Devils fire head coach Pete DeBoer

And with that, the holiday season is over. 

General manager Lou Lamoriello and the New Jersey Devils fired head coach Pete DeBoer on Friday amid his fourth season at the helm, the team confirmed.

Rumors of his demise were whispered as the team stumbled into the holiday break having lost seven of its last eight games, but players encompassing the veteran locker room vouched for the safety of their head coach. 

DeBoer guided the sixth-seeded Devils to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 during his first season with the organization, but has failed to get the team back in the postseason since. 

He owns a career 217-200-77 coaching record in seven seasons, including going 114-93-41 in New Jersey. A DeBoer coached team has made the playoffs just once in his six-plus seasons as a head coach. 

Lamoriello is not prepared to name an immediate replacement, but former Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates's name has been linked to the vacancy. 

DeBoer becomes the third coach to be fired this season, joining Paul MacLean and Dallas Eakins.