Sad News For Sabres As Two Star Announced A Departure” Including Coach Lindy Ruff; With Reason…..

The Buffalo Sabres have hired Lindy Ruff to be their next head coach, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (X link). Ruff most previously served behind the New Jersey Devils bench, before being dismissed by the team on March 4th. He now returns to the Buffalo organization, where he received the first head coaching opportunity of his career in 1997. Ruff would serve 16 years behind Buffalo’s bench, becoming the longest-tenured, active coach in the NHL – and then the second longest across all four major sports leagues behind Gregg Popovich – before he was dismissed by the Sabres in February of 2013.

Ruff led the Sabres to the postseason eight different times over his tenure, including twice in his final three years. But that success wasn’t enough, with the team deciding to go a different direction just 17 games into the lockout season of 2013. Buffalo hasn’t seen a postseason berth since, extending the record for the longest playoff drought in NHL history at 13 seasons this year. That’s a dismal record to have, though it seems Buffalo’s worst days are behind them. They moved away from long-time general manager Jason Botterill in 2019-20 and have since brought in multiple key players, with incumbent Kevyn Adams adding Bowen Byram, Devon Levi, Jack Quinn and John-Jason Peterka. He’s also built out the team’s prospect room, drafting Zach Benson, Jiri Kulich and Matthew Savoie in just the last two years.

Adams has had plenty of time to put the Sabres on a new path, even if it’s come at the cost of a few playoff races. But now, coming off the heels of their two highest-scoring seasons since Ruff left, the Sabres are ready to pursue the postseason

Adams has had plenty of time to chart a new course for the Sabres, and it’s clearly paid off – with the last two years marking Buffalo’s two highest-scoring seasons since Ruff left. But their woes now seem to be a question of performance, instead of talent, and there’s no doubt that the right system could spark talent throughout the Sabres’ lineup. They seem ready to lean into that talent with this move – gearing up to pursue the playoffs in the only way they know how: with Lindy Ruff behind the bench.

Lindy Ruff, the winningest coach in Buffalo Sabres history, is returning to his former post. The Sabres announced Monday they have hired Ruff, who led the team from 1997 through early 2012, to serve a second stint in the position. The Sabres needed to replace Don Granato, whom they fired last week at the end of another unsuccessful season. Buffalo missed the playoffs for the 13th straight year, matching the NFL’s New York Jets for the longest active playoff droughts in the big four North American leagues. Ruff — the fifth-winningest coach in NHL history at 864 wins — was available after the New Jersey Devils dismissed him on March 4. The Devils made the playoffs in 2022-23, Ruff’s third season on the job, but they took a step backward this past season. Ruff finished 128-125-28 as New Jersey’s bench boss. In 14-plus seasons with Buffalo, though, Ruff took the Sabres to the postseason eight times, including a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 1999 where they lost to the Dallas Stars in six games. Ruff’s Sabres teams went 571-432-78 before he was dismissed early in the 2012-13 campaign. He would later coach the Stars for four seasons.

“This is a team ready to take the next step,” Ruff said in a statement. “I am both humbled and honored to be trusted to help this team win now. It is not a job that I take lightly. It is my goal to ensure that players believe in each other, play for each other and love being a Buffalo Sabre. There is no doubt that we all need to embrace the challenge ahead of us. The work starts today and I could not be more excited.” “As I went through the hiring process, it quickly became clear Lindy was the person for the job,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said. “He has experience, a proven track record, familiarity with young players and so much more. I want to be clear, though, that this hire was not made with nostalgia in mind. Lindy is the right person for the job now and any history with our organization and community is simply an added bonus.”