Green replaces Brunette as the team's associate coach.

By the end of the 2022-23 season, New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald knew his team was on the fast track to becoming a Stanley Cup contender. His young core got a taste of postseason hockey and now understands how difficult it is to win a round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In this summer series, I will chronologically break down every move the organization made this offseason and discuss how it positively or negatively impacts the team for the 2023-24 season.

When Fitzgerald's former teammate, Andrew Brunette, left the Devils' organization, he looked to another former teammate as his replacement.  On June 22, the club announced Travis Green will join head coach Lindy Ruff's staff as an associate coach. New Jersey's general manager and Green were teammates together in 1992-93 with the Islanders, 2002-03 with Toronto, and then 2005-06 with Boston.

 Related: Devils Offseason Moves: Brunette Departs for Predators

"Travis has a wealth of coaching experience from his time at the junior, AHL, and NHL levels," said Ruff in the official press release. "He is super excited about working with our team, and I know his attention to detail within the game will have a positive impact. Travis's energy and engaging personality are great assets for our group and a huge benefit when working with our players one-on-one."

Previously, Green was the Vancouver Canucks' head coach from the 2017-18 to 2021-22 season earning a 133-147-34 record. During that time, he coached Quinn Hughes, the older brother of Devils' Jack and Luke Hughes.

On December 5, 2021, Green was fired from the Canucks. It marked the first time he was let go from a position in his coaching career. 

"I tried to use the time productively," he said in his introductory media availability. "I visited a few teams in Europe just to see different sides of coaching. I watched a lot of hockey last season, maybe ways that I hadn't before. And if I'm being honest, I probably got really recharged, energized to get back, and I'm excited about the opportunity and can't wait to get going."

While it's too early to say how successful the team's power play will be, it is not too early to say Green will be under immense pressure if they are not consistently converting on the man advantage. 

With Dougie Hamilton, Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Tyler Toffoli, Dawson Mercer, and potentially Alexander Holtz as options, there will undoubtedly be high expectations. The good thing is that Green does not necessarily need to load up the first unit and can deploy two highly skilled units mixing in veterans Ondrej Palat and Erik Haula. 

Make no mistake; the pressure will be on Green to rectify one of the team's only weaknesses last season. The power play will be under the microscope, but between Green's fresh perspective and ample talent to work with, it should hold its own among the league's best.