Devils part ways with assistant coaches Alain Nasreddine, Mark Recchi; what about Lindy Ruff?

Coaching changes have come to the New Jersey Devils as the team announced a mutual parting with assistant coaches Alain Nasreddine and Mark Recchi on Wednesday.

The changes come as the Devils earned only 63 points this season, the lowest total of any season for the franchise under an 82-game schedule.

Nadreddine has been on staff since June 2015, when he was hired as an assistant under John Hynes. Nasreddine was named the interim head coach on Dec. 3, 2019 after Hynes was fired. Nasreddine was retained as an assistant coach when the team hired Lindy Ruff as head coach in July 2020. The Devils went 19-16-8 during Nasreddine's interim role.

Nasreddine also filled in for Ruff at different points during the last two seasons, including when Ruff was away from the team for illness or a personal matter.

Recchi was hired by the Devils as an assistant coach in September 2020 after he was not retained by the Pittsburgh Penguins. A Hockey Hall of Famer, Recchi was brought in to be in charge of the team's power play units. The Devils suffered from a league-worst 70.95 percent penalty kill during the 2020-21 season, at times approaching a mark that would have been the worst in league history. 

In both seasons with Recchi, the Devils finished in the bottom five of the league in power play. A combined 57 power play goals across 379 chances is just over 15 percent for the power play unit in the time that Recchi was in charge. The Devils also surrendered a league-high 14 shorthanded goals when having a man advantage in the 2021-22 season, the most given up by any Devils team since the 1992-93 season.

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According to a press release by the Devils, Nasreddine's contract, which expired this season, will not be renewed. As for Recchi, the team's announcement stated that Recchi has been relieved of his duties.

What about head coach Lindy Ruff?

The team is yet to state anything regarding the rest of its coaching staff, including the future of Ruff, whohas one more year remaining on his contract. Ruff has 782 career coaching wins in the NHL, tied with Al Arbour for the fifth-most in league history. 

Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald is expected to address the media later this week after the Devils failed to reach the playoffs for the fourth straight year and the ninth time in the last 10 seasons.

Email: aitken@northjersey.com

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