ESPN REPORT: The New Jersey Devils head coach is been fired due to…
Coach Lindy Ruff was fired by the New Jersey Devils on Monday, the team said. The Devils are failing to compete in a congested Eastern Conference a season after winning a playoff round the previous year.
The team’s temporary coach is Ruff’s assistant and former Vancouver Canucks coach Travis Green. The day following New Jersey’s 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, general manager of the Devils Tom Fitzgerald made the news.
Prior to a home game against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, Green will begin in his position during the morning skate. All of the current assistants, including goalie coach Dave Rogalski, Chris Taylor, Ryan McGill, and Sergei Brylin, will continue to work for the team.
“I hold our entire organization to the highest levels of accountability to focus on being a competitive team that expects to be a perennial playoff contender,” Fitzgerald stated. “Unfortunately, we are not currently at that level, and I needed to make this decision.”
Ruff was brought on board with the hope that he could turn what was seen as a bright future—one that featured players like Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, among others—into sustained success.
“This was an extremely difficult conversation to have with Lindy based on the relationship that he and I have,” Fitzgerald stated. “He was the right coach to develop our young players on the ice, and above all else, he is a tremendous person.”
Before the season began, Ruff received a multiyear extension from the Devils, the last one he would have received under his prior deal. But as time passed and “Fire Lindy!” chants persisted at home games, it appeared that the shift was unavoidable. The Devils, who have now dropped three of their previous four games, were outscored 9–4 on their 0–2 road trip through the Los Angeles region last weekend. They were defeated 4-3 by the Anaheim Ducks two days prior to their loss to the Kings.
“Travis has key experience running benches at the junior, AHL and NHL levels and knows that there are no shortcuts to success,” Fitzgerald stated. “He is a high-demanding individual who is familiar with the group and excited about working to get us back on track.”
The Devils were one of the more talked-about teams in the league going into the season, especially with several young players under long-term contracts. Last season, they won the first round against the rival New York Rangers and scored more than 100 points.
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They added winger Tyler Toffoli to their scoring lineup in the offseason, and it was evident that they wanted to capitalize on the upbeat vibes around a team that hadn’t qualified for the postseason since 2018.
However, since losing veterans Ryan Graves and Damon Severson to free agency this summer, New Jersey has suffered defensively, and those problems have carried into the crease. This season, the Devils have utilized three goalies, but none of them have demonstrated the consistency required to be a regular starter.
In June of last year, Green, 53, was brought on as an assistant coach to take over for Andrew Brunette, who had left to become head coach of the Nashville Predators. Green coached Vancouver for portions of five seasons, finishing with a record of 133-147-34.
Playing in the Edmonton bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic, Green, a former teammate of Fitzgerald’s with the New York Islanders, guided the Canucks to the second round of the 2020 postseason.
After leading the Devils to a 128-125-28 record in 281 regular-season games over the course of more than three seasons, Ruff, 64, is leaving the franchise. After losing in five games to the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 2 of the playoffs, New Jersey finished 5-7 in their first postseason campaign with Ruff. Following the previous season, Ruff was nominated a finalist for the Jack Adams Award.
The Devils are now the seventh NHL team to make an in-season coaching change this season after parting ways with Ruff. They join the Kings, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, and Edmonton Oilers.
With 64 points going into Tuesday’s game, the Devils are eight points off of the second wild-card slot in the Eastern Conference. Green’s team may look very different by Friday than it does at Tuesday’s morning skate because of this week’s trade deadline.
