Devils: Does Hiring Andrew Brunette Make Lindy Ruff Expendable?

New Jersey Devils fans aren’t huge fans of head coach Lindy Ruff. Then again, Ruff has done very little winning on the ice in his two years behind the bench to win fans over.

Many fans have long wanted a coaching change, especially this offseason. Despite giving some initial cryptic answers, general manager Tom Fitzgerald assured that Ruff is the team’s head coach going into the 2022-2023 season.

There were a few vacancies in the assistant coaching department. Former assistant coaches Alain Nasreddine and NHL Hall of Famer Mark Recchi were let go this offseason.

One of their replacements is reigning Jack Adams finalist Andrew Brunette, who took over the Florida Panthers after Joel Quenneville’s unceremonious resignation. Brunette would lead the team to a Presidents’ Trophy before being fired after a second-round loss.

Is Andrew Brunette the Devils’ replacement for Lindy Ruff?

Brunette is an immediate upgrade on the Devils’ coaching staff, but it also gives the team something they haven’t had in Ruff’s two years so far. The Devils finally have a backup plan if they want to let Ruff go if the season once again fails to live up to expectations.

Sure, Nasreddine had his cup of coffee as New Jersey’s interim head coach following John Hynes’s firing in 2019-2020, but fans didn’t think much higher of him. Fans thought even less of Recchi, who coached a league-worst power play at times and had to endure “fire Recchi.”

Think of it this way: if you fire a coach, you need to hire (or promote) a new coach. Who would have replaced Ruff if the Devils had fired him any time over the past few years? Brunette is a much better option than anyone you were probably thinking of.

In a recent interview, general manager Tom Fitzgerald said some things that both support and go against this theory. Fitzgerald said he reached out to Brunette even before Florida had officially fired him.

Getting a head start on one of the NHL’s hottest coaching commodities might not necessarily inspire confidence in your current bench boss.

Fitzgerald then followed that up by saying he believes Brunette wants to “learn” under Ruff. If that’s the case, it seems Ruff’s departure isn’t something the Devils anticipate happening incredibly early in the season.

Maybe after Brunette has “learned” enough if the team is struggling Ruff might become expendable.

Brunette is more than capable of being New Jersey’s head coach. With a potential replacement waiting in the wings, the decision to keep or get rid of Ruff, should the season turn south, is no longer a question of “do we have a suitable replacement?”

If Ruff is let go and anybody but Brunette is given the interim tag, it would be a terrible move and a complete shock.

Brunette coached a very similar young team in Florida (okay, Florida has more superstars and better goaltending, but you get our point). This Devils team should make him feel comfortable behind the bench.

If he can help them succeed and take that next step forward, it will be a major accomplishment and raise his profile.

Devils management seems all-in on Ruff, at least for now. Hughes spoke highly of Ruff, so that likely bought Ruff some time and some slack.

If New Jersey decides Ruff has reached the end of the line with the Devils, they won’t have to look far for a replacement. He will be right behind the bench waiting.