When the New Jersey Devils addressed their head coaching position, it closed one door but opened up another.
Who will be the supporting cast around Sheldon Keefe?
Following Lindy Ruff’s dismissal in March, the following assistant coaches were retained by the Devils: Travis Green, Sergei Brylin, Ryan McGill, Chris Taylor, and Dave Ragolski.
Now that Keefe has been named the head coach of the Devils, it is reasonable to assume that his coaching staff will undergo some changes.
One helper who is believed to be safe is Brylin. Nothing should come as a surprise, as he was the lone assistant coach present during Keefe’s inaugural press conference. He will likely continue to coach the Devils.
Last week, Keefe said that the evaluation of the coaching staff would continue.
“Very similar [as the players] with the coaching staff. “Our goal is to meet with each assistant coach individually to gauge their current situation, group dynamics, and potential collaborative abilities,” Keefe explained. After that, we’ll decide how to move forward as a team when the time is right, and I’m looking forward to it. Lots of effort is required, as I mentioned before. However, in the immediate future, spending time with the coaches and players here will be my first priority.
The way the new head coach of the Maple Leafs, Craig Berube, deals with his coaching staff is one thing that could help Keefe move things along more quickly.
Insider Darren Dreger claims that Berube may have Lane Lambert on board in Toronto. Lambert was the head coach of the New York Islanders.
“I have heard some names over the last few days, maybe even going into the weekend that are of interest to me, Dreger said via TSN’s First Up. “I’ve heard that Lane Lambert, formerly of the New York Islanders, could join the Toronto Maple Leafs. I assume he would handle the forwards under the tutelage of Berube. Mike Van Ryn, I suppose is staying with the Maple Leafs, he would help manage the defense. Still a question mark beside Marc Savard.”
After meeting with Maple Leafs reporter Kevin McGran last week, McGran anticipated all but Van Ryn would be let go of by the Maple Leafs.
Now, Lambert is a name who might be joining Berube, as well as Savard who mutually parted ways with the Calgary Flames a few weeks ago. Brad Lauer is also a name in the running with Toronto.
That means Keefe’s previous assistant coaches Guy Boucher and Dean Chynoweth, goaltending coach Curtis Sanford, and Keefe’s old video team in Toronto could all become available on the coaching market.
McGran added he could see Boucher follow Keefe to New Jersey, as well as Keefe’s video team who he valued in Toronto.
“Well, I think he likes Guy Boucher [who worked with] the [Toronto] forwards and the six-on-five and the powerplay,” McGran said. “I imagine Boucher will walk the plank [in Toronto]. I think all these individuals are gonna walk the plank and Berube will bring in his own staff. He might keep Mike Van Ryn. But, I suppose [Boucher] would be accessible. He would definitely prefer to bring his video team if he could because the Leafs’ video team was extremely great. Jordan Bean with a few of the other guys. But such guys tend to be homebodies.”
Boucher managed the Maple Leafs’ power play that was an NHL sixth-best 24.0% last season, was the top power play in the NHL during the 2021-22 season, and second-best in 2022-23. After Dougie Hamilton fell injured, the Devils’ power play only converted on 16.2%.
Given the fact that the Maple Leafs didn’t have a Hamilton-like player to quarterback their power play and he’d be working with players of similar potential to Auston Matthews and William Nylander, Boucher’s availability might serve as a huge enhancement for the Devils.
The 2024 NHL Draft isn’t a firm deadline for Keefe to name his henchman. However, he and Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald will likely want to have the coaching staff sorted by then. However, Berube and the Maple Leafs might have to first pick their course forward before Keefe can poach personnel for himself.
