BUFFALO, NY – Lindy Ruff has some unfinished business in Buffalo.
Some 11 years after being fired as the Sabres’ winningest coach, and after stints as head coach in Dallas and New Jersey, Ruff, 64, is getting his old job back after being hired by the Sabers on Monday. He takes over a team in the midst of an NHL-record 13-season playoff drought, replacing Don Granato, who was fired last week after more than three seasons behind the bench.
For Ruff, the signing marks a homecoming. The former Sabers defenseman and captain spent more than 14 seasons coaching the team, including its last postseason appearance — a seven-game first-round loss to Philadelphia in 2011.
His return also revives the memory of Ruff’s attempt to defend his job in Buffalo. week before being fired when he said: “It’s up to me to clean up this mess. …And I’m not done trying yet.
n substantially since he left one month after the start of the 2013 season, shortened by the NHL lockout.
During that 11-year span, the Sabers have finished with the NHL’s worst record four times, are now on their seventh coach and fourth general manager, and have gone through several rebuilding phases. The team ended last season with the youngest roster in the NHL.
In hiring Ruff, general manager Kevyn Adams fulfilled his vision of hiring a coach with extensive experience.
Ruff won the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL’s coach of the year with Buffalo in 2006. He ranks fifth on the career list with 1,774 games coached and 864 wins, with a franchise record 571 with Buffalo.
Adams’ brief career as an assistant coach began in 2011, when he was hired to work with Ruff in Buffalo.
“As we moved through the hiring process, it quickly became clear that Lindy was the right person for the job,” Adams said. “He has experience, a proven track record, familiarity with young players and much more. I want to make it clear, however, that this hiring was not made with nostalgia in mind. Lindy is the right person for the job right now, and any history with our organization and community is simply an added bonus. I truly believe Lindy can help our team achieve its goals.”
Ruff has coached the New Jersey Devils for the past four seasons, including a trip to the second round of the playoffs last year, before being fired in March. He was replaced by Travis Green, and the Devils still missed the playoffs.
“This is a team ready to take the next step,” Ruff said. “I am humbled and honored to have the confidence to help this team win now. It’s not a job I take lightly. … There is no doubt that we all need to embrace the challenge that lies ahead. Work starts today and I couldn’t be more excited.”
Sabers players, including forward Alex Tuch, last week credited Granato with helping spur their development but questioned his ability to hold them accountable. Buffalo (39-37-6) has won three straight games just twice this season and crumbled after the higher expectations set a year earlier when the Sabers missed the playoffs by just two points.
Tuch’s eyes lit up when asked about the prospect of Buffalo signing Ruff.
“He was my favorite coach,” said Tuch, who was a Sabers fan while growing up in Syracuse, New York. “Lindy is a great coach, a very smart guy. I’ve always been a big fan of his. I have no idea. But that would be really cool.”
Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin laughed and said, “That sounds great,” when told of Adams’ desire to hire an experienced coach.
“You can’t not play hard in this league. You can’t not play the right way,” Dahlin said. “So we need this. And I’m excited about that.”
Ruff led the Sabers to the playoffs eight times, including an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in 1999 when the Sabers lost a six-game series to Dallas. The decisive game was decided with a goal by Brett Hull in triple overtime. It is still known as the “No Goal” game in Buffalo because replays showed that Hull’s left skate was in the box, which should have been disallowed given the rules at the time.
The Sabers also lost back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals games in 2006 to Carolina and 2007 to Ottawa.
Ruff went on to coach the Stars from 2013-17.
Buffalo’s 13-season playoff drought is tied with the NFL’s New York Jets for the longest active streak in North America’s four major professional sports.
As a player, Ruff spent 10 seasons with the Sabers from 1979-89. After beginning coaching as an assistant at Florida, Ruff was hired by the Sabers in 1997, replacing Ted Nolan.
