Where the Devils’ Coaching Search Stands

The first step would be for Toronto to move on from Keefe. If the team makes that decision, the immediate favorite for the Toronto job would be Craig Berube, who piloted the St. Louis Blues to the Cup in 2019. Berube has been the hot coach this cycle, linked to open jobs throughout the league and seemingly able to select which he believes best suits his style and is most ready to win. For most who grew up in Canada, like Berube, being named the head coach of the Maple Leafs is the profession’s pinnacle. With Berube off the board, Dubas would agree with Sullivan to walk away and bring Keefe in to helm the Penguins. With Berube off the board, the Devils would go all in for Sullivan and make him their next head coach.

The scenario has been bandied about throughout every hockey media space. The likelihood of it happening is only known to the management of the Maple Leafs and Penguins. If either chooses not to move on from their current coach, the Sullivan to New Jersey flame will be snuffed out, and the Devils will then shift to hiring the best available coach.

Scenario 2 – Status Quo

Perhaps Maple Leafs management rationally believes that Keefe should not be dismissed after fighting back to force overtime in Game 7 on the road in Boston after being down 3-1 in the series and having to play multiple games without either Auston Matthews or William Nylander. Should they maintain the status quo, Pittsburgh has no corresponding move, and the Devils would be in the driver’s seat as the best available job.

Assuming the Devils are willing to pay the steep price for his services, they would then be the odds on favorite to land Berube. The coach known as “Chief” would bring an impressive resume from his days as a player and from coaching the Blues to the Stanley Cup in 2019. Berube would bring the toughness, accountability, and gravitas that Fitzgerald wanted in his next coach. He is still under contract with St. Louis, so there may be issues related to his contract that will need to be worked out, but should Keefe remain in Toronto, the Devils will likely move quickly to hire Berube.

Scenario 3 – Pittsburgh Doesn’t Cooperate

Another potential outcome is that the Maple Leafs move on from Keefe, but the Penguins decide to run it back with Sullivan at the behest of Sidney Crosby and with Dubas’s belief that they can make the relationship work. Most likely, the Maple Leafs will quickly hire Berube, who has been waiting for weeks to see what happens in Toronto. The Devils then will have to pivot to the best remaining coach. Currently, the most smoke is around Jay Woodcroft, with several insiders mentioning him with New Jersey and confirming that there is mutual interest and that the sides have met. The only other coach confirmed to have met with Fitzgerald is Todd McLellan.

Initially, this was the path that could have led to the return of Travis Green. With Green taking the job in Ottawa, it indicates that he knew the Devils had other people in mind ahead of him or that he was unwilling to try to wait it out once he secured the offer from the Senators. Fortunately for New Jersey, their choice to wait out the situation has not cost them any candidates. The only coaches hired so far this off-season are Lindy Ruff and Green, both of whom the Devils could have kept behind their bench should it have been their preferred choice.

Scenario 4 – Mystery Guest

The other option is for Fitzgerald to have a candidate he likes that has not been reported in the media. This could be Dan Bylsma, who won a Cup with Pittsburgh; Mitch Love, a back-to-back American Hockey League Coach of the Year Award winner; Jay Pandolfo; or David Carle from the college ranks. With his job likely on the line, it would be a bold move for Fitzgerald to hire one of these candidates, but as the last few seasons have proven, bold coaching hires have paid dividends. Jon Cooper and Jared Bednar were first-time NHL coaches hired by the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche, respectively, and each took their organization to a championship. No coach has won a Cup with a second franchise in over 30 years.

The Devils’ coaching search will heat up over the next 72 hours. With Fitzgerald having spoken to many candidates, he should be poised to act quickly. Until then, all eyes should be focused on Toronto, as Keefe’s fate will trigger the chain of events culminating in the Devils hiring the coach they believe can guide them into their championship window.