Current:Home > Contact-usSlumping New Jersey Devils fire coach Lindy Ruff, promote Travis Green-LoTradeCoin
Slumping New Jersey Devils fire coach Lindy Ruff, promote Travis Green
View Date:2024-12-23 21:43:05
The New Jersey Devils gave coach Lindy Ruff a multiyear extension last summer after he led the team back to the playoffs in 2022-23. But the Devils fired him Monday with the playoffs looking less likely.
The Devils announced that associate coach Travis Green will be interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Ruff, 64, and the coaching staff gave goaltender Nico Daws a second consecutive start and he was pulled for a second consecutive game Sunday. The 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey's fifth in the last seven games, left the Devils seven points shy of a playoff spot.
Everything seemed to go right for the Devils last season as they hit a franchise-record 112 points and knocked off the New York Rangers in the first round. Ruff was a finalist for coach of the year.
Plenty has gone wrong this season, some beyond Ruff's control. Captain Nico Hischier missed time early, star Jack Hughes went out twice with injuries and top defenseman Dougie Hamilton has been limited to 20 games. Forward Michael McLeod is on leave after being charged in connection with an alleged 2018 sexual assault.
All things Devils: Latest New Jersey Devils news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
But the goaltending has been ineffective and the power play has struggled recently.
“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,” Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said in a statement. “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."
Green had been a head coach with the Vancouver Canucks for four-plus seasons.
Ruff had a 128-125-28 record with the Devils. His 864 career victories rank fourth all-time.
He was the seventh NHL coach fired during the 2023-24 season. The Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings made earlier moves.
veryGood! (66373)
Related
- Amazon's 'Cross' almost gets James Patterson detective right: Review
- The Experiment Aiming To Keep Drug Users Alive By Helping Them Get High More Safely
- Today’s Climate: June 2, 2010
- Inside Princess Anne's Unique Royal World
- Hill House Home’s Once-A-Year Sale Is Here: Get 30% off Everything & up to 75% off Luxury Dresses
- At Freedom House, these Black men saved lives. Paramedics are book topic
- Despite its innocently furry appearance, the puss caterpillar's sting is brutal
- Why Prince Harry Didn't Wear His Military Uniform to King Charles III's Coronation
- Black and Latino families displaced from Palm Springs neighborhood reach $27M tentative settlement
- In Wake of Gulf Spill, Louisiana Moves on Renewable Energy
Ranking
- Powerball winning numbers for November 11 drawing: Jackpot hits $103 million
- Atlanta City Council OK's funds for police and firefighter training center critics call Cop City
- 58 Cheap Things to Make Your Home Look Expensive
- California Attorney General Sues Gas Company for Methane Leak, Federal Action Urged
- Police cruiser strikes and kills a bicyclist pulling a trailer in Vermont
- Who are the Rumpels? Couple says family members were on private plane that crashed.
- Calif. Lawmakers Rush to Address Methane Leak’s Dangers
- 2017 One of Hottest Years on Record, and Without El Niño
Recommendation
-
What happens to Donald Trump’s criminal conviction? Here are a few ways it could go
-
Today’s Climate: June 23, 2010
-
3 common thinking traps and how to avoid them, according to a Yale psychologist
-
Gas stove debate boils over in Congress this week
-
Auburn surges, while Kansas remains No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll
-
Why Queen Camilla Officially Dropped Her Consort Title After King Charles III’s Coronation
-
The unresponsive plane that crashed after flying over restricted airspace was a private jet. How common are these accidents?
-
Some hospitals rake in high profits while their patients are loaded with medical debt