Fire Lindy and Green, Now

[MadDevil]

Honestly 4 is tough to get on him either because who was available? Buck was maybe but in the end he stayed put.

The goalie market is barren and depressing.

I do think we probably should have signed a veteran #3 as insurance, especially after the playoffs, but I don't think anybody thought both Vitek and Schmid were both going to shit the bed this season, so it's not something I'm going to kill Fitz for.

Honestly, I think other than that he made smart moves this summer. People bitched about Sharangovich's drop in production last year and didn't say a word about the Toffoli trade when he looked great to start the season, but as soon as Toffoli cooled off and Shara got on a hot streak (which ended like 11 games ago by the way) and it's "he shouldn't have traded him away!". Last year everybody was salivating over getting Timo, then he gets injured twice and played out of position or with lesser players this year and suddenly people have buyer's remorse.

Just because everything went to shit doesn't necessarily mean the process (that word will probably trigger some people) was wrong.

 

[BurntToast]

I don’t want Bruce B. anywhere near this team. Great guy who would get steam rolled. Lindy is a players coach Galant/Bruce are players coaches. If I could resurrect Patty Burns, I would.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Some teams got goalies that are helping them.

All signed July 1st, 2023:
Pittsburgh: Alex Nedeljkovic (1 year/1.5m)
Detroit: James Reimer (1 year/1.5m)
Detroit: Alex Lyon (2 year/900k)
Florida: Anthony Stolarz (1 year/1.1m)
Winnipeg: Laurent Brossoit (1 year/1.75m)
Los Angeles: Cam Talbot (1 year/2m)
Toronto: Martin Jones (1 year/875k) [Jones signed Aug 9, 2023]

View attachment 825410

Not everything has to be a big ticket swing for the fences.

Jon Gillies, Andrew Hammond, Eric Comrie. We've tried bargain shopping before.

 

[Louskoolaid89]

Keeping Lindy Ruff behind the bench is like going to the grocery store and intentionally looking for and then buying the milk that has an expired expiration date. Then your like what? This is good milk and nothing is wrong with it.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Need Mike Sullivan to get the boot

That would be sweet.....Dineen as interim

 

[Call Me Al]

i admire all of you who even have the energy to even care what happens to these guys at this point lol

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Jeez

 

[HBK27]

Jeez

Hoo-boy, Novo came out swinging.

Major props to him for calling this out so bluntly - honestly, can't be easy when you have to also interview Ruff on a daily basis.

I want to be careful about sharing too much of his stuff, but this is just too good not to post...

..........

The Devils hobbled on the ice for the third period Sunday, knowing damn well they needed a complete 200-foot effort to erase the 2-1 deficit and keep their season alive.

They phoned it in for the first 40 minutes against the Tampa Bay Lightning – the team that sat just five points ahead of them in the wild-card race entering the day – so these final 20 were crucial. How could you not get juiced up for that?

The result: Three measly shots on goal (on two power plays, mind you), one high-danger chance, and a 4-1 loss.

The smart ones dashed to the exits when Nikita Kucherov buried his empty-netter. The few remaining schadenfreude-crazed stragglers belted out the same chants they famously sang at last year’s home opener, then again just three days ago when the Devils fell to the rival Rangers.

“Fi-re Lindy! Fi-re Lindy!”

They’re spot on.

Lindy Ruff, the same veteran coach the Devils signed to a multi-year extension in October needs to go before he further tanks the same roster he once called his most talented ever.

Ruff’s Devils are 29-25-4 — seven points behind Tampa for the wild card and five behind the Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division. In his fourth season, he is 127-123 in the regular season and has overseen more bad than good (last year’s second-round playoff exit the outlier).

Injuries and terrible goaltending have played a major role in the Devils’ disappointing 2024 campaign, but Ruff’s baffling line decisions, delayed defensive zone overhaul — which is now seemingly affecting his club in the offensive end — and bizarre media antics haven’t helped them surge through it.

It’s getting worse, too. The Devils are 4-5-1 in their last 10 and have the ninth-toughest remaining strength of schedule, per TankAThon. Should Ruff really be the one to guide them through the rest of the season?

