After leading the New Jersey Devils to their first postseason appearance since 2018 and first series win in over a decade, head coach Lindy Ruff is not going anywhere.
Team general manager Tom Fitzgerald confirmed at the team's end of season media availability on Wednesday that the 63-year-old will be back behind the bench for the 2023-24 season.
“I've always said that Lindy Ruff was the right coach for this group,” Fitzgerald said, according to team reporter Amanda Stein. “So here we are today. He's still the right coach for this group, he's earned that right. He deserves that, we deserve him to be quite honest…those kids love him.”
Ruff coached New Jersey to a 52-22-8 record in a tough Metropolitan Division in 2022-23, good enough for second-place in the division and a date with the formidable New York Rangers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
But the Devils were up to the challenge, erasing a 2-0 series deficit and beating the Rangers in a thrilling Game 7. Although they bowed out to the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round, it was still a successful season for NJ, who returned to the second round for the first time since advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012.
Although Ruff's current contract expires on Jun. 30, Fitzgerald made it clear that he will be getting a new deal after coaching the team for the past three seasons. A new contract extension is in the works as of Wednesday.
It seems obvious that Lindy Ruff will be back behind the Devils bench, after he was nominated for this season's Jack Adams Award as the league's top head coach, along with Boston Bruins' Jim Montgomery and Seattle Kraken's Dave Hakstol.
He already won the award once, when he coached the Buffalo Sabres to an Eastern Conference Final appearance in 2006. Overall, he has coached 1,713 games in his career, amassing a 834-652-78-149 record.
The New Jersey Devils are young and hungry, and should be knocking on the door of the top spot in the Eastern Conference for years to come.
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