New Jersey Devils’ fans should look at this move in a positive light.
As fans of sports, it’s our job to root for our team no matter how bad they are. An example would include the hiring of a coach. For New Jersey Devils fans, hiring coach Lindy Ruff may have some fans jumping off the ship. The fans frustrations is completely understandable. We should be willing to give Ruff a chance. If you don’t agree, here are two reasons why everyone should give Lindy Ruff a chance to see if he can improve the team.
Lindy Ruff Hasn’t Coached a Game Yet.
When a coach gets hired, it’s his job to change the team. How will Lindy Ruff’s team play on the ice? Well, the answer is: we don’t know.
We haven’t seen him coach a game yet. It’s unclear how we see the team on the ice this season. We also don’t know about what decisions Ruff makes that will impact each game. We will never find out what the team looks like until the first game of the 2020-21 season. Until we see the team is about to blow a 4-0 lead on opening night like last year, we shouldn’t judge Ruff as a lousy coach. But that’s not to say there are going to be challenges for Ruff with this team.
Ruff Isn’t That Bad of a Head Coach.
Some people seem to forget that Ruff, as a head coach, has done a pretty decent job. Throughout his 20 years behind the bench, Ruff had coached two teams, one of those teams being coached by him for 16 years. Early in his tenure with the Buffalo Sabres coach, he led them to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999.
He would end his ride in Buffalo in 2013 when he fired after a 6-10 start. His next coaching gig would be with the Dallas Stars. Despite making two playoff appearances, he was let go after the 2016-17 season.
Ruff is also known for something else. Players like Daniel Briere, Jamie Benn, and Tyler Seguin have all gotten coached by Ruff. Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier should be the main targets for Ruff in his tenure with the Devils.
Hischier and Hughes are both young. Having Ruff here could find their most significant talents and try to see if he can improve on them. For Hughes, he needs to improve on a lot of things, most importantly being his shot. Seeing Hughes hit so many posts made me think he should’ve had more goals.
With Hischier, he and Ruff should work on finishing his shots. We would love to see Nico get more goals, and see him reach the totals he had in Halifax. We’d also like to see Ruff try to improve P.K Subban. Ruff may not be a good defense coach, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t try to improve Subban’s defense. If Ruff can do all those things, fans could change their mind about Ruff. But there is one other reason why fans shouldn’t hate Ruff.
Will You Believe in Lindy Ruff or Not?
Overall, we should feel happy that we’re getting Lindy Ruff as a coach. If you take the time to look at what Ruff has done, you should feel impressed. Ruff has changed many players, and now he’s doing it to the Devils. We all want to see the team look different next year. We want to see the franchise leave this rebuild state. We could also see if Ruff can move us closer to a Stanley Cup. Please think about this. Lindy Ruff will not turn into Billy MacMillan from the first few years of the franchise. I think as a fan, it’s best to stay and see what Lindy Ruff could do. Will you do the same?