Leafs officially get out of paying Sheldon Keefe for the next 2 years

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Dean Chaudhry
May 23, 2024 (7:03 PM)

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Sheldon Keefe speaking to the media after Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs.

Photo credit: Bob DeChiara - USA Today Sports

With Sheldon Keefe getting a bigger and more lucrative deal with the New Jersey Devils, the Toronto Maple Leafs are now 100% off the hook financially.

The Devils tried to keep it as secretive as possible but the entire hockey world found out a couple days prior that they were going to hire Keefe as their new head coach. New Jersey finally made it official this morning and brought over the former Maple Leafs bench boss for the next 4 years.

With Keefe's contract set to expire in 2024, the Maple Leafs extended him to a 2-year contract last summer to remain behind the bench for the foreseeable future. For a myriad of reasons, Brad Treliving and company decided to relieve him of his duties after the club was ousted from the first round and he was thus unable to kick start his new contract behind the bench in Toronto.

With a fresh new contract waiting for him, Keefe could have opted to sit back and relax, however he chose to continue his coaching career in New Jersey.

Interestingly enough, TSN's Pierre LeBrun noted that the Maple Leafs won't be on the hook for Keefe's previous contract because his new deal with New Jersey includes more term and more money.

"The way many of these NHL contracts work is simple. If another team wants to hire an existing staffer who is already under contract and is granted permission, the new team can hire said staffer. The team with an existing contract would pay out only the difference in salary if that staffer took on a job that paid less.

In Keefe's case, his contract not only had more term (four years), which was important in this kind of deal, but, as Lebrun puts it, pays more on an annual basis, leaving Toronto completely off the hook in paying Keefe."

While Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment have the wherewithal to pay off the remaining years of Keefe's contract, if the Devils are willing to wipe the slate clean and give him more term and money, then it works out for both sides.

Previously on MapleLeafsDaily

Lightning stars' offseason routines putting Maple Leafs stars to shame

Sheldon Keefe issues statement on joining the New Jersey Devils

Berube's quote on leadership answers captaincy questions in Toronto

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MAY 23 \| 529 ANSWERS Leafs officially get out of paying Sheldon Keefe for the next 2 years On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate Keefe's tenure in Toronto
1-3	45	8.5 %
4-6	237	44.8 %
7-9	232	43.9 %
10	15	2.8 %
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