Devils choose experienced Ruff as coach
Lindy Ruff impressed the Devils with his experience from decades of coaching. Tom Fitzgerald wowed ownership with his moves in a few short months as general manager.
The Devils on Thursday hired Ruff as coach and removed Fitzgerald’s interim tag to give him the full-time GM job. Ruff, who coached the Sabres from 1997-2013 and took them to the Stanley Cup Final in 1999, got the job over interim coach Alain Nasreddine and fellow veteran coaches Gerard Gallant, Peter Laviolette and John Stevens.
Fitzgerald and Ruff are now in charge of guiding one of the NHL’s youngest teams that includes recent No. 1 picks Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes and plenty of emerging talent. The Devils have made the playoffs just once in eight years, though a plethora of salary cap space and a seasoned coach could speed up the rebuilding process.
Ruff likes the foundation the Devils have that began with Fitzgerald’s work since taking over as GM when Ray Shero was fired Jan. 12. With the team out of contention when the season was halted by the coronations pandemic, Fitzgerald stockpiled assets from several trades at the deadline in February that should help in the short- and long-term future.
This is the 60-year-old Ruff’s third head job in the NHL. He coached the Stars from 2013-2017 and spent the last three seasons as an assistant with the Rangers.
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