Last summer, the New Jersey Devils gave coach Lindy Ruff a multiyear contract deal after leading the team back to the playoffs in 2022–23. However, the Devils sacked him on Monday, with the playoffs seeming less likely.
The Devils announced that associate coach Travis Green will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Ruff, 64, and the coaching staff gave goaltender Nico Daws his second consecutive start, and he was yanked for the second straight game on Sunday. The Devils’ 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, their fifth in the last seven games, left them seven points out of a playoff berth.
Last season, everything seemed to go right for the Devils, who achieved a franchise-record 112 points and knocked off
