Rangers assistant coach Lindy Ruff has been identified as a candidate for the head coaching position with the Devils, according to a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. In a tweet, Friedman said Ruff is one of five known candidates, the others being incumbent interim coach Alain Nasreddine, former Islanders coach Peter Laviolette, Gerard Gallant and John Stevens.
Ruff, 60, has been an assistant with the Rangers since 2017, after he was fired as coach of the Dallas Stars. Ruff served as an assistant under Alain Vigneault in 2017-18 and was one of two holdovers from that staff – goaltending coach Benoit Allaire being the other – to remain with the team when David Quinn took over in 2018.