New Jersey Devils: Who Will Be Head Coach Next Season?
After a successful season capped off with an exit to the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the playoffs, the New Jersey Devils have some decisions to make now that we’re officially in the offseason. Head Coach Lindy Ruff’s three-year contract that he signed in the 2020 offseason expires this summer, and there is practically a guarantee that Andrew Brunette will not be an Associate/Assitant Coach for much longer.
That leaves General Manager Tom Fitzgerald with one of his biggest decisions since taking over the front office. Will they bring back Ruff or will they look at other options? We will look at the various head coaches available this summer to see if they fit in New Jersey.
The Simple Option: Keeping Lindy Ruff
While there has been plenty to criticize Coach Ruff for during his time as head coach, he definitely deserves praise for the way he, along with the rest of the coaching staff, has been able to turn the ship around. After finishing second-last in the Metro two years in a row, the Devils skyrocketed this year into 3rd overall in the league and 2nd in the Metro behind Carolina.
The underlying numbers tell an even better story. Since his appointment, the Devils have seen steady improvement in CF%, and xGF%, with an exponential rise to the tops of the NHL ranks in those categories this year. The adage “Just a Goalie” was thrown around a lot during the 2022 off-season, and that became mostly true. Vitek Vanecek’s calming play led the Devils to a 2nd place finish in the league.
However, the regular season results do not matter if they don’t show up in the playoffs. While they mostly outplayed the Rangers in Round 1, the Devils were outclassed against the Hurricanes outside of Game 4.
It would be unfair to say that the loss is fully on Ruff. Carolina forced the Devis into an egregious amount of mistakes and giveaways that led to easy chances. But to find ways to beat the Carolina’s forecheck was Ruff’s job, and that was something both he nor the team could not accomplish. That lack of unpreparedness/adjustments falls mostly on Ruff and his staff.
There were also roster decisions that were baffling. Playing Vanecek against Carolina after his poor performances against the Rangers and not introducing Luke Hughes until Game 3 of the second round come to mind. Ruff felt like the perfect coach to get the proverbial ball rolling again for New Jersey and get them into a position to play “meaningful games,” but not the coach that takes them all the way. If the Devils want to go farther, perhaps a change behind the bench is necessary.
New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images)
The Other Simple Option: Promoting Andrew Brunette
The popular option among Devils fans and general media is simply promoting current Associate Coach Andrew Brunette to full-time head coach. On the surface, it makes a lot of sense. Brunette was hired after leading the Flordia Panthers to the President’s Trophy, becoming a Jack Adams Finalist in the process. The Panthers lead the NHL in Corsi % and were 3rd in xG%, playing as arguably the most dominant offensive team in the league. When signed to New Jersey, Brunette became the Associate Coach instead of an Assistant Coach, implying the trust and importance that Tom Fitzgerald has bestowed upon him. So, what’s the holdup?
The issue with Brunette is one simple question: how much of Florida’s success in the regular season and failure in the postseason was due to him specifically?
Florida’s original head coach for the 2021-22 season was John Quenneville. After the Kyle Beach case’s revelations in Chicago and the alleged cover up, he was fired and replaced by Brunette. JQ’s system was seemingly unchanged for large parts of the year. So the question arises when it comes to how much influence Brunette had. The failure in the playoffs, which started with an uncomfortable series win against the Capitals and a sweeping by the hands of the Lightning, does not help Brunette’s case.
Looking at Brunette’s impact on the Devils could be a fair way to judge his impact. His primary job is working on the power play. Looking at xG (maybe not the greatest way to measure the effectiveness of a PP, but alas) on the powerplay from the 2021-22 to 2022-23 season, the Devils jumped from 30th (35.53 xGF) to 18th (51.38 xGF). So, a sizeable increase, no? But based on the film and watching the team for the two years, how different is the powerplay truly? How much more effective has it been?
The Devils powerplay has largely been a static and often a head-scratching affair this season. They run three primary plays: a Jack Hughes pin-down snapshot play, a side-to-side pass leading to a Dougie Hamilton one-timer, and a cross-seam pass between Hughes and Jesper Bratt that leads to a one-timer.
