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Devils Fire Lindy Ruff

Trey Daubert / NHL / March 4, 2024

Devils Fire Lindy Ruff

I guess I’m not totally surprised that a coach who just got fired two weeks after blaming the media for having a bad powerplay. That’s exactly what happened with Lindy Ruff. Except the weird part is, the Devils are still moving on from Ruff after giving him an extension in October.

The Devils broke their own story by announcing a statement via social media:

#NEWS: We have relieved Lindy Ruff of his head coaching duties and named Associate Coach Travis Green as Interim Head Coach for the rest of the season.

📰 More info ⤵️https://t.co/XdYH17w5gZ
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 4, 2024

“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,” said Fitzgerald. “Unfortunately, we are not currently at that level, and I needed to make this decision.

“This was an extremely difficult conversation to have with Lindy based on the relationship that he and I have. He was the right coach to develop our young players on the ice, and above all else, he is a tremendous person.

“Travis has key experience running benches at the junior, AHL and NHL levels and knows that there are no shortcuts to success. He is a high-demanding individual who is familiar with the group and excited about working to get us back on track.”

Ruff, 64, guided the Devils to a 30-27-4 record on the season. New Jersey has suffered a number of key injuries and have been brutal in the crease. If the Devils were getting better than a 31st ranked .891 SV%, maybe Ruff would still have a job today.

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Travis Green will take over as the interim head coach. Green, 53, takes over a team that currently sits in 6th place in the Metro and out of a playoff spot. Time is running out for the Devils to make that push as the trade deadline concludes on Friday.

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