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New Jersey Devils: A Massive Thank You to Lindy Ruff

By Jeremy Goldstein

New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff watches the action against the Detroit Red Wings during the third period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff watches the action against the Detroit Red Wings during the third period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports /
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Well, they did it. For the first time in five seasons (and the second time in 11), the New Jersey Devils are going to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Despite a surplus of ups and downs and a handful of underwhelming seasons, the Devils finally got what they needed to put together a powerful regular season and clinch a spot in the postseason.

Jack Hughes has become that point-per-game player that we all needed him to be. Stars in Nico Hischier and Dougie Hamilton have stayed healthy and produced at the level we expect them to.

While we can talk about so many players on this team and how much they’ve meant to the Red and Black, every single Devils fan needs to stand up and give a round of applause for Head Coach Lindy Ruff. Sure, there was the “Sorry Lindy” chant, but he deserves even more than that.

Ruff, who’s now the 5th winningest coach in NHL history, was brought in to coach New Jersey in the Summer of 2020.  Through his first two seasons, Ruff had a record of 46-76-16 and by game 2 of the 2022-2023 season, fans were calling for his job after a home opener loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

However, following the rough start, Ruff’s Devils were able to rattle off a franchise-best 13 consecutive wins and would eventually help coach the squad to a 100-point season for the first time since 2011-2012. As we mentioned, we even saw a “Sorry Lindy” chant at one point at ‘The Rock.’ That was to make up for the “Fire Lindy” chants that came in the second game of the season.

Regardless of where the team finishes this season, it goes without question that Lindy Ruff deserves a large portion of the credit for this turnaround. From the late stages of Peter DeBoer’s tenure to four difficult seasons with John Hynes, there was always some expectation that we would see some progression and promise from the young talent selected by the organization. It never happened.

At any time in the future, it will be objective to say that Lindy Ruff was the coach that helped this young core mesh and win more hockey games than lose. Ruff is the coach that helped the Devils give this fan base hope, and if there is 4th and maybe 5th Stanley Cup at the end of the road, it would be a criminal act not to give one of the most successful NHL coaches his fair share of credit.

The love-hate relationship between Coach Ruff and Devils faithful had been understandable for a long time. Now, it’s a requirement to put aside any remaining differences and appreciate how far this organization has come.

Devils fans, enjoy this. We deserve it.

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