New Jersey Devils: 5 Players Lindy Ruff Can Impact Most

Miles Wood

Miles Wood is a very interesting player on this team. He was outstanding in 2017-18, scoring 19 goals in 76 games. He was helped by a ridiculous 11.2% shooting percentage (well, ridiculous for him), but we still thought he had room to grow. After a contract holdout that lasted into the next season’s training camp, Wood was signed to a four-year deal. The speedster was sticking with the Devils at a $2.75 million cap number.

Since then, he’s scored 10 and 11 goals in the past two seasons. This might be the biggest drop of any Devils player since that last playoff berth. Wood has been in and out of the lineup, moved on multiple different lines, and eventually, he settled on the fourth line. Wood is known more as a punch line than he is as a contributing player in every game. It’s sad because he was a fan favorite just two years ago.

His speed, grit, and skill could fit well into the fast-attacking approach Ruff might go for. Wood is just missing something. He’s been given opportunities, as we saw by him playing next to Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri at the end of the season. Something has just held him back. Maybe Ruff is the right coach to get him to become the finisher we all wish he could be.

Last season, Wood was letting this all get to his head. It shows by his advanced stats. He was on the ice for as many high-danger attempts as he was the season before, but the other team got an inexplicable 178 high-danger chances against him at 5v5. We know that Wood is a boom-or-bust player, but this was the first season it was bust on a much bigger clip. Ruff may be able to put him in the right situation that gets the best Miles Wood possible.