"Our pro scouts like [Johnsson]; he's got high compete, can track pucks," MacKinnon said. "He does play a style that [Ruff] wants to bring to the table with an aggressive game, while hunting pucks and forcing things."
"I think with the young players, they want to know that they're going to be counted on in key situations, that they're going to be an important part of the team," Ruff said. "As a coach, it's going to be my job to help develop that and put them in that position to help succeed and at the same time be very demanding of how we need to play as a team to be successful."
New Jersey also added defenseman Ryan Murray in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets for a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft on Oct. 8; forward Andreas Johnsson in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs for forward Joey Anderson on Oct. 10; and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who signed a one-year contract Oct. 22 after three seasons with the Winnipeg Jets.
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Ty Smith, their top defenseman prospect, could be an answer. The 20-year-old scored 59 points (19 goals, 40 assists) in 46 games with Spokane of the Western Hockey League last season.
Ruff, who was hired July 9, has coached 19 seasons in the NHL. He is sixth all-time in wins (736) and seventh in games coached (1,493). He'll try to turn around a team that has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs once in the past eight seasons.