By Greg Rosenstein, Shayna Goldman and Peter Baugh
The New Jersey Devils have relieved Lindy Ruff of his coaching duties, the team announced Monday. Associate coach Travis Green will take over as head coach for the remainder of the season.
The Devils (30-27-4) are sixth place in the Metropolitan Division.
“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,” New Jersey president and 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.”
Ruff, 64, has been an NHL head coach for 24 seasons, the first 15 with the Buffalo Sabres. He then spent four years each at the Dallas Stars and Devils. Ruff led New Jersey to the second round of last year’s postseason before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.
Green, 53, has been associate coach since June 2023. He was head coach of the Vancouver Canucks for parts of five seasons from 2017-18 to 2021-22 with a 133-147-34 record. Before the NHL, Green was head coach for the Utica Comets in the AHL from 2013-2017.
“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.”
What’s been the team’s biggest struggle this year?
The Devils arrived sooner than expected with last year’s impressive season and playoff run. But the team hasn’t come anywhere close to following that up, with their playoff chances dwindling by the day — down to 15 percent going into Monday night’s matchups.
Goaltending has been the team’s most glaring weakness all season; according to Evolving-Hockey, the Devils have allowed more than 13 goals above expected in all situations, which is third-to-worst in the league. Ruff did not build that goalie tandem, so the Devils’ woes don’t fall squarely on him. But there have been some issues in front of the blue paint that do, and those were on display in Sunday’s back-breaking 5-1 loss to the Kings.
New Jersey has constantly found themselves playing from behind this season, allowing the first goal in 44 of their 61 games so far this season. That was an extension of their playoff run last spring, too. It is something that has cost them numerous games and opportunities over the last year-plus, and the coaching staff hasn’t had the answers on how to manage it. — Shayna Goldman, national hockey writer
Can a coaching swap change things?
Questionable lineup and usage decisions have also burned Ruff and led to some underperformance this year. New Jersey has not maximized Timo Meier this season at even strength or on the power play. Dawson Mercer stumbled this season after his progression in 2022-23, as well. John Marino’s game has plummeted, and Jonas Siegenthaler has not played to his strong defensive potential either when healthy. Plus there have been some issues with the deployment of Alexander Holtz this season. All of that has contributed to the Devils’ disappointing season, along with their goaltending issues and injuries.
The big question is whether a coaching change is enough to turn things around in New Jersey, after the Devils lost so much ground. Ruff was not able to, even as the team got healthier over the last month-plus. If not, maybe this can be a similar situation to the Canucks last year. The team made a coaching change in January 2023 to start laying the groundwork for the next season ahead. — Goldman
Difficult circumstances remain
Though Ruff wasn’t able to get the most out of his group this season, he faced a difficult set of circumstances. Veteran defensemen Ryan Graves and Damon Severson left in free agency, and Dougie Hamilton suffered a torn pectoral muscle in November and hasn’t played since. That’s put a large burden on rookies Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec. Both are promising young players but likely had to handle too big a burden for a team with playoff aspirations. Superstar Jack Hughes also missed time due to injury and Ruff said recently he wasn’t playing at 100 percent.
New Jersey was never able to string together long stretches of winning hockey, failing to capitalize on wins that could have built momentum. After beating Philadelphia in February’s outdoor game, for example, they dropped two games in a row. It all led to a middling record for a talented team, one that felt its best path forward was moving on from Ruff. — Peter Baugh, national hockey writer
Required reading
(Photo: Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today)
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
