Ruff fired as Devils coach, replaced by Green

NEWARK, N.J. -- Lindy Ruff was fired as coach of the New Jersey Devils on Monday.

Associate coach Travis Green was named as his replacement. He will debut when the Devils host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; BSFL, MSG).

"I felt it was the right time to make this change." general manager Tom Fitzgerald said Tuesday. "I just felt the identity we played with, to sustain playoff position, wasnt there, it wasn't sustainable."

The Devils (30-27-4) are eight points behind the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning, who are tied for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. New Jersey has a .484 points percentage (14-15-2) at home, which is 26th in the NHL.

"I take full responsibility," Ruff said after a 4-1 loss to the Lightning at Prudential Center on Feb. 25. "You want to win, and we've dealt with a lot. Players want to win. I'm responsible for the wins and losses, who gets on the ice and who doesn't get on the ice.

"I said this before, we got a passionate fan base. They want to see wins, and if you look at our home record, that part hurts. So, I feel fully responsible."

Ruff was 128-125-28 in four seasons with the Devils after being hired July 9, 2020. The 64-year-old's original contract was set to expire at the end of this season, but he signed a multiyear contract to remain coach prior to the season.

"The conversation I had with Lindy yesterday was emotional, very hard on me. He was great," Fitzgerald said. "I want to say he made it easy for me, made me comfortable doing something uncomfortable."

Expectations were high entering this season after the Devils qualified for the playoffs last season for the first time since 2018 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Second Round for the first time since 2012, defeating the New York Rangers in seven games in the first round. New Jersey finished with the most wins (52) and points (112) in its history.

"I started to see some things that I value as a team that wasn't changing," Fitzgerald said. "But then you saw a change, you saw a good game, the details ... and then you wouldn't see it the next game. The inconsistency started to creep up."

The Devils have struggled finding consistency on defense and with their goaltending. They're tied for 26th in the NHL in goals against per game (3.49) and tied for 17th on the penalty kill (79.2 percent). New Jersey ranks 31st in team save percentage (.882), ahead of only the Ottawa Senators (.880).

Goalie Vitek Vanecek, who has been out since Feb. 10 because of a lower-body injury, is 17-9-3 with a 3.18 goals-against average and .890 save percentage in 32 games (29 starts). Nico Daws is 8-10-0 with a 3.47 GAA and .887 save percentage in 18 games. Akira Schmid is 5-8-1 with a 3.09 GAA and .897 save percentage in 18 games (14 starts).

Green was hired June 22, 2023, to help coach the forwards and run the power play after Andrew Brunette was hired as coach of the Nashville Predators on May 31. The 53-year-old previously coached the Vancouver Canucks from 2017-21 (133-147-34), helping them advance to the Western Conference Second Round in 2020. He was fired Dec. 6, 2021, after 25 games (8-15-2).

New Jersey has finished 26th or worse in the standings in five of the previous seven seasons and won the NHL Draft Lottery twice, selecting center Nico Hischier with the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft and center Jack Hughes with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. It chose forward Alexander Holtz with the No. 7 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, defenseman Luke Hughes with the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and defenseman Simon Nemec with the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

The Devils lost veteran defensemen Damon Severson (via trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 27) and Ryan Graves (via free agency to the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1) but signed key free agents who have made significant contributions during the offseason.

Timo Meier signed an eight-year contract June 28. The 27-year-old forward could have become a restricted free agent, but he bought into the Devils and everything they had to offer after being acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 26. Prior to retaining Meier, the Devils signed forward Jesper Bratt to an eight-year contract June 15, and forward Erik Haula to a three-year contract eight days later.

New Jersey acquired forward Tyler Toffoli from the Calgary Flames on June 27, and defenseman Colin Miller from the Dallas Stars on July 1. Toffoli has one season remaining on a four-year contract. Miller has one season left on a two-year contract.

Forward Tomas Nosek signed a one-year contract July 19, and defenseman Kevin Bahl got a two-year contract July 31.

The core group of forwards, which includes Jack Hughes, Hischier and Ondrej Palat, and defensemen Dougie Hamilton, John Marino and Jonas Siegenthaler all previously were signed to long-term contracts. Hamilton is out indefinitely after surgery for a torn left pectoral muscle Dec. 1.

Injuries have limited Jack Hughes and Hischier to 45 and 50 games, respectively.

Ruff replaced Alain Nasreddine, who was 19-16-8 with New Jersey before the NHL season was paused March 12, 2020, due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. Nasreddine was named coach when John Hynes was fired Dec. 3, 2019.

Ruff has coached 23 seasons in the NHL, including 15 with the Buffalo Sabres and four with the Dallas Stars. He also was hired as an assistant by the Rangers on July 10, 2017. He is fourth in NHL history in wins (864) and games coached (1,774).

The Sabres advanced to the 1999 Stanley Cup Final, losing in six games to the Stars, in Ruff's second season. He won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 2005-06, and was runner-up to Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks in 2006-07. As an assistant to Doug MacLean, Ruff helped the Florida Panthers reach the Cup Final in 1996, when they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche.

Ruff is the seventh NHL coach to be fired this season, joining Todd McLellan (Los Angeles Kings), Lane Lambert (New York Islanders), D.J. Smith (Ottawa Senators), Jay Woodcroft (Edmonton Oilers), Dean Evason (Minnesota Wild) and Craig Berube (St. Louis Blues).