The head-coaching job will be the third in the NHL for Ruff, 60. He coached the Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars, leading the Sabres to the Stanley Cup Final in 1999. He was hired by the Rangers before the 2017-18 season.
The New Jersey Devils employed seasoned coach Lindy Ruff as coach of one of the NHLs youngest groups and eliminated the interim tag off Tom Fitzgeralds title as general manager.
The Devils have scheduled a 1 p.m. ET teleconference.
Ruff has been an assistant coach with the New York Rangers.
Ruff changes interim coach Alain Nasreddine, who guided the group to a 19-16-8 record after John Hynes was fired on Dec. 3. Fitzgerald had acted as interim general supervisor because Ray Shero was fired on Jan. 12.
The Devils posted a 28-29-12 record, missing out on the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years. Their season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic in March, and they were not amongst the 24 groups chosen to contend for the Stanley Cup when NHL play resumes.
During the pause, the Devils talked to Nasreddine and previous head coaches Gerard Gallant, Peter Laviolette and John Stevens.
The head-coaching job will be the 3rd in the NHL for Ruff, 60. He coached the Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars, leading the Sabres to the Stanley Cup Final in 1999. He was employed by the Rangers prior to the 2017-18 season. He has a 736-554-78-125 record.
A former defenseman, Ruff played in 691 NHL regular-season games and had 105 goals and 195 assists. He likewise appeared in 52 playoff games.
Gord Murphy, an associate coach with the AHL Wolf Pack, will change Ruff behind the Rangers bench during the 24-team tournament this summertime.
Info from ESPNs Emily Kaplan and The Associated Press was utilized in this report.