This is the same coach who is desperate for goal-scoring, yet refuses to keep goal-scorers like Timo Meier and Alexander Holtz in the top six and has barely touched the league’s second-worst power play over the last 25 games, after all …

Now, this mess isn’t just on Ruff. Not even close. GM Tom Fitzgerald is seemingly hiding as his team spirals and other executives pull off trades and waiver claims — whether big or small — and make coaching room shakeups. Plus, his recent “big splash” deals haven’t exactly aged well either.

The one move that can get him back in fans’ good graces, though, is finally ending Ruff’s Devils tenure.

The 64-year-old was hired to help a playoff-starved franchise through their rebuild — not navigate it once it got out. He’s a storied hockey figure, coaching the Buffalo Sabres for 15 years and manning an NHL bench for 23. He doesn’t deserve to sit and watch as fans call for his job night in and night out.

“I take full responsibility,” Ruff said Sunday, asked about the disappointing season. “You want to win. We’ve dealt with a lot, players want to win. I’m responsible for the wins and losses. Who gets on the ice, who doesn’t get on the ice. I’ve said this before: We’ve got a very passionate fanbase. They want to see wins. In a back-to-back and if you look at our home record, that part hurts. So I feel fully responsible.”

No Devil would publicly admit if Ruff has lost the room, but judging by their allergy to scoring first in games and pitiful home record (14-15-2), it’s not a far leap to make.

Sure, the “new coach bump” isn’t an exact science, but it’s worked out for the Vancouver Canucks, now owners of the league’s best record, one year after letting Bruce Boudreau walk. The Devils — charged by a young, skilled roster that would entice any top coaching candidate — could use a similar spark.

Fitzgerald must do the right thing here. He already botched the goalie situation last summer and has not addressed his club’s depth forward/defenseman issues this season. He can’t have the same patience here.

If he stands pat yet again, those Fire Lindy’s could soon morph into Fire Fitzy’s.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Ok I’ve been driving the fire Lindy bandwagon a long time, but I think it’s kind of unprofessional for a team journalist to straight up call for a coach’s firing (barring some kind of misconduct issue).

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Sharangovich has been playing pretty well for the Flames after a really slow start. He's a -16 but his point totals are up from last season. There wasn't much room for him in the the top 6 but he is outproducing Meier at a much cheaper price. Meier has really struggled this season but it has been a myriad of issues with him this season.

Sharangovich is being spoonfed big minutes and is shooting 4-5% above his career shooting %

can we stop championing this player please?

 

[Devilsfan118]

If he stands pat yet again, those Fire Lindy’s could soon morph into Fire Fitzy’s.

Ok I’ve been driving the fire Lindy bandwagon a long time, but I think it’s kind of unprofessional for a team journalist to straight up call for a coach’s firing (barring some kind of misconduct issue).

This article would've been written about 6 months ago by half a dozen individuals if this was happening to the Leafs.

 

[HBK27]

Ok I’ve been driving the fire Lindy bandwagon a long time, but I think it’s kind of unprofessional for a team journalist to straight up call for a coach’s firing (barring some kind of misconduct issue).

I good beat writer should be the voice of the fans, most of which have been calling for Ruff's firing for some time now.

I've probably been more patient with Fitz/Ruff than most on these boards here and was genuinely rooting for Ruff to succeed, but after watching yesterday's game and seeing how this team has struggled this season coupled with many baffling decisions by the coach, I'm not sure how you really come to any other conclusion.

 

[jkrdevil]

Ok I’ve been driving the fire Lindy bandwagon a long time, but I think it’s kind of unprofessional for a team journalist to straight up call for a coach’s firing (barring some kind of misconduct issue).

These kind of opinion type columns from the local beat writer are common in pretty much every other market. We just have never gotten them before. Chere/TG never did them and then we didn’t have independent beat reporters for the longest time.

 

[forceten]

TL;DR: Fire everyone, this is a cancer from the very top to the bottom

Timo Meier is not working out on the LW side. Dawson Mercer has struggled all season and has been playing RW. That nobody had the spark to say "hey, let's swap them!" is insane. Holtz definitely needed some tough love to remind him of responsible play and positioning earlier in the season, especially after scoring where he'd revert a little, but he's also one of the best scorers 5v5 and /60 on the team, and when we've struggled, he's been buried on the 4th line getting under 8 minutes a game. It's insanity that he still has a shot at a 20 goal season despite such low ice time and scrub linemates.

