New Jersey Devils: 5 Stupid Narratives You Will Hear This Offseason

Lindy Ruff Isn’t The Answer At Head Coach

This one hasn’t come up yet, but the fanbase is going to run out of people to blame, and the finger-pointing will eventually go to the head coach. This will especially be the case if we go into the summer with exactly the same assistant coaching staff. Obviously, the special teams were terrible for the Devils. Ruff has a hand in that, but let’s calm down for just a bit.

Ruff’s system is known to ask a lot of the defensemen, and the Devils don’t have the best defensemen. Will Butcher barely got into the lineup because of his fit in the system. On the other hand, P.K. Subban seemed to fit much better in this system than the John Hynes system.

Now remember, Ruff only had a few weeks to completely changed how everyone played hockey after they literally didn’t play competitive hockey for nine months. The training camp situation wasn’t great, and right when things started to click, a COVID outbreak took the season off the rails.

The Devils will have a lot more time to work with the players. None of the players that are still on the team have injuries that will keep them from working out in the offseason. Everyone can focus on hockey and getting better at this system. So, worrying about Ruff is not the right move. Give him one normal season before we worry about what he’s going to be like long-term as the Devils head coach.