Throughout a team’s history, you will occasionally find players who spent some time in the organization but are well-known for being part of another team. Even the Tampa Bay Lightning, which has existed for just 30 years, has players in its organization who went on to have successful careers and are known for being part of a different team.
This is the first part of a series that looks at former players who went on to have success and are more known for their accomplishments with other teams. Today, we look at a former Lightning who has been behind the bench of the Lightning’s frequent playoff opponent of recent years, former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Drafted by the Lightning
Keefe played junior hockey in Canada, including three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League. At the 1999 NHL Draft, Keefe was drafted by the Lightning in the second round (47th overall). He made his NHL debut on Oct. 18, 2000, when the Lightning played the Wild in Minnesota. Keefe’s first NHL goal and first point was on Nov. 5, 2000, when he scored against the Washington Capitals. He played 49 games in his rookie season and had four points, all goals, to finish the year.
Keefe played in 125 games over three seasons with the Lightning, scoring 12 goals and 12 assists with 78 penalty minutes. Some may remember that the Lightning suspended Keefe indefinitely without pay after the right-winger failed to report to the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans after being reassigned to them in March 2001.
In the summer of 2004, the Phoenix Coyotes acquired Keefe from the Lightning. He did not play a game for the Coyotes, but in the 2004–05 season, he played four games for the AHL’s Utah Grizzlies (1995-2005). In September 2005, the Coyotes re-signed Keefe as a restricted free agent and reassigned him to San Antonio (AHL).
After just five professional seasons, Keefe opted to end his professional career after a severe knee injury and continued his career in hockey with coaching.
Rising up the Coaching Ranks
In the 2005-06 season, Keefe started his coaching career in the OHL as an assistant coach with his former team, the Windsor Spitfires. A year later, he began coaching with the Pembroke Lumber Kings, a Junior A team he purchased in 2002-03 while still a member of the Lightning (from ‘D.J Smith and Sheldon Keefe’s shared Road to the NHL,’ The Athletic, Feb 15, 2020).
Keefe coached the Lumber Kings to five consecutive league titles, culminating in a 2011 Royal Bank Cup as national Junior A champions. In 2012-13, he left the Lumber Kings to take over as head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The general manager who hired him was Kyle Dubas, his former GM with the Maple Leafs.
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After three successful seasons with the Greyhounds, on June 8, 2015, Keefe was named head coach of the Toronto Marlies, the top affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He led the Marlies to the franchise’s first Calder Cup in 2018 and won 199 games as an AHL head coach. The following year, he signed a two-year extension with the Marlies.
Coaching in the NHL
On Nov. 20, 2019, Keefe was announced as Mike Babcock’s successor after Babcock was relieved of his duties by Maple Leafs’ president Brendan Shanahan. The following day, Keefe signed a three-year deal with the Maple Leafs. In his first 20 games as head coach, the team posted a 15-4-1 record, the best start of any head coach in Toronto’s 102-year history.
Overall, Keefe coached the Maple Leafs to a 212-97-40 record in 349 regular season games. The club recorded three consecutive 100-point seasons under Keefe, including a team-record 115-point season in 2021-22. After another early exit in the NHL playoffs, the Maple Leafs fired him on May 9, 2024.
The former Lightning did not have to wait long to find a new job. On May 22, he was hired by the New Jersey Devils, succeeding Lindy Ruff.
While fans may remember Keefe as the coach of their division and playoff rival, it should be remembered that he got his NHL playing experience as a member of the Lightning.
