Who Could Be New Jersey Devils Next Head Coach After Lindy Ruff Firing?
Lindy Ruff's time as the head coach of the New Jersey Devils is officially over. General Manager Tom Fitzgerald now faces the biggest decision of his Devils tenure when he begins his head coaching search. There are plenty of good options, but who is the right one to take a budding young Devils team to the top?
The Lindy Ruff era is over. After almost four seasons as head coach, general manager Tom Fitzgerald finally relieved Ruff of his duties on Monday evening. The move came after a California swing that saw the team lose to the lowly Anaheim Ducks and a no-show against the Los Angeles Kings.
Lindy Ruff's tenure as the head coach of the Devils was a fascinating one. He was a surprise hire after serving as an assistant with the New York Rangers. However, Ruff was tasked with a challenging and unforgiving job: develop the bevy of youth in the organization into a league powerhouse.
Unfortunately for Ruff, three out of the four years were downright bad. Years one and two of his tenure were excusable, but after a franchise record-setting third year, the 2023-24 season was a disaster. He is deserving of his flowers for what he accomplished in 2022-23, but with a target on their backs this season, the Devils completely flopped.
For now, the Devils will ride out the remainder of the season with assistant coach Travis Green as the interim head coach before Fitzgerald embarks on the most important offseason of his career. Similar to his last coaching search, the net should be cast wide, and there should be no stone left unturned. Until we get an official hiring in the summer, here are just a few of the names that could be in contention.
Travis Green - Interim Head Coach
Let's get the easiest one out of the way. Green was hired this past offseason as an assistant and associate head coach, replacing Andrew Brunette. The first few months of his tenure went about as well as they could've gone. Tasked with running the power play, the Devils had the number one unit in the league through the first two months, clicking at over 40%. Nowadays, the power play is lucky if they don't give up a shorthanded goal.
Nevertheless, Green has head coaching experience with Vancouver from 2017-2022, taking them to the Western Conference semi-finals in 2019-20. Green will have a 21-game audition to make his case for the full-time gig. If he can drastically turn the team's game around and at least get close to a playoff spot, Green has a legitimate shot at the job.
Mike Sullivan - Pittsburgh Penguins Head Coach
Sullivan will be the hot name surrounding the Devils, and any open job for that matter. The Pittsburgh Penguins are in danger of missing the playoffs for the second year in a row and look directionless. Sullivan has been the Penguins coach for nine seasons and has back-to-back Stanley Cup wins on his resume. However, the Penguins have a new GM in Kyle Dubas, and disappointing results this season might not mean the Penguins move forward.
If Sullivan becomes available, then he should cut to the front of the line for the Devil's job. He has shown with his time in Pittsburgh that he can coach elite, young talent. Those Penguin championship teams were fast-paced and attacking while also being able to shut down other teams in the defensive zone. His pedigree would command players' attention in the locker room and would get them to buy in. If Pittsburgh's struggles continue, then odds are Sullivan will hit the open market, making it a no-brainer decision for Fitzgerald.
Dan Bylsma - Coachella Valley Firebirds Head Coach
From one Penguins coach to another. Dan Bylsma, like Sullivan, was a Stanley Cup champion head coach with the Penguins, albeit from 2009. That being said, after a rocky stint as the head coach with the Buffalo Sabres and an assistant job with the Detroit Red Wings, Bylsma has had a successful yet brief stint as the head coach of the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL. In his first season as head coach and the team's first season of existence, he guided them to the Calder Cup Finals before losing in seven games. This season, he has the Seattle Kraken's AHL affiliate up in second place and poised for another deep playoff run.
Bylsma has had a career resurrection with Coachella Valley, and it wouldn't be all too shocking if Fitzgerald, who worked with Bylsma in Pittsburgh, gave him another chance behind an NHL bench. He has experience working with a very young Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, making the prospect of working with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier enticing.
