Devils hire Jack Adams finalist Andrew Brunette as associate coach

New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald talks about adding Andrew Brunette as an associate coach and what it is about him that made the decision an easy one. Courtesy: Devils

The New Jersey Devils hired Andrew Brunette as an associate coach on Friday.

Brunette joins Lindy Ruff’s staff after previously serving as the interim head coach for the Florida Panthers this past season.

He took over the Panthers’ bench when Joel Quenneville resigned on Oct. 28, 2021, guiding the Panthers to a franchise-record 58 wins and reaching the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1996.

Brunette finished runner-up to Darryl Sutter of the Calgary Flames for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year.

Despite Brunette’s success, the Panthers opted to hire Paul Maurice as their new head coach on June 22.

Before joining the Panthers as an assistant coach in June 2019, Brunette worked with the Minnesota Wild organization as an assistant coach for two seasons starting in 2014 then served as assistant general manager.

The 48-year-old from Sudbury, Ont., also had a lengthy playing career appearing in 1,110 games and registering 733 points (268 goals and 465 assists) over 16 seasons with the Washington Capitals, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Wild, Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks.

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