He is fired, the New jersey devils head coach.

He is fired, the New jersey devils head coach.

Lindy Ruff has been relieved of his coaching responsibilities by the New Jersey Devils, the team announced on Monday. For the balance of the season, associate coach Travis Green will assume the role of head coach.

Tom Fitzgerald, the president and general manager of New Jersey, stated in a statement, “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.” We aren’t there yet, which is unfortunate, so I had to make this choice.

Given our relationship, this was a really challenging subject for me to have with Lindy. He is a fantastic coach who was the ideal choice to help our young players grow on the rink  individual.

Ruff, 64, spent his first 15 seasons as an NHL head coach with the Buffalo Sabres. After that, he played with the Devils and Dallas Stars for four years apiece. Prior to falling to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games in the postseason last year, Ruff guided New Jersey to the second round.

Since June 2023, Green, 53, has served as an associate coach. With a 133-147-34 record, he led the Vancouver Canucks for stretches of five seasons, from 2017–18 to 2021–22. From 2013 until 2017, Green served as head coach of the AHL’s Utica Comets prior to joining the NHL.

Fitzgerald stated, “Travis has significant experience managing benches at the junior, AHL, and NHL levels and is aware that there are no short cuts to success.” “That guy is a challenging person who is enthusiastic about striving to bring us back on track and is acquainted with the group.

Which issue has the squad faced the most this season?
With their remarkable season and postseason success the previous year, the Devils arrived sooner than anticipated. However, the squad hasn’t even come close to matching that, and as Monday night’s games approach, their prospects of making the playoffs are only 15%.

The Devils’ biggest shortcoming this season has been their goaltending; according to Evolving-Hockey, they have allowed more than 13 goals over the average in every circumstance, which is the third-worst in the league. Ruff is not solely to blame for the Devils’ problems because he did not construct that goalie duo. However, there have been a few problems in front of the blue paint that works, which was seen in the team’s heartbreaking 5-1 loss to the Kings on Sunday.