Lindy Ruff was hired by the Devils on July 9, 2020.
ELMONT, N.Y. -- New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff earned his 100th career regular-season win with New Jersey on Friday, Oct 20, when his team earned a 5-4 overtime victory over the New York Islanders. Per the media notes, Ruff's 100 career wins are tied with Doug Carpenter (1985-1988) for the fourth most wins a head coach earned with New Jersey.
On. Oct. 11, Devils' general manager Tom Fitzgerald announced Ruff signed a multi-year contract extension, but the deal terms were not disclosed in the press release. When asked if he could reveal how many years he is now under contract for, the 63-year-old said, "I don't really get into detail when it comes to dealing with my contract."
It has been an interesting journey for Ruff, who was hired as New Jersey's 19th head coach on July 9, 2020. Last season, he heard shouts of "Fire Lindy" echo throughout Prudential Center after a few games. Eventually, fans would apologize with a "Sorry Lindy" chant. It was one of the more bizarre NHL storylines of the 2022-23 campaign but led to a gem of a quote from Ruff.
"I accept the apology, and maybe one day we can all sit down and have a beer and laugh about it," he said with a smile.
The veteran bench boss has a 100-99-25 regular season record and most recently led his team to a franchise record of 52 wins and 112 points. He finished second in Jack Adams Award voting, given to the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success. It was the fourth time Ruff was named a finalist.
