Sheldon Keefe Snubs the Maple Leafs, Refuses to Praise Their Victory Over the Devils

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Tom Banks
October 11, 2024 (6:25 PM)

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Sheldon Keefe was fired this past summer by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and after his recent loss to them, he refused to give the team praise.

The New Jersey Devils home opener was a big occasion for the whole team, but most importantly Sheldon Keefe, who went up against the team that fired him this past summer after years of Stanley Cup Playoffs failures.

Unfortunately for Keefe, his team came out on the wrong side in this one, as the Maple Leafs came out on top in a tight 4-2 affair, handing the Devils their first loss of the year while Toronto got on the board with their first victory. While some expected Keefe to credit his former team for outplaying New Jersey, he would do no such thing after the defeat, going as far as to refuse giving any credit to his now rival team.

I don't know that they deserved to be up 3 the way that they were, but the reality is that they were, said Keefe before blasting the Devils' poor play while calling them soft.

The reality of this situation is that both teams are very good coming into the season, and some nights opposing teams will just be better, so while Keefe could have credited Toronto for this one, no one can blame him for doing the opposite. After years of regular season success but postseason failures, Keefe was fired by Brad Treliving and the front office, so while he may enjoy being out of that spotlight, it's easy to see why he'd be bitter about the situation.

The teams play again on December 10th before Keefe makes his return to Toronto on January 16th of 2025, and while some may have love for him still, it's safe to say that he'll get a loud, and not very nice reception on that night.