The New Jersey Devils are hiring Lindy Ruff as head coach, NHL Network’s Kevin Weekes reported Wednesday.
Ruff, 60, previously served as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres for 15 seasons (1997-2013) and the Dallas Stars for four seasons (2013-17). He ranks sixth all-time in career wins (736) and seventh in games coached (1,493).
He has also compiled a 66-54 record in the postseason, including Buffalo’s six-game loss to Dallas in the 1999 Stanley Cup Final.
Ruff had been working with the New York Rangers as an assistant coach since July 2017.
The Devils have been searching for a coach since firing John Hayes in December after a 9-13-4 start. Interim coach Alain Nasreddine guided them to a 19-16-8 record before the regular season shut down in mid-March due to COVID-19.
Nasreddine, Gerard Gallant, Peter Laviolette and John Stevens were identified as potential candidates to fill the vacancy.
The Devils did not qualify for the NHL’s planned 24-team summer restart.
(Field Level Media)
