Castlegar native Travis Green will take over as interim head coach of the New Jersey Devils.
A release by Devils’ President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald announced the firing of head coach Lindy Ruff on Monday, March 4, and the appointment of Green as head coach.
“Travis has key experience running benches at the junior, AHL and NHL levels and knows that there are no shortcuts to success,” said Fitzgerald. “He is a high-demanding individual who is familiar with the group and excited about working to get us back on track.”
Green was hired as New Jersey’s associate coach in June of last year, after serving as the Vancouver Canucks head coach for almost five seasons from 2017-22.
Green, 53, posted a 133-147-34 record with the Canucks, and led them to the second round of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.
A 5-1 loss to the L.A. Kings Sunday precipitated the firing of Ruff, as the Devils remain out of the playoff hunt losing 2-of-3 on a west coast road trip last weekend and are 4-6 in their last 10.
The 30-27-4 Devils are currently 11th place overall in the Eastern Conference with 64 points, seven points out of the final playoff spot.
“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.”
Green will be behind the bench as head coach for Tuesday’s game against the Florida Panthers, and will lead the staff of existing assistants Ryan McGill, Chris Taylor, Sergei Brylin, and goaltending coach, Dave Rogalski.
Before coaching in the NHL, Green was head coach for the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 2013-14 to 2016-17, winning 35 or more games in all four seasons. Utica clinched two postseason berths under Green’s guidance and advanced to the 2014-15 Calder Cup finals.
A Castlegar Rebels alumnus, Green was drafted by the New York Islanders 23rd overall in 1989, and played in 857 games scoring 182 goals and 431 points for five different NHL teams over his 14-year playing career.