Lindy Ruff has been named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, presented annually to the NHL coach “adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success.”
The winner is determined by a poll among members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association. Ruff is one of three finalists along with Pittsburgh's Dan Muse and Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper.
Ruff previously won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the Sabres in 2005-06. This is his fifth time being named as a finalist (2005-06, 2006-07, 2015-16, 2022-23).
Only seven coaches have won the Jack Adams Award multiple times since it was introduced in 1973-74: Scotty Bowman, Pat Quinn, Jacques Demers, Pat Burns, Jacques Lemaire, John Tortorella, and Barry Trotz.
Ruff guided the Sabres to their first playoff berth since 2011, ending the longest drought in the four major men’s professional sports leagues. But the Sabres didn’t simply sneak in – they captured the Atlantic Division title with 109 points, the fifth-highest total in franchise history. The Sabres won 50 games, third in franchise history behind two Ruff-coached teams (2006-07 and 2005-06).
Buffalo managed success despite playing in the NHL’s toughest division, which sent five teams to the playoffs and featured six teams with 90-plus points.
The Sabres’ run was fueled by a remarkable turnaround, which started Dec. 9. They began that day sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference. A victory in Edmonton that night ignited a 10-game winning streak, and from that point on the Sabres had the most wins (39) and highest points percentage (.783) in the NHL.
Members of the Sabres’ leadership group credited Ruff with helping to set the tone during the run with a firm but steady voice.
“He’ll come in and tell you he’s gonna share the morning coffee and then let a couple guys hear it,” alternate captain Mattias Samuelsson said. “It’s not like he’s personally going after guys, but he definitely puts the group on notice about the standard around here.
“I think he’s been great this year just with feeling what the group needs that day, whether it’s a kick in the ass or just some support.”
Added captain Rasmus Dahlin: “When it’s time, he turns it on, and there’s no f-ing around. You really have to bring it, otherwise you have to hear it, and that’s what I love. There’s no days off with him as coach, that’s for sure.”
Ruff also proved to have his players’ best interest in mind. When Dahlin took a leave of absence in December to be with his fiancée while she recovered from a heart transplant, Ruff – publicly and privately – made sure the captain knew his family came first.
“It’s hard to explain, but he’s such a good man,” Dahlin said. “He’s good with the personal stuff, too. He really cares about his players.”
The Sabres’ brand of hockey is a testament to Ruff’s versatility, one of the defining traits of his first stint with the organization. Ruff previously had success overseeing two distinct eras of Sabres hockey: a hard-nosed, defensive contender built around Dominik Hasek in the late ’90s and a high-flying, offensive team in the mid-2000s.
This year’s edition leaned into the Sabres’ greatest strength: their defensemen. They tied for second in the NHL with 55 goals from the back end, with four players in particular (Dahlin, Samuelsson, Bowen Byram and Owen Power) routinely involved in the offensive attack. It was not uncommon to see two defensemen low in the offensive zone on a given play.
“I think as a coach you adapt to the group you have,” Ruff said. “I remember earlier in my career I was criticized (for being) too defensive. Then I got criticized (for being) too offensive. Then for a little while I was too defensive again.
“But I think it's the group you have. You play to your strengths. And the strength is how mobile our defense are, how active they can be on helping our forwards create offense.”
The Sabres have two Jack Adams Award winners in their history: Ruff in 2005-06 and Ted Nolan in 1996-97.
