This Day in Hockey History – July 21, 1997 – Sabres Get Ruff Edge

Jul 21, 2019

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For someone who has played and coached in the NHL for nearly 40 years, Lindy Ruff spent over half that time with the Buffalo Sabres. They drafted him in 1979, and 18 years later, on July 21, 1997, they hired him as head coach.

Ruff’s long tenure with the Sabres began on August 9, 1979, when they drafted him in the second round (32nd overall). Though he started out as a defenseman, he primarily turned into a tough winger throughout his ten seasons in Buffalo. He served as captain for the last three seasons there, before they traded him on March 7, 1989, the trade deadline. Ruff finished the season and played the next two for the New York Rangers, eventually returning to defense. He spent the next two seasons playing for the Rochester Americans of the AHL (1991-92) and the San Diego Gulls of the IHL (1992-93). All told, Ruff had played 743 NHL games (116G, 208A, 321P), earning 1,457 penalty minutes.

After his playing career ended, in 1993 Ruff joined the Florida Panthers as their assistant coach. The highlight there was making it to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996.

In 1997, Buffalo sought a new head coach when the new GM, Darcy Regier, found Ted Nolan difficult to work with despite the team’s improvement and having just received the Jack Adams Award. Nolan was the third coach in the eight seasons since Ruff was traded away. Ruff said of Nolan, “Obviously he’s going to have bad feelings and he’s going to hope the next guy fails.” In the running for the position were at least two NHL coaches and Don Lever, longtime associate coach for the Sabres (and head coach of the Rochester Americans the season Ruff played there).

Despite his relative inexperience, Ruff was named Buffalo’s 15th head coach at 11:05 am, July 21, 1997, at Marine Midland Arena. Regier justified his choice saying, “I liked his passion for the game, his knowledge of the game, his ability to work with young players and his ability to develop young defensemen.” He also felt that Ruff’s previous ties to the Sabres “were an added bonus.”

In accepting the three-year contract, Ruff stated, “This will never be my team or someone else’s team, this team belongs to the people in Lockport and Cheektowaga and the rest of the area, the people who used to wear the Bethlehem Steel T-shirts. This team reeks of what I was as a player: hard work, determination and character. We’re going to put together something that’s very special. Losing will not be tolerated in this city.” He continued, “If we play a system and we’re a dedicated team, I think that’s an attainable goal.” Despite the pressures to produce, Ruff could not help but comment, “Obviously I’m very excited about coming back to Buffalo, which I considered my home town.”

Buffalo would remain Ruff’s hometown for the next 15 years. Right off the bat, he led the team to the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals and the 1999 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Dallas Stars after Brett Hull’s controversial goal. That was the closest Ruff came to winning a Stanley Cup. The Sabres then went through a slump just before the 2004-05 lockout due to financial problems. In 2005-06, Ruff brought the team back to the Eastern Conference Finals, in the process earning himself a Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. The following season was the best record-wise (with 113 points) for the Sabres, and they returned to the Eastern Conference Finals. Ruff was runner-up for the Jack Adams Award. As of January 8, 2011, Ruff (beating Toe Blake’s record) became the winningest coach for one team with 501 Sabres’ victories.

Although the Sabres had extended Ruff’s most recent contract in 2011, on February 20, 2013, they fired him as head coach. At the time, he was the longest active-serving coach with a single team and one of only four to coach over 1,000 games with one team. Ruff’s coaching tenure with the Sabres had lasted 1,165 games, earning 1,304 points (571-432-78-84).

Interestingly, Ruff’s replacement, Ron Rolston, did not last through the next season and was replaced by Nolan, Ruff’s predecessor. At the same time, Regier, who had hired Ruff, was fired as GM.

Exactly one month shy of the 16th anniversary of the announcement that Ruff would coach the Sabres, on June 21, 2013, their Stanley Cup rivals, the Dallas Stars, named Ruff their head coach. Hull’s infamous goal had occurred in the wee hours of the morning on June 20 back in 1999. That first season, Ruff led the Stars to their first playoff berth since 2008. He coached them until the end of the 2017 season, when the Stars announced he would not be returning. For Dallas, Ruff coached a total of 328 games for 371 points (165-122-41).

Since July 10, 2017, Ruff has served the Rangers as an assistant coach. During his long career, he also assisted in coaching Team Canada for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. He does not quite seem ready to stop coaching.