Sabres hire Ruff as head coach

The Buffalo Sabres announced Monday that the team has hired Lindy Ruff, the fifth-winningest coach in NHL history, as its new head coach.

Ruff, 64, returns to Buffalo ranked fifth all-time and second among active coaches with 864 career regular-season wins for the Sabres, Dallas Stars, and New Jersey Devils. His 935 combined wins in the regular season and playoffs are tied for fourth in league history.

Ruff has made the playoffs in each of his three stops as a head coach (Buffalo, Dallas, and New Jersey), including a 112-point finish with the Devils last season.

“I am thrilled to welcome Lindy back as the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said. “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.”

"I am thankful to Terry, the Pegula family, and Kevyn Adams for this opportunity,” Ruff said. “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 is the winningest coach in Sabres history, having set franchise records in regular-season games coached (1,165), regular-season wins (571), playoff games coached (101), and playoff wins (57) during his first stint with the organization from 1997-98 to 2012-13.

Ruff made the playoffs eight times as head coach of the Sabres, including an appearance in the 1998-99 Stanley Cup Final along with three trips to the Eastern Conference Final in 1997-98, 2005-06, and 2006-07. The Sabres finished with a franchise-record 53 wins and 113 points in 2006-07, claiming their only Presidents’ Trophy in team history.

Ruff won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year in 2005-06, when he led the Sabres to a 110-point finish. He was the runner-up for the award in 2006-07 with Buffalo and 2022-23 (New Jersey) and a finalist in 2015-16 (Dallas).

Ruff was selected to coach in the NHL All-Star Game three times (1999, 2007, and 2016).

Internationally, Ruff has twice served as head coach for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship (2009 and 2013), winning a silver medal in 2009. He twice won gold as an assistant coach for Canada at the Olympic Games in 2010 and 2014.

Prior to coaching, Ruff was a second-round selection by the Sabres in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft and played parts of 10 seasons for Buffalo, including a stint as team captain from 1986-87 until he was traded to the New York Rangers in 1989. He’s tied for 15th in Sabres history with 608 games played.

Adams and Ruff will meet the media Tuesday at 1 p.m. The press conference will be carried live on the Sabres' Facebook, X, and YouTube channels, in addition to Sabres Live, which will air from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on MSG and WGR 550.