Those circumstances leave Keefe with just 103 games coached in the NHL over two years and are perhaps why it was an understated storyline that he was about to enter the lame-duck year of his three-year contract signed in November of 2019.
As of Thursday night, that’s all changed, as Keefe has been afforded the security of a new two-year contract extension soon to be announced by the club.
Whatever you think of the job Keefe has done and whether he’s likely to last beyond 2021-22, it is fairly standard, especially knowing the distraction it creates in this market, not to leave a coach in a position where he is coaching for his job with no contractual security beyond the end of the season.