Devils interim head coach Travis Green rips team, calls them out

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Cooper Godin
March 17, 2024 (9:23)

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After finishing second in the Metropolitan Division last season and recording their second 50+ win season in franchise history, expectations were high coming into 2023-24 for the New Jersey Devils. But for multiple different reasons including poor goaltending and coaching, as well as inconsistency, the team hasn't played well.

Earlier this month, Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald decided to fire Lindy Ruff and replaced him with Travis Green on an interim basis. While it's still early in his tenure, under Travis Green so far, the Devils have continued to struggle, winning just two of six games.

After Saturday's road loss to the Arizona Coyotes, Travis Green met with the media and called out his team, saying that they are 'immature'.

"A bit of it is immaturity," Green said Saturday night according to James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. "It's a tough league to win in, you have to be ready to go every night. If you don't start on time it's a hard league to win consistently in."

As of Sunday morning, the New Jersey Devils sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 32-31-4 through 67 games this season. Despite their struggles, they remain in the hunt for a playoff spot, only sitting six points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

It's going to be a busy summer in New Jersey as they look to turn things around ahead of the 2024-25 season. The biggest thing on Tom Fitzgerald's checklist will be to add an elite starting netminder, with reports suggesting they'll target Calgary's Jacob Markstrom and Nashville's Juuse Saros.

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