I want Lindy Ruff and Travis Green fired ASAP - I never wanted Travis Green on the staff, it's such a huge downgrade from Brunette I'm not even sure how to put it into words because English despite its excellence at specificity STILL doesn't have the specifics enough to describe that gap. But I want Rogalski gone - it's baloney that every single one of the 327 goalies that have suited up for the New Jersey Devils over the last 3 years are trash. And have their worst seasons here. Our system is antiquated and one dimensional (Jon Cooper, who I'd love to hire here, called that), and that's a major problem especially when you have 3 starters with fewer games under their belt than a single full season like we had. But it's also goaltending coaching.

I also want the health staff replaced. It's an indictment of incompetence when we keep throwing players back on the ice after injuries that the Bad News Bears would say "you know what, maybe sit out the rest and ice it". We get injuries compounded all the time and now we have players playing with chronic issues. How many times do we have to have head injuries more than once in a game? How long before a player sues this franchise (and I'll be rooting them on)?

Some players have not really pushed hard. Some players need to be pulled aside and told we need to see more dedication to their craft. You don't get millions to play a child's pond activity to spend time before your folks call you in for dinner in winter and not be expected to treat it like any other profession. @My3Sons would get his license revoked if he just turned up in court without any preparation, if he filed paperwork incorrectly. Same here.

Finally, I despise this ownership. Sure they have stable money unlike Vanderbeek. JV was a fan, at least. These guys just count cash and treat the fans so poorly - reading the ticket thread it is astonishing how crappy they treat season ticket holders, and then an egregious 9% fee rise for a terrible product? We don't even win at home. The building kind of sucks. Walking through Pru center - it's so bland, grey, boring, lifeless. It's 99% big name companies - beer, food, whatever - and all of very low quality at ridiculous prices. $25 for a macro brew when I could buy a case of it for that, should I want to reduce myself to that. Featured new food items present only at one or two stands. PNC Arena here in Raleigh kicks Prudential Center's ass in all ways and it's an older barn. But it celebrates Raleigh - several food stands are partnerships with local restaurants. No fewer than 5 or 6 local breweries have beers sold. Stands/kiosks featuring regional foods. Also expensive, but it's higher quality by far. And the atmosphere is better, warmer, friendlier. And it shows because there's a frigging list for season tickets. Despite their fans being some of the worst in the league (I shake my head and even sometimes cannot contain myself when they just don't know hockey or act ridiculously boorish) it's a great place to take in a game. Prudential Center? Meh. And despite being further north why does our ice always seem crap? I've been posting that I miss John McMullen - that guy loved Jersey and wanted a team for us here, not teams like the NFL Giants and Jets and the MLS MetroStars/Red Bull using NY despite playing here for the majority of or all of their existence.

Sorry for the long post.

 

[Devilsfan118]

I don’t want Bruce B. anywhere near this team. Great guy who would get steam rolled. Lindy is a players coach Galant/Bruce are players coaches. If I could resurrect Patty Burns, I would.

Agreed. No more players coaches with relaxed expectations.

Get someone from the Torts school.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Ok I’ve been driving the fire Lindy bandwagon a long time, but I think it’s kind of unprofessional for a team journalist to straight up call for a coach’s firing (barring some kind of misconduct issue).

I don't understand what the profession of team journalist is in 2023, where the internet has completely destroyed traditional media. It used to be you'd have to read Ryan's news stories to understand just basic information about the team, especially if you were unable to watch the game. Now you can find highlights, scores, and fan opinions everywhere. There are PR representatives like Amanda Stein directly communicating to the fans what the team wants to communicate.

Not sure what his job is to be honest, he's trying to carve out a role here for frustrated fans to be the one with a megaphone to hold the team to account. Seems fine if his editors want him to do that.

Edit: However unlike 20 years ago, the team really doesn't need traditional media at all, and they will probably freeze him out even more.

