The New Jersey Devils have fired head coach Lindy Ruff

The New Jersey Devils are slipping at the wrong time and management has seen enough. The team announced on Monday afternoon they have fired head coach Lindy Ruff and named associate coach Travis Green Ruff's replacement for the rest of this season.

The Devils sit eight points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and are seven points back of the Philadelphia Flyers in their division. It's been quite the roller coaster for Ruff as there were chants earlier on this season to have him fired.

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald released a statement via the Devils website and had this to say on the move:

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

Ruff signed a contract extension back in the fall.
So 2 coaches who signed extensions early in the season, Ruff and Todd McLellan, both fired months later. https://t.co/NJ5YrOVCpf
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 4, 2024