Former Maple Leafs Coach Sheldon Keefe refuses the chance to compliment his former team after defeat

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Tom Banks
October 11, 2024 (10:00 PM)

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The Devils hired Sheldon Keefe this past summer after he was fired by the Maple Leafs, and after a loss to his former team, Keefe refused to credit his former team.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made the huge call to part ways with Sheldon Keefe this past summer, and while some didn't expect the move to be made, it simply had too after the team failed yet again in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Now, just two games into the Maple Leafs' new season, they've seen their former Head Coach, as the team would ultimately take down the New Jersey Devils by a score of 4-2 in a somewhat competitive contest. It wasn't the way that Keefe and the Devils wanted to open their year at home, and after the game, the former Leafs coach made it clear that he wasn't going to credit the team that fired him this past off-season.

«I don't know if they necessarily deserved to be up three (3-0) like that, but the reality is they were.»

While some may look at this as a petty move from a sore loser, Keefe can't be blamed for this given the way he was treated on the way out of Toronto, and now that he's finally out of the pressure cooker that is hockey's biggest and toughest market, he can make these types of comments without backlash. This was the first time the teams saw each other after Keefe's firing over the summer, with two more to come throughout the year.

Keefe's return to Toronto will come on January 16th next year, in a moment where he will be greeted by a strong, raucous crowd in Toronto, but for now, both parties will continue their business and look to move on from the long and fruitless relationship they had.