Exit Lindy Ruff: Devils Stun with Firing of Head Coach

Coming off a lifeless 5-1 loss to the LA Kings to fall even further out of Wild Card contention, the New Jersey Devils pulled the plug on head coach Lindy Ruff, relieving him of his duties.

Ruff, who was in his fourth season with the Devils, and had signed an extension before this season, was fired Monday night because of the team's poor performance this season. Jersey currently sits eight points out of the playoffs with a record of 30-27-4.

Replacing Ruff will be Travis Green, the former Head Coach of the Vancouver Canucks, who was a member of Ruff's staff this season.

Green who spent four and a half years playing for the New York Islanders in the 1990s, is 133-147-34 in his time as the Canucks head coach.

"This was an extremely difficult conversation to have with Lindy based on the relationship that he and I have," General Manager Tom Fitzgerald said. "He was the right coach to develop our young players on the ice, and above all else, he is a tremendous person."

Green will have a quick turnaround to get his message across to the team. He will have only one practice on Tuesday before Jersey plays a game against the best team in the East: the Florida Panthers.