PRAGUE -- Sheldon Keefe senses an excitement and energy too palpable to ignore.
It could be the fact players are overzealous in their attempt to impress the new coach of the New Jersey Devils, or it also could represent the optimism and enthusiasm the 44-year-old has witnessed since the start of training camp.
Whatever the case, that spiritedness reached another level during their first practice upon their arrival here on Monday at the local ice rink in town. The reality is the Devils desperately want to turn the page and create new memories and are hopeful the 22nd coach in team history can provide just that.
After all, it was Keefe who guided the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of his five seasons at the helm and is now taking over a club that has failed to do so 10 times in the past 12 seasons.
It's no surprise training camp has gone at warp speed since the get-go. It had to since Keefe wanted to make certain his charges were ready for the start of the regular season.
"We're still learning for sure, but guys want to learn, get better and want to build something sustainable here, recognizing it's not going to happen overnight," Keefe said.
Said Devils center Jack Hughes: "I mean, you have a new coach, so things change, for sure, but I think we're buzzing through it and getting through the systems of it, and the ideas."
Those ideas will be on display for the first time when the Devils play the Buffalo Sabres to kick off the NHL regular season at O2 Arena on Friday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSGSN, MSG-B) and Saturday (10 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSGSN, MSG-B) in the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal.
"Expectations only come when they're earned and we haven't earned them yet," Keefe said. "Having clear communication and setting the expectations very early is important to me, and what we're attempting to do. The key is working together towards making sure our actions match our ambitions on a daily basis."
The ambition, of course, is winning the Stanley Cup. It's something the Devils have done three times in their history (1995, 2000, 2003) but haven't come close to since dropping a six-game series to the Los Angeles Kings in the 2012 Final.
In addition to his first game as Devils coach, Keefe also will be tasked against Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who happened to serve as New Jersey coach for four seasons before he was fired on March 4.
"We don't want to look at other teams, what they’re doing, who they're playing against, or who's the ex-coach or ex-players," Devils forward Tomas Tatar said. "I mean, you always try to focus on your team, on your structure and your system to try to make it as perfect as possible before opening night."
Keefe said he gained valuable experience overseas in 2023-24 in his final season as coach of the Maple Leafs, winning 3-2 against the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 17, 2023, and 4-3 in overtime against the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 19 in the 2023 Global Series Sweden.
"It does help me entering this season with the Devils in Prague, but the timing is different since it was November in Sweden," Keefe said. "I think every group is different and every player is different so, despite your own experience, you try to tap into others and what their bodies tell them."
Keefe was asked if his coaching philosophy placed a heavy emphasis on playing with a “pack mentality.”
"It's fair to say that, but I would say that in all three zones we want to be connected, tight and want our forwards sprinting up the ice, but we need our defense up there, too," Keefe said. "We need a group of five on the forecheck as much as possible. In different parts of the game, with line changes and such, you naturally get disconnected but when we can, we want to be really tight and take away the opponent's ability to get comfortable."
It's notable that the Maple Leafs never finished lower than ninth in the League in goals scored, and ranked second on three occasions, during Keefe's five-year term.
What's the key to that success?
"The more you can control the play and can (line) change while the other team is under duress, that helps the forecheck because you'll always have more fresh legs on the ice," he said. "You're also more connected because you're not sprinting off to the bench so that's a big part of it ... the speed with which you counter and move the puck through the neutral zone so you're not getting stalled at the blue line."
And that's how he wants his Devils to attack the opponent this season, starting Friday against the Sabres.
"He wants to try to defend as less as possible and when you have the puck more, you defend less," New Jersey captain Nico Hischier said. "So making plays, being in the right spot, knowing where your outs are, forechecking hard and hunting pucks is the key."
