about this season being “average” and “not good enough” in their end-of-season press conference. In that respect, it’s not surprising that we’ve seen some changes to the coaching staff. Usually, when a team fails to reach expectations, changes come after. However, the Devils had a big jump in defensive impact this season, which was far from the issue with them all season.
Sheldon Keefe is getting the opportunity to hire his own coaching staff
Yet, many will point out that the way the Devils are playing this season looks a lot like the Sheldon Keefe system. It was the polar opposite of the Devils' defensive system of 2023-24, which called for defensemen to use their sticks more than not and to chase the puck to cause turnovers. Instead, the Devils brought a different level of physicality this season, and it makes sense for them to continue on that path with a new defensive coach.
Brylin and Rogalski will now be the only holdovers of the Lindy Ruff coaching staff. Brylin is a Devils legend and Rogalski has been in NJ for five years. We don't know if more changes are coming, but this coaching staff has already seen big changes. The Devils actually fired Utica Comets head coach Kevin Dineen during the season after their disastrous start. Kevin and Jerry Dineen are brothers, and now both are out in the Devils' organization.
There are a good collection of coaches to choose from. Keefe could target some of his old guys on the staff, or he could bring in new blood like Colliton. It adds a new element to this offseason.