Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres have come full circle, as Lindy Ruff is back as the head coach of the team, replacing the fired Don Granato.
As soon as general manager Kevyn Adams said he wanted a coach with NHL experience and he had a very good idea of who and what he wanted during his press conference last Tuesday, Ruff immediately came to mind.
Ruff was fired back in 2013, and since then, Buffalo has gone through Ron Rolston, Ted Nolan, Dan Bylsma, Phil Housley, Ralph Krueger and Granato with no success.
With 864 wins with the Sabres, Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils, Ruff is fifth on the all-time coaching list. 571 of those wins for Ruff came while coaching the Sabres.
During the 2022-23 season, Ruff got the Devils to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and was named runner-up for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's Coach of the Year.
This season, however, the group in New Jersey underachieved, because they had no goaltending, and Ruff was fired on March 4.
"I am thankful to Terry, the Pegula family, and Kevyn Adams for this opportunity," the 64-year-old Ruff said in a statement on Monday. "This is a team ready to take the next step. 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."
Ruff had told me more than once how much he liked the good young talent the Sabres had, and now he gets to coach them.
During locker room clean outs, Sabres winger Alex Tuch was asked about the idea of playing for Ruff, if he was to return to Buffalo as head coach.
"I think I’ve watched Lindy coach as many games as I’ve played," joked Tuch during his end-of-season meeting with the media. "He was my favorite coach growing up. That was the team I watched, and sat on the couch and watched with my dad. To see what he was able to do with those teams was really cool.
"I actually got a chance to meet him for the first time this year, and Lindy’s a great coach. I’ve always been a huge fan of his, and that would be pretty cool."
Related
After spending parts of 15 seasons with the Sabres, Ruff spent four years with Dallas and four seasons with New Jersey.
Ruff had also spoken with former general manager Jason Botterill about coming back as head coach in Buffalo, but didn’t end up getting the job.
"I am thrilled to welcome Lindy back as the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres," said Adams in a statement on Monday. "As I went through the hiring process, it quickly became clear Lindy was the person for the job. 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. I believe wholeheartedly that Lindy can help our team reach their goals and am excited to get to work with him."
Adams was an assistant coach on Ruff's staff in Buffalo for one season.
Ruff made four trips to the Eastern Conference Final with the Sabres, one of those resulting in a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 1999, losing in six games to the Stars.
Ruff also played parts of 10 seasons for the Sabres and served as their team captain.
The Sabres have announced a 1 p.m. ET press conference on Tuesday at KeyBank Center in Downtown Buffalo to officially announce the hiring. We'll carry it live in its entirety on WGR Sports Radio 550.
