New Jersey Devils: If Lindy Ruff Does Get Fired, Who Are Replacement Options?

John Tortorella

This one is controversial because of who John Tortorella is as a head coach. He’s hard nosed, doesn’t want skill to come over the process, and he only likes a certain kind of player to excel. However, he gets results. He’s been a head coach for 20 seasons. Outside of a disastrous stint with the Vancouver Canucks, he made it more than five years with each of his stops between the Rangers, Blue Jackets, and Lightning.

However, Torts is more known lately for what he’s saying on ESPN than what he could do behind a bench. Complaining about the skill of Connor McDavid or the festivities of Trevor Zegras probably isn’t the best move for a team that’s supposed to be led by Jack Hughes.

This one just doesn’t feel like the right option, although it does deserve mentioning. The Devils have hired people out of nowhere before. Lindy Ruff didn’t seem like a candidate, but he’s here now. The Devils do need some structure, and Torts brings structure.

His comments probably did more to hurt his candidacy than anything. When we asked the fanbase on Twitter who they would want to be coach, most people made it a point to say “no thank you” to John Tortorella.