New Jersey Devils: 5 Players Lindy Ruff Can Impact Most

Jack Hughes

This one probably feels like the most obvious. That’s why it’s the one that came up during the Devils Zoom meeting to introduce Lindy Ruff to the media and the fans. Ruff talked about needing to find the right players to play with Hughes. We’ve already heard that Hughes is focusing on gaining some weight before next season. He has another five months to put that weight on before the season starts.

Hughes has to be one of the reasons the Devils made this move. Ruff is 60 years old, so he’s not in this for the long haul. However, if he can make a major impact on Hughes for the next three to five years, then it will all be worth it.

Hughes needs to make it work at the center position. That means Ruff should focus on Hughes offensive prowess. Hughes is not going to be like Nico Hischier where he’s playing an insane two-way game. He’s going to be an offensive dynamo that drives the play. His best defense is going to be carrying the puck out of the zone or starting a breakout.

Hughes season was clearly nowhere near up to snuff last season. He wasn’t going to be like previous number-one overall picks where he dominated the league right away, but we sure hoped he did better than 21 points in 61 games. What’s even worse is that nine of those points came in an eight-game span. That leaves 12 points in the other 53 games. He’s not providing much as an 18 year old if he’s not scoring points, so in more games than not, Hughes did not make a positive contribution on the ice.

We expect that to change under Ruff.