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

Rick Tocchet

Rick Tocchet was a name that came up a lot for people in the offseason, but his name hasn’t come up as much as of late. Rocchet was the head coach of the Arizona Coyotes before he got fired this past offseason. He didn’t land at any of the open jobs despite his name widely being connected, and now he’s taking the year off. It’s possible he decided to wait for the right opportunity.

The Devils might be that opportunity. They are young and spry and they really just need adjustments to be contenders for the playoffs rather than wholesale changes. Obviously, there are some issues with players focusing, but the team as a whole just needs a coach who makes some changes to the power play and then a few small changes to the lineup.

Tocchet might be just that. Is he the best coach in the league? He wasn’t when he was with the Coyotes, but it’s extremely rare that a head coach dominates during their first stint in the NHL.

This would be another move to hire a guy for the long term. The Devils really need to figure out whether they want a head coach who is going to be the long-term option or they just want to survive this season and re-evaluate at the end. There are options out there, but there are likely to be more options when the season ends and teams allow assistants to talk or other teams decide they want a different coach at the helm.