The New Jersey Devils are trying to focus on saving their season after a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes put them on the brink of going home early. Game 5 is coming on Tuesday, and if the Devils lose, the offseason begins. That is Sheldon Keefe's sole focus right now. He wants to get the Devils as ready as possible for battle.
Unfortunately, that's not the focus of the rumor mill. Mike Sullivan is no longer the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he became the top option for everyone searching for a head coach this offseason. Luckily, the Devils signed Keefe to a long-term deal, so it shouldn't be a concern.
But that doesn't matter to the rumor mill. They are good at turning nothing into something. And that's the correlation that's happening right now. See, Kyle Dubas is running the Penguins' front office. He named himself GM, so he's also in charge of coaching and roster decisions. Keefe and Dubas have a long history in Toronto.
And that's fine. Connections do often come up in hockey, but there is so much more that goes into a coaching decision. We don't think Mike Sullivan would choose to come to the Devils, so there's no world where Tom Fitzgerald lets Keefe go willingly. But even beyond that, why would Keefe choose to go to Pittsburgh?
The Penguins aren't exactly close to a championship, and one would argue they are much further away than the Devils. While it might be fun to coach Sidney Crosby, he, at his best, hasn't gotten the Penguins to the playoffs in three straight seasons. There aren't many prospects to get excited about, and their forward depth is kind of locked. Even the $23 million in cap space according to Puck Pedia this offseason won't be enough to fix all this team's problems.
Sheldon Keefe leaving the New Jersey Devils for Pittsburgh Penguins makes no sense
Meanwhile, the Devils have a core locked in, incredible young players, an opportunity to open up cap space, and an impending Hughes brothers reunion. Would Keefe voluntarily leave that, let alone push for it to happen? It's one thing to go back to Toronto where his family is currently living, but Pittsburgh is no closer to Toronto than New Jersey, and there are probably fewer flights back and forth.
There's really no logic here for Keefe. He's in a good spot for a head coach. He has a pretty iron-clad contract and a roster with so much room to grow. The Devils took to his system, especially on the defensive side. He may be frustrated with some of the roster construction, but these are relatively simple fixes. We would be floored if the Devils started next season with anyone except Sheldon Keefe as head coach.