Lindy Ruff. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
It’s at that point of the season, with the playoffs ongoing, when finalists for season awards are announced. There are a few Devils’ players that were already named finalists: Nico Hischier for the Selke Trophy and Jack Hughes for the Lady Byng. Another Devils’ member who should challenge for an award is the team’s bench boss, Lindy Ruff.
Here is why Ruff should be a serious candidate for the Jack Adams Award, which the finalists for will be announced tonight.
Lindy Ruff: Coach Of The Year
The Jack Adams Award is given to the top coach in the NHL that given year. In addition to Ruff, there are other head coaches also worthy of this award. New faces in new places have done well with their new clubs. Here’s a list of those key names:
- Jim Montgomery (Boston)
- Pete DeBoer (Dallas)
- Bruce Cassidy (Vegas)
In addition, you have other worthy candidates that have been with their clubs for a few seasons:
- Rod Brind’Amour (Carolina)
- Dean Evason (Minnesota)
When all is said and done, Bruin’s boss-man Jim Montgomery should be the front-runner. The Boston Bruins clinched the Presidents’ Trophy and turned in the best regular season in league history. Despite this, there is still a serious case for Lindy Ruff to be given the award.
New Year, New Devils
It went from “Fire Lindy” to “Sorry Lindy” very fast. In fact, the apology was warranted and the Devils turned in arguably the best regular season in franchise history. Last year, the team excelled in terms of five-on-five play, but a few things plagued them in the long run leading to seventh-place finish in the division.
Here are the key milestones for the club in their most successful season in franchise history:
- Most wins in a single season in franchise history (52).
- Most points in a single season in franchise history (111).
- Most comeback wins in franchise history (26).
- Tied longest win streak in franchise history (13).
- Largest year-to-year point improvement in NHL history (49).
So, what fueled that success? The team emerging as one of the best teams in the NHL at five on five:
- Corsi-For Percentage (CF%): 54.12 (4th, 15th last year)
- Expected Goals-For Percentage (xGF%): 56.53 (2nd, 13th last year)
- Scoring Chances-For Percentage (SCF%): 56.82 (2nd, 14th last year)
- High-Danger Corsi-For Percentage (HDCF%): 58.73 (1st, 6th last year)
As you can see, the team took a massive step above from last year. A team went from the middle of the pack and a basement dweller, to a contender in a matter of a year. These figures also all check out better than the Bruins.
Not to mention, New Jersey also saw improvements in their special team units. The power play improved from a dreadful 28th (15.6 percent) in the league to 13th (21.9 percent) and the penalty kill from 14th (80.2 percent) to fourth (82.6 percent).
The biggest improvement came in net, where New Jersey saw the trio of Vitek Vanecek, Akira Schmid, and Mackenzie Blackwood posted a cumulative save percentage (.904) that was 11th-best in the NHL. A huge improvement from the .881 mark that ranked 31st last season.
Player Milestones
Not only did the team have a huge regular season, but so did the players. Multiple players are having careers seasons under Ruff.
Dougie Hamilton was close breaking the all-time point totals for a Devils’ defenseman in a single season. He did set the Devils’ record for most goals in a single season. Additionally, Vitek Vanecek becomes the second goalie, other than Martin Brodeur, to have 30 wins for the Devils. Lastly, Jack Hughes set the team’s point record.
The list of career years didn’t isn’t stop there, here are a few more notable:
- Jack Hughes: goals (43) points (99)
- Nico Hischier: goals (31) points (80)
- Jesper Bratt: goals (32)
- Dawson Mercer: goals (27) points (56)
Under Ruff, several players took a huge new step. Whether that be due to the system they played in, or just progression, anytime players take a step forward, coaching can be credited.
Final Thoughts
Safe to say, head coach Lindy Ruff deserves at least strong consideration for the Jack Adams Award. The team did well to add multiple quality players to the same system – Vanecek, Ondrej Palat, John Marino and Timo Meier, but nobody expected the Devils to be where they are as they continue their run in the postseason.
Of course, the year a team turned in the best regular season in league history may make it tough for Ruff to realistically win. Though, nonetheless, the Devils were in great hands this year.
Note, a full in-depth review of the team’s successful regular season can be found here.