The New Jersey Devils have fired head coach Lindy Ruff and the Devils have named Travis Inexperienced as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
#NEWS: We have now relieved Lindy Ruff of his head teaching duties and appointed Affiliate Coach Travis Inexperienced as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
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— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 4, 2024
The Devils continued to battle underneath Ruff’s management, regardless of the staff rewarding him with a multi-year extension firstly of the season. A change was wanted for this staff to take the subsequent step in its improvement. You would inform a change was wanted after their highway journey by means of California, the place they scored a complete of two factors.
Though gamers and administration appreciated the pinnacle coach, Devils President Lindy Ruff and basic supervisor Tom Fitzgerald knew change was wanted.
NHL Rumors: The Teaching Scorching Seat with New Jersey Devils’ Lindy Ruff
Assertion from President and CEO Tom Fitzgerald: “I maintain our whole group to the best degree of accountability to deal with being a aggressive staff that expects to be a perennial playoff contender. Sadly we aren’t at that degree in the meanwhile and I needed to make this resolution.”
As we have seen with the teaching modifications within the NHL this season, this hasn’t been straightforward. However a mandatory one for the Devils. New Jersey could not have Lindy Ruff stroll into the Prudential Middle to educate towards the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night time. That setting would have been too hostile.
“This was an especially troublesome dialog with Lindy primarily based on the connection he and I’ve,” Fitzgerald continued in an announcement. “He was the best coach to develop our younger gamers on the ice, and above all, he is a superb individual.”
Beneath head coach Lindy Ruff, the Devils made the playoffs in the course of the 2022-2023 season, setting franchise data in factors and wins. New Jersey made it to the second spherical of the Stanley Cup Playoffs earlier than shedding to the Carolina Hurricanes in 5 video games.
NHL Rumors: Will Firing Lindy Ruff Actually Remedy the Satan’s Issues?
Lindy Ruff coached the Devils for 3 seasons with a 128-125-28 report, a .505 profitable proportion in 281 common season video games. He had a 5-7 report within the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and was named a Jack Adams Award Finalist final 12 months.
Nevertheless, mismanagement of personnel, line mixtures, poor begins, lack of depth and different components led to his dismissal. He took duty for the Satan’s unhealthy season.
Coaches are employed to be fired, and you may’t hearth the gamers, so Tom Fitzgerald needed to hearth the coach. Lindy Ruff is aware of the corporate he has chosen.
Travis Inexperienced will take over, beginning with skating on Tuesday morning. Inexperienced coached the Vancouver Canucks for elements of 5 seasons starting with 2017-2018. He had a report of 133-147-33 and guided the Canucks to the second spherical of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
There’s hypothesis that the Devils and Flames might reignite that commerce dialogue with Travis Inexperienced as coach Jacob Markstrom.
? Nightcap abstract?
Devils fired Lindy Ruff. #njdevils @FullPressNHL @FP_coverage @myNHLTradeRumor pic.twitter.com/hWogY4pYiD
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) March 4, 2024