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TORONTO — “Fire Lindy,” they chanted two games into the season.

“Sorry Lindy,” they chanted last Saturday, just three weeks later.

Chants like the first one are common around sports. The second one? Players on the Devils bench couldn’t quite put together what fans were saying until after the game, but they loved it once they found out.

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“During the game, everyone is looking at each other and saying, ‘What are they yelling?’ We didn’t understand,” Devils blueliner Damon Severson said Thursday. “And then after the game, we figured it out and we talked amongst ourselves in the room about it. It’s pretty funny. Obviously, we had an 0-2 start and then we’ve been hot since then. They wanted blood, I guess, to start the season and now they’re apologizing. So at least they’re honest.”

They apologized to the coach, to be precise.

🎧 hear it here, a second time the chants for Lindy come out. https://t.co/GoGaOkRUGw pic.twitter.com/ESpZxYMWis

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) November 13, 2022

And it did seem a little early, just two games in, for the fan base to be turning on Ruff, but to be fair, expectations are higher for this season, and the Devils have a hardcore fan base that’s been waiting patiently for that turning-the-corner moment of this rebuild.

“We’ve got very passionate fans. Their expectations are high for obvious reasons,” Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald said Thursday. “They grew up with the Marty Brodeurs, Scott Stevenses and Scott Niedermayers of the world — and the winning.

“But the greatest part, the fans acknowledged: ‘Maybe we were wrong.’ You don’t really see that in sports. It’s unique. You see the ‘fire’ chants all over sports, but you don’t see the other side very often.

“But Lindy, take away all the numbers and all the years and all the experience, he’s just a great person.”

Ruff, 62, has developed a pretty thick skin after all these years behind the bench in a career that has him first among active NHL head coaches in wins and fifth all-time.

He’s been hired and fired and won a Jack Adams Award in between. Been there, done that, bring it on.

Still, hearing the fans chanting “Fire Lindy” just two games into the season was hard to ignore.

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“I actually would just like to put it behind me and just keep moving forward,” Ruff told The Athletic on Thursday. “You know, it upsets your kids. But I said to them, ‘There’s stuff in all those years that you guys have been upset about. Put that tough skin on.'”

He also got fans’ frustration at 0-2. “I really did. We really did have a good preseason. We signed some players. Our expectations were up.”

That the Devils fans turned around and said “sorry” three weeks later? Now that’s cool. And not something you see often.

“I do think that part is fascinating, yes,” Ruff said with a chuckle. “But I think to be able to do that, we’ve been on such an incredible run, I don’t know if in other situations where they chanted fire the coach they’ve been able to turn it around and go on a run of this magnitude.”

Well, there is that. An 11-game winning streak will silence a lot of critics.

What’s also intriguing about all of it is that Ruff is on an expiring deal. Who knows what the future holds after the season?

Not that the fact he’s a pending unrestricted free agent concerns him.

“No, I’m so comfortable with it,” Ruff said. “I’ve got a great relationship with Tom. When we entered into this thing, I knew exactly where I was going to be. No, that is the furthest thing away from my mind. By far.”

Fitzgerald said having his coach on an expiring deal should not be a big deal to anyone. And it’s certainly not something that the GM and coach have spent a lot of time chatting about.

“We haven’t talked about it, to be honest with you,” Fitzgerald said. “The way I look at contracts, I mean, I’ve been on one-year contracts as a player. It’s part of your job. It’s part of sports.

“To me, I have the right to continue to assess where we’re at. I’ve got really good people — things are going really well — but there’s no rush to it in my opinion. That stuff takes care of itself anyway.”

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There are people around the hockey world who wondered what it meant for Ruff’s future when Andrew Brunette, a Jack Adams finalist last season with the Panthers, was brought on as an associate coach this past summer after his surprising exit in South Florida. The obvious read-between-the-lines narrative was that Brunette could be part of a succession plan.

Then again, as my TSN colleague Darren Dreger tweeted earlier this week, Brunette has an opt-out clause in his deal that allows him to leave for a head-coaching job elsewhere if such an offer materializes this season.

I’m certain Andrew Brunette is happy in his role with the New Jersey Devils. However, as expected, he has a clause in his agreement that would allow him to entertain outside interest for head coaching vacancies. The Canucks spoke with Brunette prior to him joining the Devils.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) November 16, 2022

One thing I was curious about, because of his age and because coaching in the NHL has never been more of a grind, is whether Ruff thinks he will still have the burning desire to keep going as a head coach after this season.

Ruff answered without a second’s hesitation.

“I want to keep going,” he said. “I’m healthy, I feel good — so try to just keep at it. I love the game too much. I think that’s why I’m still standing here.”

So who really knows where this is headed?

All we know for now is that Ruff is coaching one of the most exciting teams in the NHL. It’s a team that reminds me a bit of those fast-and-fun Sabres teams that Ruff coached coming out of the 2005 lockout.

“Yeah, I think there are a lot of similarities,” Ruff said. “And I think to be able to play that way, you have to have the manpower.”

The Devils come at you in waves. The team is four lines deep.

It’s also a young team. One thing I always wonder about in today’s NHL is how older coaches relate to these young players.

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It’s a weird thing to ask, I know, but I was curious how Ruff actually communicates with them.

“I have a good time with them, whether it’s texting, or if we’re talking about Instagram or Snapchat or something,” Ruff said with a laugh. “They’re like, ‘You got that stuff?’ I say, ‘Of course, I got that stuff. I’ve got to keep an eye on you guys.'”

In all seriousness, you can’t really leave a voicemail anymore.

“If you dial a player now, there’s a good chance you get a voicemail that’s not set up,” Ruff said. “So you know that. The best way to get a hold of them is text them. I’ll send a text to a player after the game the odd time, about what they did well. The best way to get a response back is text. Making a phone call now is almost obsolete.”

The main reason Fitzgerald brought Ruff in is his ability to develop young players. And that’s clearly happening in front of everyone’s eyes.

The key to that for Ruff is relationships.

“You can know X’s and O’s really well, but you really got to get to know your players,” Ruff said. “That’s more important than anything. Close your computer, get to know your players. I take a lot of pride in trying to get to most guys every day or every other day. Just skate around and talk to them about the game, talk about where they’re playing, talk about why we’re changing lines, what we’re looking at, what they can do better.

“I think if you’re approachable and honest with them, sometimes they don’t like to hear what you’re telling them, but most times they’ll take it in.

“Even more important, when they’re talking to you, make sure you’re listening — that you understand their point of view may count for something, too.”

(Photo: Ed Mulholland / USA Today)

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