OFFICIAL: Devils Fire Veteran Head Coach Lindy Ruff

NEWARK, N.J. -- The New Jersey Devils have relieved Lindy Ruff of his head coaching duties on Monday afternoon.

"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," said Fitzgerald. "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.

The organization named Associate Coach Travis Green as Interim Head Coach for the rest of the season. Per the press release, he will lead the staff of existing assistants Ryan McGill, Chris Taylor, Sergei Brylin, and goaltending coach Dave Rogalski.

One of the reasons Ruff was hired in July 2020 was to develop young talent. During his tenure, he succeeded with Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Nico Hischier, each having breakout seasons.

On Oct. 11, 2023, Ruff was signed to a multi-year extension to remain behind the Devils' bench.

"We're incredibly fortunate as an organization to have Lindy Ruff behind the bench to guide this group, who've made significant strides under his leadership," Fitzgerald said. "I've always believed that Lindy was, and continues to be, the right man behind the bench for this team."

"I'm thrilled to commit here to this situation and couldn't be prouder of the great progress that our group made last season," Ruff said. "We have a special group in Jersey, and there's an opportunity to accomplish long-term success, make a lot of positive memories, and give our fans a lot to cheer about – because our Devils' fan base is one of the best in the League and they deserve to see a winner."

The Devils returned from their California road trip on Sunday with a record of 1-2-0. The club dropped games against the Anaheim Ducks (4-3) and Los Angeles Kings (5-1).

New Jersey is in the fifth wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 30-27-4 (64 points).

Ruff becomes the seventh head coach to be fired in the 2023-24 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).

Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.