3. What Happens To Lindy Ruff Now?
Lindy Ruff has been one of the more controversial coaches in Devils history. No, he isn’t stealing headlines for no reason like John Tortorella or doing something embarrassing that puts a bad name on the Devils. He is controversial because deciding whether he’s a great or bad coach is hard. And depending on who you ask, there is no in-between.
He has been a development dynamo. So many Devils players are seeing their best seasons under Ruff. Jack Hughes is now a superstar, and Ruff has a lot to do with it. Nico Hischier is seeing a similar trajectory, and he even got nominated for the Selke Trophy. Jesper Bratt has back-to-back 73-point seasons. On top of that, the defense is finally something to be proud of, even if the system is frustrating.
There are issues, however. The power play still looks just as bad despite replacing Mark Recchi with Andrew Brunette. Sometimes the players seem like they don’t know where they need to be, but that could be on the players themselves.
There would be no chance that Ruff would be fired. He secured that when he beat the Rangers. However, his contract is likely up. He signed a three-year deal that has not been extended as of this writing. Will the Devils give him a blank check to return? Does Ruff, who is 63 years old, want to commit to another three years of coaching? One thing nobody really brought up is the fact Ruff could leave for another job. He is a Jack Adams finalist. Is there another job he thinks would fit his system better for the twilight of his career? It’s a very interesting situation.