Lead by their captain Nico Hischier and another first overall pick Jack Hughes, the Devils were looking to finally turn into a playoff competitor this season. The Devils added Stanley Cup Champion Ondrej Palat, traded for a new goalie in Vitek Vanecek, and also with another year of development for all their young players, on paper, it looked like the Devils could do some damage this season.
Head Coach Lindy Ruff is now in his 3rd season with the Devils, and during his time the team went: 19-30-7 (.402 win%) in his first year, and 27-46-9 (.384 Win%).
During the Devils home opener, when the announcer was introducing the coaching staff, the entire arena started to boo when they heard Lindy Ruff's name.