Devils reportedly hiring Lindy Ruff as head coach

The New Jersey Devils are hiring their next head coach from a division rival

The New Jersey Devils aren’t among the teams heading to Toronto for the resumption of the 2019-20 NHL season. However, they got some business done at home in regards to who will lead the team in the future.

According to NHL Network’s Kevin Weekes, the Devils are hiring New York Rangers assistant coach Lindy Ruff to become their new bench boss. Additionally, the team is removing the interim tag off general manager Tom Fitzgerald.

Other names considered for the job included Gerard Gallant, Peter Laviolette, and interim head coach Alain Nasreddine.

Lindy Ruff has success leading behind the bench.

Ruff has spent the past three seasons with the New York Rangers under Alain Vigneault (currently head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers) and current head coach David Quinn.

Prior to that stint, Ruff made a name for himself as the head coach for the Buffalo Sabres. He was hired for the job back in 1997, which he held for 15 years. In his second season with the club, Ruff led Buffalo to a Eastern Conference title. But, the Sabres went onto lose the 1999 Stanley Cup Final to the Dallas Stars, thanks in part to the controversial goal by Brett Hull. All in all, owned a 571-432-84 overall coaching record with the Sabres.

After being fired by the Sabres, Ruff, ironically, was hired to lead the Stars in 2013. His tenure in Dallas was far from successful, as he accumulated a 165-122-41 mark.

The Devils made tons of noise this past offseason, as they acquired top prospect Jack Hughes in the 2019 NHL Draft and traded for star defenseman P.K. Subban. The end result saw New Jersey fall to the basement of the Metropolitan Division standings, which caused ownership to fire head coach John Hynes and general manager Ray Shero.

Can Ruff lead the Devils back to their glory days? Only time will tell.