 

[The Grinder]

Looks like I gotta re up with NJ.com out of respect for Novo.

Things that are patently true and apparent should be covered by reporters. No playing nice when a team this skilled looks like someone shot their collective dog in front of them.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Ok I’ve been driving the fire Lindy bandwagon a long time, but I think it’s kind of unprofessional for a team journalist to straight up call for a coach’s firing (barring some kind of misconduct issue).

Can't blame Ryan here, Lindy absolutely disrespected Ryan for a question that wasn't even remotely offensive or tough to answer when Lindy has one of the easiest sets of "reporters" to answer to since half of them are team employees.

 

[MB3]

apology for poor english

when were you when lindy stay

i was sat at home eating bagel when phone reng

'lindy is stay'

'no'

and you???????????????

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Can't blame Ryan here, Lindy absolutely disrespected Ryan for a question that wasn't even remotely offensive or tough to answer when Lindy has one of the easiest sets of "reporters" to answer to since half of them are team employees.

Well if its personal for Ryan then yeah I agree with @guitarguyvic it's unprofessional. Journalists aren't supposed to use their platforms for personal vendettas.

 

[guitarguyvic]

TL;DR: Fire everyone, this is a cancer from the very top to the bottom

Timo Meier is not working out on the LW side. Dawson Mercer has struggled all season and has been playing RW. That nobody had the spark to say "hey, let's swap them!" is insane. Holtz definitely needed some tough love to remind him of responsible play and positioning earlier in the season, especially after scoring where he'd revert a little, but he's also one of the best scorers 5v5 and /60 on the team, and when we've struggled, he's been buried on the 4th line getting under 8 minutes a game. It's insanity that he still has a shot at a 20 goal season despite such low ice time and scrub linemates.

I want Lindy Ruff and Travis Green fired ASAP - I never wanted Travis Green on the staff, it's such a huge downgrade from Brunette I'm not even sure how to put it into words because English despite its excellence at specificity STILL doesn't have the specifics enough to describe that gap. But I want Rogalski gone - it's baloney that every single one of the 327 goalies that have suited up for the New Jersey Devils over the last 3 years are trash. And have their worst seasons here. Our system is antiquated and one dimensional (Jon Cooper, who I'd love to hire here, called that), and that's a major problem especially when you have 3 starters with fewer games under their belt than a single full season like we had. But it's also goaltending coaching.

I also want the health staff replaced. It's an indictment of incompetence when we keep throwing players back on the ice after injuries that the Bad News Bears would say "you know what, maybe sit out the rest and ice it". We get injuries compounded all the time and now we have players playing with chronic issues. How many times do we have to have head injuries more than once in a game? How long before a player sues this franchise (and I'll be rooting them on)?

Some players have not really pushed hard. Some players need to be pulled aside and told we need to see more dedication to their craft. You don't get millions to play a child's pond activity to spend time before your folks call you in for dinner in winter and not be expected to treat it like any other profession. @My3Sons would get his license revoked if he just turned up in court without any preparation, if he filed paperwork incorrectly. Same here.

Finally, I despise this ownership. Sure they have stable money unlike Vanderbeek. JV was a fan, at least. These guys just count cash and treat the fans so poorly - reading the ticket thread it is astonishing how crappy they treat season ticket holders, and then an egregious 9% fee rise for a terrible product? We don't even win at home. The building kind of sucks. Walking through Pru center - it's so bland, grey, boring, lifeless. It's 99% big name companies - beer, food, whatever - and all of very low quality at ridiculous prices. $25 for a macro brew when I could buy a case of it for that, should I want to reduce myself to that. Featured new food items present only at one or two stands. PNC Arena here in Raleigh kicks Prudential Center's ass in all ways and it's an older barn. But it celebrates Raleigh - several food stands are partnerships with local restaurants. No fewer than 5 or 6 local breweries have beers sold. Stands/kiosks featuring regional foods. Also expensive, but it's higher quality by far. And the atmosphere is better, warmer, friendlier. And it shows because there's a frigging list for season tickets. Despite their fans being some of the worst in the league (I shake my head and even sometimes cannot contain myself when they just don't know hockey or act ridiculously boorish) it's a great place to take in a game. Prudential Center? Meh. And despite being further north why does our ice always seem crap? I've been posting that I miss John McMullen - that guy loved Jersey and wanted a team for us here, not teams like the NFL Giants and Jets and the MLS MetroStars/Red Bull using NY despite playing here for the majority of or all of their existence.