Todd Nelson - Hershey Bears Head Coach
Rather than opting for the head coach of the second-best team in the AHL, why not go for the head coach of the number-one team in the AHL? In his first year as head coach of the Hershey Bears, he guided them to a Calder Cup championship and looks on track for a repeat as Hershey sits comfortably atop the AHL standings. Nelson has plenty of experience at both the NHL and AHL levels. In the NHL, he served as an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars from 2018-2022, spent time as an assistant with the Atlanta Thrashers from 2008-2010, and was the interim head coach for the Edmonton Oilers from 2014-15. At the AHL level, Nelson has 10 years of head coaching experience between the Oklahoma City Barons, Grand Rapid Griffins, and Hershey Bears.
The most recent Hershey Bears head coach to go to the NHL is current Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery. Despite roster limitations, he's found a way to have them in the playoff hunt. Nelson could be next in line of Hershey Bears' coaches who have an impact at the NHL level. Also, as an assistant in Dallas, Nelson spent time working under recent Jack Adams winner Jim Montgomery. Based purely on recent pedigree, Nelson would be a solid choice as the next coach of the New Jersey Devils.
Craig Berube - Former St. Louis Blues Head Coach
It's no secret that the Devils are a soft team. They are designed that way. Their roster is constructed to play a speed and finesse game. However, they showed in last year's first round against the New York Rangers that they can play with a bit of bite. There may be no better coach out there who can get them to play with that bite consistently more than Craig Berube. Berube is famously known for turning the St. Louis Blues season around and guiding them to a championship back in 2019. He then guided them to three consecutive playoff births before falling short last season and getting fired early this season.
How he was fired from St. Louis caused a bit of controversy after all he had done for them, but he would be a stern voice in a Devils locker room that needs it. The biggest question mark would be if he can win with a more skilled team than he had in St. Louis. While the team he won a championship with had skill, they relied heavily on grit and determination to wear down teams. Berube would be a 180-degree turn from the kind of coach Lindy Ruff was, but maybe that's what this team needs right now.
Joe Sacco - Boston Bruins Assistant Coach
Tom Fitzgerald has not been shy in the past in admitting he wants to build his team like the Boston Bruins have. While he may have meant that from a team building, players taking less money to win championships side, he could look to pry away their top assistant. No matter the coach, the Bruins have been one of the top teams in the league for a while now, and Joe Sacco has gone along for the ride for most of it. After a stint as Colorado Avalanche head coach from 2009-2013, Sacco has spent the last 10 seasons as an assistant with the Bruins.
Sacco has been integral to a team that's made it to the Stanley Cup finals, broke the NHL single-season point record, is a perennial playoff team, and is one of the best defensive teams in the league every year. Over the past 10 years, the Bruins have shown that they can play any style of hockey. They can be flasBoston Bruins culturehy on offense when needed, but can also hunker down defensively and outwork the opposition. Sacco has been in charge of the Bruins's penalty kill, which is consistently at the top of the league every year. With some head coaching experience on his resume, and a decade soaking in the culture that is the Boston Bruins, do not be surprised if Sacco is at the top of the head coaching list in the summer.
Jay Leach - Seattle Kraken Assistant Coach
We recently talked extensively about Seattle Kraken assistant coach Jay Leach but decided to throw him into the mix. Leach was one of the finalists for the head coaching job in Boston before they decided to go with Montgomery. If the last name sounds familiar to some, it's because it should. Leach is a former Devils defenseman, having spent parts of five years in the organization. Leach spent five years as the head coach of the Providence Bruins of the AHL before joining Dave Hakstol's staff in Seattle in 2021.
Year after year, Seattle's defense has improved, and they now sit in the top five for 5v5 goals against. What Leach and Seattle have also done a nice job of is developing defensemen. Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson have become stalwart top-pairing defensemen and they've gotten a lot out of young defensemen like William Borgen and Ryker Evans. The big risk that comes with hiring Leach is that he would be a first-time NHL head coach. Tom Fitzgerald may only get one more coaching hire before he's the one getting axed, so it would be tough to envision him hiring someone with no NHL head coaching experience.
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