Right now, it's about lunchtime on Sunday afternoon. It's been about 28 hours since the New Jersey Devils came within inches of tying their game in the final seconds against the Ottawa Senators. A putrid second period really marred Jesper Bratt's record-breaking assist on Nico Hischier's 30th goal of the season.
Yet, as we all woke up this morning, nobody was thinking about Jake Allen's performance or the Devils' attempted late-game performance. Everyone was still talking about Sheldon Keefe's comments after the game. He ended the press conference after a reporter asked about Johnathan Kovacevic, who briefly mentioned minutes earlier that the Devils need to play with a "playoff mentality."
.@GabeCTrevino: Kovacevic just mentioned to us that the team needs to have a “playoff mindset” going down the stretch —
— Trey Matthews (@treymatt4) March 23, 2025
Sheldon Keefe: Kovacevic just needs to play better. That would help…
*Ends press conference* #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/McuwJqcu4j
His response has since gone viral. Every major network and platform that reports on hockey has reported on Keefe's comments. The fact that he's the former Toronto Maple Leafs' head coach will bring extra attention, but this appears to be a self-inflicted attention grab.
This is where Keefe will make or break the Devils' season. This type of "distraction" can be a good thing. If the guys in that room understand where Keefe is coming from, it will motivate them to play better. The head coach isn't wrong, per se. While Johnathan Kovacevic was a strange target, there hasn't been a Devils' defenseman that should be without criticism.
Kovacevic just signed a five-year deal a few weeks ago, so the team is clearly committed to him after trading for him this past offseason. He's a part of this team's future, but it's hard to say anything besides he hasn't been the same since Jonas Siegenthaler was lost for the season.
That said, Kovacevic has still been decent. The same can't be said for everyone in that locker room. This could come off as the wrong guy getting the brunt of the blame. To be fair to Keefe, the question was about Kovacevic specifically, but the response was extreme.
Sheldon Keefe has to be very careful with how he reacts to going viral
Keefe has to understand that Kovacevic will now be bombarded with questions about the comments the next time he's in front of a microphone. The head coach's comments become the story. His comments have been shared by everyone from tradition news sources like Sportsnet and Bleacher Report to online personalities like Steve Dangle and Spittin' Chicklets.
Keefe has been in this position before, but last time, it was at a much different point in the season. He felt the need to apologize for being hard on his team after a season-opening loss to the Montreal Canadiens. He eventually said he used the "wrong words" when talking about his star players' performance.
Do we expect a similar walkback from Keefe? We don't actually. This isn't new. Keefe has been harsh/direct with his comments as of late. He said that Jacob Markstrom is "not there yet" in his injury recovery, said they "got what they deserve" against the Penguins in a 7-3 loss, and said Simon Nemec as playing like "he was in the wrong league" after a disastrous period against the Jets. The honesty is refreshing, but we're not going to pretend it's not a distraction.
So, how Keefe goes forth will determine how the rest of the Devils' season goes. A properly motivated NHL team can overcome great things, like injuries to Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton. It sounds like Keefe is a little frustrated with how the team is playing and is trying to use the media to drum up motivation after weeks of flat play. It could work.
Or, it could turn the locker room against him. It would be hard for that to happen to a first-year head coach, especially one as good as Keefe, but stranger things have happened. With some of the veterans on IR, Jack Hughes out of the picture, Ondrej Palat missing in action, and vets like Erik Haula showing his own frustration, the Devils head coach has to come out of this with the team behind him.
Keefe has done this before and got him team motivated out of it. We've never heard players rag on him, and this is coming out of Toronto. If there was tension with his players, it would leak eventually. Keefe has some explaining to do with Kovacevic, but if that conversation ends on a positive note, it could be the key to a strong final few weeks of the season into the playoffs.