No, it won’t be just another game for Sheldon Keefe on Thursday night.
Keefe, now coaching the New Jersey Devils after nine years in the Toronto organization behind the benches of the Maple Leafs and Marlies, wasn’t about to play down the significance of his first return to Scotiabank Arena since the Leafs fired him in May.
“I’m excited for it,” Keefe told media in Newark on Wednesday before the Devils travelled to Toronto. “There’s the Leafs time, but the Marlies time was equally special to me.
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“It’s great to get back there, will be able to have lots of friends and family in the building. Also, just to see the faces around the arena.
“There is a lot of people throughout the organization and through the building that you are used to seeing and are such a big part of your career, it’s a chance to reconnect with them and see them.
“It’s going to be a little funny walking to the visiting side, but I fully expect that once the puck drops, it’s going to be hockey and you’re going to do your thing that way.”
It’s the lone Devils visit of the 2024-25 regular season. The Leafs won two earlier meetings in New Jersey.
Keefe touched on the experience of coaching in Toronto and how it helped shape him.
“It’s probably not the most ideal situation for your first coaching job in the NHL,” Keefe said. “However, I do feel like I’ve benefitted greatly from experiencing that because I think it’s something that is a special opportunity, both in the talent that’s there and the organization and how it runs, and the expectations and the pressure and the fanbase.
“I grew a lot through that and I believe I have thicker skin. I’ve been through a lot there that has helped me grow probably quicker than normal and I have come out the other side of it all right.”
Leafs coach Craig Berube knows the feeling of returning to a once-friendly building, having been fired by the St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers.
“There’s emotions for sure,” Berube said. “He was here a long time, did a fabulous job and got close to a lot of people and players and organization stuff. The emotions run up on you a little bit, but we all sign up for this job and we all get fired at some time, at one point.”
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