Lindy Ruff: Why NJ Devils are retaining head coach after parting ways with assistant coaches

Lindy Ruff will be back behind the bench for the New Jersey Devils next season.

GM Tom Fitzgerald confirmed the news Thursday at his end-of-season media availability, saying Ruff was brought in to grow the team’s young talent and has done just that.

“Lindy was the guy I told everybody that stood out above everybody else because that was extremely important to me and the organization to make sure we really grow that young talent to its fullest,” said Fitzgerald. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that Lindy has come in and done that over the last year and a half.”

The decision comes one day after the team announced it was parting ways with assistant coaches Alain Nasreddine and Mark Recchi.

“The tough decision that was made yesterday was me,” said Fitzgerald. “That was put on me because of things that I needed different. As far as Lindy is concerned, I go back over two years ago, when I started the search for what I felt was the right person to help this group grow and develop.”

Ruff has overseen a group of the Devils’ young core take larger steps this season offensively. The 248 goals scored by the Devils are the most in any season for the team since the 2000-01 season. The Devils enjoyed career years from the likes of captain Nico Hischier, rising star Jack Hughes and an emerging scorer in Jesper Bratt. Some of the core talent, namely Hughes, personally endorsed Ruff at the end of the season.

“They’re very supportive of Lindy Ruff and how they were handled individually and how he got the best out of them,” said Fitzgerald. “He allowed them to express their offensive ability and not pull the reigns back. Going back a year and a half, I was looking for certain attributes that were non-negotiable and growing our young talent at the NHL level was a big part of my decision making. Lindy checked all those boxes.”

Ruff came to New Jersey as one of the NHL’s most successful coaches in league history. But success has been hard to come by here with the Devils with a combined 46-76-16 record in two seasons. Ruff has one year remaining on his contract with a career win-loss record of 782-630 with 78 ties and 141 overtime losses. With his first victory next season, he will break a tie with Al Arbour and gain sole possession of fifth on the NHL’s all-time wins list.

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Ruff’s tenure with the Devils has been filled with poor play and even worse luck. This past season saw the Devils surrender more than 300 goals for the first time since the 1988-89 season, while also using a franchise record seven different goalies and navigating numerous injuries and illnesses throughout.

“Evaluating the team this year is tough when your best players play 20 games, but it’s no excuse,” said Fitzgerald. “That snapshot and the good, I can’t ignore that.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Lindy Ruff: NJ Devils retain head coach despite two subpar seasons