If the Devils had their way, they would love to make that third option work but often settle for the first two. The simple lack of movement and creativity misuses Hughes’s main skillset: skating downhill. This isn’t all on Brunette, but it is telling that he cannot make substantial changes to this team in his sphere of influence.
The “Homecoming” Option: Jay Leach
One name familiar to all Devils fans; Jay Leach is a former player and the current assistant coach for the rising Seattle Kraken. Leach has sizeable coaching experience for a relatively young coach. Before his current stint in Seattle, Leach was the head coach for the Providence Bruins for 4 years. He had an impressive 62.8 win % during his time in the AHL, though he didn’t win a championship.
He is currently responsible for the development and play of the defenseman, which has seen key improvement in guys like Carson Soucy, Adam Larsson, and, most notably, Vince Dunn. Seattle’s team defense was quite good this year, ranking as the 7th best team in xGA. While that is more of a team stat, it is important that the section of the team Leach is responsible for is doing their job well. Much like the Devils of last year, goaltending killed a lot of what Seattle could have been this year in the regular season. The Kraken likely don’t care much now with Philip Grubauer’s renaissance in the playoffs.
With the incoming defenders in Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec, a coach who has experience with developing defensemen may be helpful.
There are obvious concerns with the fact that this would be his first NHL head coaching gig in the league. Still, Leach seems like a worthwhile option, being able to bring fresh ideas defensively that could help clean up some of the in-zone defensive issues the Devils face when they are not able to get their rush game going.
The Powerplay-Focused Option: Spencer Carbery
If the Devils want to revamp their power play, why not bring in the man in charge of one of the best powerplays in the league? Spencer Carbery has been an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs for two years. While Toronto has better personnel, the chances they create using motion and ever-changing passing angles to get their superstars, Auston Mattews and Mitch Marner, into positions to put the puck into the net. Carbery could bring much of that to New Jersey.
He has an extensive coaching career prior to his time in Toronto. From coaching stops in Saginaw in the OHL, Carbery has been a Head Coach in the ECHL and AHL, winning coach of the year in both leagues, and also won the AHL President’s Trophy with the Hershey Bears. Interestingly, Carbery was an assistant on Jay Leach’s staff in Providence during the 2017-18 season.
There is also something with Carbery that shouldn’t go unnoticed. Being the coach of the year in the AHL is usually a good sign of becoming a competent NHL coach. Past names include Jon Cooper, Bruce Cassidy, Don Granto, and John Hynes (ha). Being a winner and recognized as such seems to translate well into the NHL.
The In-House Option: Kevin Dineen
Perhaps an intriguing option for the Devils is already in their organization. Kevin Dineen has been everywhere in his coaching career, including a head coaching job in Flordia during the Devils’ Stanley Cup run in 2011-2012. He has also been a coach for Anaheim’s AHL affiliates, Canada’s Women’s National Hockey Team’s Head Coach, and an assistant for John Quenneville in Chicago (2014-2018).
Dineen has obvious benefits: the ties with the prospects in Utica. Guys like Holtz, Clarke, Nemec, Bahl, and Foote all have experience with Dineen and could benefit from the continuity. With prior head coaching experience, Dineen may be the best equipped to lead the Devils among these options.
The issues with Dineen are important to discuss, however. While he has overseen an improved Utica side, he has not shown the ability to be successful with a very good roster. He had an insane stretch to start his coaching career in Utica, winning a record 12 straight to start the 2021-22 season. However, the consistency was never there, and the team ended up finishing roughly .500. The development of the prospects has been commendable, but being a coach is more than that, and Dineen’s inability to take this roster, especially the 2021-22 iteration, to the promised land or even into the later rounds of the AHL Playoffs is troubling.
Next. 5 Biggest Questions Headed Into Devils Offseason. dark
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are several options for the Devils to explore this offseason when it comes to their opening as head coach. They could opt to stay with the current setup or take a risk on “new blood.”
Bringing Spencer Carbery could be the best option. He is highly thought of around the league and, at just 41 years of age, will be able to grow with the team as well. The potential for an improved powerplay is also very intriguing, though that may not be as simple as it sounds. He seems like a coach with modern ideas and has won at every step of the coaching totem pool.
All stats provided by Natural Stat Trick and MoneyPuck