Hildeby shines bright as Maple Leafs deny ex-coach Keefe

Last Thursday night, a thunderous cheer erupted from the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room. They were not cheering because they had just defeated former coach Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils, but it was all for Dennis Hildeby.

Rookie goalie Hildeby had made the biggest impact in winning the Devils. 

When questioned about the cheers honoring him after he led his team to a 4-2 win against the Devils, in his first NHL game, Hildeby smiled. 

“It was good. There was a lot of noise,” he said. “Just trying to get in my seat.

“Honestly, it’s a good feeling. Better than quiet.”

This was a turn out that few people would be able to predict.

Heading into the match, the results were straightforward. 

If the Maple Leafs were victorious, it would be because of stars like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marne, two players Keefe depended on when he was coach from 2019-24, a time when the team went 212-97-40 during the regular season. 

New Jersey winning would have been the perfect revenge for Keefe, who Toronto fired on May 9, after they failed to win a Stanley Cup Playoff series for the fourth time in his five campaigns. 

Instead, in a surprising turn of events, Hildeby ruined Sheldon’s chances at a lick back with a strong 23-save delivery that left the crowd at Prudential Center disappointed in the Devils’ home opener. 

The rookie goalie was a backup last season when Keefe was still coach but he never featured in an NHL match. 

“I was in their meetings and watched a few clips of him with them,” Keefe said. “They were excited about him, and they were even more excited when he was still available and we took him.”

Toronto drafted him from Järfälla, Sweden, in the fourth round (No. 122) in 2022, then watched him grow. In 41 matches with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League last campaign, Hildeby was 21-11-7 with a 2.41 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. 

When No. 1 goalie Joseph Woll complained of lower-body tightness after practice on Tuesday, Hildeby was called up on an emergency basis to back up Anthony Stolarz, who started the Maple Leafs’ season-opening 1-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

On Thursday, it was time for Hildeby to make his NHL debut. He said he only texted his euphoric parents over in Sweden rather than talk to them because it would have “messed up my head.”

Judging by his performance, his plan worked.

“Honestly, there were a lot of emotions for me to handle,” Hildeby said about being told on Wednesday that he’d be starting. “Try to make it just another game and enjoy it as much as possible. But it was a little back and forth trying to handle it, not getting too emotional.”

Hildeby’s teams certainly were when discussing his performance. Forward Steven Lorentz took it a step further, describing him as “The Beast.”

Keefe had a slightly different opinion about the goaltender. 

“Big guy,” he said. “The puck hits him a lot. An awful lot.”

It definitely did on that night, much to Keefe’s dismay. As for playing his former team for the first time, one thing was clear for him.

“No emotions for me in the game,” Keefe said. “It’s a little odd standing back there and the colors. I’m still adjusting to the red, and the blue-and-white is back again.

“We are just trying to build our game. The opponent had a big say in the game tonight but that was nowhere good enough.”

The most frustrating part was that New Jersey held Matthews, Marner and William Nylander off the score sheet and still lost, ruining Keefe’s night.

“I think we wanted that for him and it hurts even more not to be able to do it,” Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton said.

Especially when a kid making his NHL debut proved to be the spoiler.