As the New Jersey Devils hit a sputter in the last leg of the race to the playoffs, I see more and more people assuming that there are issues in the locker room. There are multiple reasons why I don’t think it’s that serious.
Harsh words.
A group of people — friends, family, coworkers, or otherwise — can get along for days, weeks, and months, only for a few harsh words to send onlookers into a fuss. What’s wrong? Who hates each other? As outsiders, people often let their imaginations run wild, often beyond what can reasonably be evidenced. I have surely been guilty of this before, but the more I write, the less I like to let my imagination run.
What have I seen this season from the New Jersey Devils? I have seen a team that, very often, stick up for each other and themselves. They had six fights by the end of November, and have had four since — but only one has come from Kurtis MacDermid. That’s not nothing. This team set out to prove themselves from opening puck drop in Prague, and they have done pretty well to separate themselves from Devils teams of the past 10 or so years, recent injury-associated struggles aside. This team does not want to be a push-over.
And the truth is that the team is just much less healthy now than it was back when they were fighting and scrumming left and right. Six of the ten fights have come from defensemen who are still on the ice night in and night out — three for Dillon, two for Kovacevic, and one for Pesce. Can those guys be sitting out five minutes for fights, now that Jonas Siegenthaler and Dougie Hamilton aren’t on the ice to eat up the extra time?
No. So, when Johnny Kovacevic says that the team needs to start playing like it’s “playoff hockey,” fans might get the idea of a team that’s more physical and more intense. Fans might expect a team resembling the one they loved so much in November and December. The players who are left on the New Jersey Devils are tasked with scoring goals on the other goalie and keeping the puck out of their own net. Nothing more, nothing less.
So when Sheldon Keefe responds to Johnny Kovacevic’s comments about needing a playoff mentality, saying, “Kovacevic needs to play better — that would help,” I understand that snappy remark. Johnny Kovacevic, while he played very well with Jonas Siegenthaler, has been inconsistent over the last few months. And while Kovacevic has been inconsistent, the last thing Sheldon Keefe needs is for Johnny to go out of his way to be physical, only to miss an assignment an give up a goal against. At this point of the year, every mistake is magnified, and the Devils have to take care not to end up in a situation where they are fighting for points for a wild card spot.
Sheldon Keefe is likely not as worried about being as intense or physical as possible as he is worried about his defensemen gapping up against the rush and making crisper breakout decisions. In both areas, Kovacevic has slipped over the last two months. Do I love to see physicality? Sure, but the team needs to get its ducks in a row, first. Getting to playoff mentality before playing fundamental hockey is a bit of a “cart before the horse” situation.
Yes, I ripped Keefe a bit for playing more conservative hockey, such as during the loss to Calgary, a few days after I made a case for a more offensively-minded approach. Yes, I did not like his press conference after the game against Calgary. But I much prefer the fiery responses he gave after the loss to Ottawa to the “it’s caught me off guard, honestly” comment that he made after the loss to Calgary. The coach I saw in the Ottawa postgame much more resembles the coach that is going to go into the locker room and hold everyone to account than the coach in the Calgary postgame. The coach that is willing to tell Johnny Kovacevic — go play better — is a coach I enjoy seeing run the team.
Do I think he’s perfect? Nobody is. But Sheldon Keefe is going to turn around and give Kovacevic 20 or more minutes on the ice tonight. I’m sure he will do that with a specific message of what he wants to see from Kovacevic and every other member of the New Jersey Devils. This is simply what a coach is. It might be old-school, but a coach’s job is not always to be the player’s friend. The coach’s job is to get the player to perform at his highest level.
But this is what I don’t get about the various coverage on Keefe and the locker room right now: what did anyone expect when Keefe was asked that question, already with that much anger in his face? If they asked about something Timo Meier said, Keefe would say Timo needs to play better. If they asked about something Erik Haula, Stefan Noesen, Brenden Dillon, Dawson Mercer, or Brett Pesce said, I honestly believe that Keefe would have snapped in just about the same exact way.
What Sheldon Keefe said that was much more important, and much more thoughtful, was what he said in his press conference about executing and doing the right things every night. Nothing else really needed to be said about the night. Keefe had already mentioned that the final stretch was going to “suck” and that they needed to come out on top of more meaningful games. Following that up with a player’s comment on “mentality” — when Keefe was still angry about the second period performance — was probably not the best choice of question.
People often say that hard times create strong men, and that historical mantra has its place in the rebuild—contention dichotomy of professional sports. But are the strong men the ones who are shy of a short bit of criticism from the coach? Because I don’t expect anything less than a solid game from Kovacevic or any other member of the Devils tonight. Maybe then, with a win, Sheldon will say something more complementary about the team.
These are professionals, and professionals expect professional results from themselves and others. Try not to read too much into everything — it will save you a lot of needless worry.
Your Thoughts
What do you think about Sheldon Keefe’s first year with the Devils? How has he managed all the new members of the team with guys who have been here for years? If you watched Keefe’s full comments, what did you think of his responses on Saturday night? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.