Devils fire Ruff, name Green as interim coach

The New Jersey Devils fired head coach Lindy Ruff on Monday, the team announced.

Travis Green was named interim head coach for the rest of the season.

Ruff was in his fourth season as the club's bench boss. He led the Devils to one playoff berth - in 2023 - where they beat the New York Rangers in Round 1 before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. Ruff finished as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award.

But the current season has been disastrous for the Devils. The upstart club entered the campaign with monster expectations but finds itself eight points back of a playoff spot. Goaltending is the major issue, as the team's .882 save percentage is the second-worst mark in the league. Injuries have also played a part. Jack Hughes missed 16 games earlier in the season and Dougie Hamilton hasn't suited up since November.

"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," general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. "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."

Devils fans chanted "Fire Lindy!" for multiple stretches throughout Ruff's tenure in the swamp.

Green served as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks for parts of five seasons from 2017-2021. He led the team to one playoff appearance in 2021 in which it lost in the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights. Green joined Ruff's staff for the 2023-24 campaign.

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