New Jersey Devils: Pros And Cons Of Hiring Lindy Ruff
By Rob DeLuca
The Lindy Ruff hiring was one we needed a day to let process, and we’re not sure we completely have just yet. By now, all of you should know that the New Jersey Devils have shocked the hockey world and hired Coach Ruff to be the man behind the bench. Let’s get right into this and just weigh the pros and cons.
Pros
Ruff is very good with developing young guys into strong talents. Prime examples would be the improvement of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn when he was the head coach of the Dallas Stars. They are now two of the most elite players the league has to offer. Not to mention the seasons that New York Rangers defensemen Tony DeAngelo and Adam Fox had are no coincidence. This could be huge for guys like Will Butcher and Pavel Zacha.
Let’s not forget that he also managed to have winning records on some rather below average Buffalo Sabres teams. He is a resilient coach that always manages to try and find a way to win games. That is certainly something that the Devils can benefit from as their were just far too many games they should have won that got squandered away.
Cons
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Ruff is 60. He is certainly not a young coach, and this could possibly mean that he is not a long-term solution. This is not something the Devils need right now. It is not often you see coaches of this age getting NEW jobs these days they usually start considering retiring from coaching around this time. So it will be interesting to see what this very seasoned mind will do for such a young group.
Last time I checked it is the year 2020. The game of hockey has drastically changed and his old school style may not mesh well in this current game. He will certainly play a type of hockey that will benefit offense, but the defense will likely continue to suffer through his system unless they get proper personnel. That has always been an issue as well is getting prime free agents to New Jersey.
Final thoughts
I do not like it. Very simple. It is far from the worst decision they could have made, but at the same time it is not even close to the best decision. That does not mean we want Lindy Ruff fired already. We’re am rooting for him to do well and hope he manages to turn this team around. We just don’t if that will happen. At the end of the day, don’t give up and lets go Devils!