Sorry for the long post.

I’m really concerned long term about where this franchise is from an ownership and leadership standpoint. I hated how they operated during the transition from Lou and subsequently all of Shero’s tenure. Last year made me think maybe I was overthinking it and the org turned a corner. But this year it’s right back to seeing all kinds of red flags. Fitz’s failures with his coaching hires and fires and hiding out this entire season. The players on the ice failing to play the game the right way with all the little details that separate the true contenders from the pretenders. Accountability for the players doesn’t seem consistent - some get stapled to the bench despite bringing to the table elements that this team sorely needs right now, while others are getting continuously trotted out there despite getting their shit pushed in game in and game out. Accountability for the goalie coach on up seems practically non-existent with defiance towards any media that even hints at challenging them. How many times has Lindy deflected blame from himself or his staff, all the while Fitz is completely MIA. Owners that are overtly greedy and have no real connection or stake in the local community.

I really want to believe all of these things are overblown, but then you look at the on ice results and…it’s hard not to draw connections.

 

[Satans Hockey]

TL;DR: Fire everyone, this is a cancer from the very top to the bottom

Timo Meier is not working out on the LW side. Dawson Mercer has struggled all season and has been playing RW. That nobody had the spark to say "hey, let's swap them!" is insane. Holtz definitely needed some tough love to remind him of responsible play and positioning earlier in the season, especially after scoring where he'd revert a little, but he's also one of the best scorers 5v5 and /60 on the team, and when we've struggled, he's been buried on the 4th line getting under 8 minutes a game. It's insanity that he still has a shot at a 20 goal season despite such low ice time and scrub linemates.

I want Lindy Ruff and Travis Green fired ASAP - I never wanted Travis Green on the staff, it's such a huge downgrade from Brunette I'm not even sure how to put it into words because English despite its excellence at specificity STILL doesn't have the specifics enough to describe that gap. But I want Rogalski gone - it's baloney that every single one of the 327 goalies that have suited up for the New Jersey Devils over the last 3 years are trash. And have their worst seasons here. Our system is antiquated and one dimensional (Jon Cooper, who I'd love to hire here, called that), and that's a major problem especially when you have 3 starters with fewer games under their belt than a single full season like we had. But it's also goaltending coaching.

I also want the health staff replaced. It's an indictment of incompetence when we keep throwing players back on the ice after injuries that the Bad News Bears would say "you know what, maybe sit out the rest and ice it". We get injuries compounded all the time and now we have players playing with chronic issues. How many times do we have to have head injuries more than once in a game? How long before a player sues this franchise (and I'll be rooting them on)?

Some players have not really pushed hard. Some players need to be pulled aside and told we need to see more dedication to their craft. You don't get millions to play a child's pond activity to spend time before your folks call you in for dinner in winter and not be expected to treat it like any other profession. @My3Sons would get his license revoked if he just turned up in court without any preparation, if he filed paperwork incorrectly. Same here.

Finally, I despise this ownership. Sure they have stable money unlike Vanderbeek. JV was a fan, at least. These guys just count cash and treat the fans so poorly - reading the ticket thread it is astonishing how crappy they treat season ticket holders, and then an egregious 9% fee rise for a terrible product? We don't even win at home. The building kind of sucks. Walking through Pru center - it's so bland, grey, boring, lifeless. It's 99% big name companies - beer, food, whatever - and all of very low quality at ridiculous prices. $25 for a macro brew when I could buy a case of it for that, should I want to reduce myself to that. Featured new food items present only at one or two stands. PNC Arena here in Raleigh kicks Prudential Center's ass in all ways and it's an older barn. But it celebrates Raleigh - several food stands are partnerships with local restaurants. No fewer than 5 or 6 local breweries have beers sold. Stands/kiosks featuring regional foods. Also expensive, but it's higher quality by far. And the atmosphere is better, warmer, friendlier. And it shows because there's a frigging list for season tickets. Despite their fans being some of the worst in the league (I shake my head and even sometimes cannot contain myself when they just don't know hockey or act ridiculously boorish) it's a great place to take in a game. Prudential Center? Meh. And despite being further north why does our ice always seem crap? I've been posting that I miss John McMullen - that guy loved Jersey and wanted a team for us here, not teams like the NFL Giants and Jets and the MLS MetroStars/Red Bull using NY despite playing here for the majority of or all of their existence.

Sorry for the long post.

The two major things I'm with you on here is guys being sent back on to the ice after being hurt, it's happened 3x off the top of my head with Nico, Jack and Nate. That's absolutely way too often

And the price increases, I don't know what the percentage was from last season to this season(I should keep better track for myself) but the prices did go up which was more acceptable because the team was winning and actually won a playoff round but to then go up another 9% on top of an already price increase is wild. It will never happen but prices should never, ever allowed to increase by more than 1% when a team misses the playoffs. They don't need our money in March when the season doesn't even start till October. It's absurd and has always been asburd.

Arena wise I'm with you on the concession stands being awful but even if they were good I'm never spending a ton of money on them. Every single arena needs to be like Atlanta with fan friendly concession stand pricing. Almost $6 for a bottle of water at our arena is an absolute embarrassment.

 

[MB3]

Ok I’ve been driving the fire Lindy bandwagon a long time, but I think it’s kind of unprofessional for a team journalist to straight up call for a coach’s firing (barring some kind of misconduct issue).

He's not employed by the Devils. He's not paid to ask players "if you were a fast food restaurant, what would you be" like Stein.

He's a reporter and he's doing his job. It's the definition of "professional".

 

[HBK27]

Finally, I despise this ownership. Sure they have stable money unlike Vanderbeek. JV was a fan, at least. These guys just count cash and treat the fans so poorly - reading the ticket thread it is astonishing how crappy they treat season ticket holders, and then an egregious 9% fee rise for a terrible product? We don't even win at home. The building kind of sucks. Walking through Pru center - it's so bland, grey, boring, lifeless. It's 99% big name companies - beer, food, whatever - and all of very low quality at ridiculous prices. $25 for a macro brew when I could buy a case of it for that, should I want to reduce myself to that. Featured new food items present only at one or two stands. PNC Arena here in Raleigh kicks Prudential Center's ass in all ways and it's an older barn. But it celebrates Raleigh - several food stands are partnerships with local restaurants. No fewer than 5 or 6 local breweries have beers sold. Stands/kiosks featuring regional foods. Also expensive, but it's higher quality by far. And the atmosphere is better, warmer, friendlier. And it shows because there's a frigging list for season tickets. Despite their fans being some of the worst in the league (I shake my head and even sometimes cannot contain myself when they just don't know hockey or act ridiculously boorish) it's a great place to take in a game. Prudential Center? Meh. And despite being further north why does our ice always seem crap? I've been posting that I miss John McMullen - that guy loved Jersey and wanted a team for us here, not teams like the NFL Giants and Jets and the MLS MetroStars/Red Bull using NY despite playing here for the majority of or all of their existence.

Solid post overall. As far as ownership, I was a big fan considering they have a ton of money and seemed content to just stay out of the way and let the front office do their job. But yeah, reading the arena thread and seeing how they treat STH's along with how dismal the food/beer selections are really have me turning on this group.

I'm pretty much done buying anything for myself when I'm at the arena. Would I love to have a nice draft beer while watching a game live? Yup! Is that even an option at Prudential? Nope! Last game I went to my kids each got a desert and we got a bottle of water. No longer worth it for me to spend any money on overpriced, generic beer choices or disappointing food.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Well if its personal for Ryan then yeah I agree with @guitarguyvic it's unprofessional. Journalists aren't supposed to use their platforms for personal vendettas.

I don't see anything wrong with it being both. Lindy made his bed here on and off the ice with Novo. A lot of the fans want it too, we heard the chants again last night. Lindy deserves all the criticism. I'm ready to move on, one season where Jack set the franchise points record isn't enough to keep Lindy here anymore for me.