A game at a time, Lindy Ruff brought playoff hockey back to Buffalo

When Lindy Ruff was let go by the New Jersey Devils in March 2024, he didn’t immediately think about his future as an NHL coach. Instead, the 66-year-old jokes, his mind jumped to all the springtime chores and yardwork ahead of him. Fired at 2 p.m., he packed his bags and hit the road by 5.

“There was no real thought besides heading home, which is Buffalo,” Ruff told Sabres.com.

The Warburg, Alberta, native first arrived in Western New York as a second-round draft pick in 1979 and played most of his career with the Sabres. He then returned as head coach in 1997, leading them to eight playoff appearances in 14-plus seasons.

A firing in February 2013, followed by coaching stints with the Stars, Rangers and Devils, never inspired a change of heart, and the Sabres brought Ruff back for the 2024-25 season.

“I say this – people might find it strange – but I’ve never really left. I’ve been here since 1979,” he said.

“I understand the passion, from football to the sports to the people. It was my first team to play for. It was my first city I came to as a 19-year-old. The people here helped me grow into what I am today. The teammates around me, the people I’ve been around, the friends I’ve made in the city.”

Upon returning, Ruff discussed how much it would mean, personally, to turn the Sabres’ core players into winners, for them to develop that same love for the city, and for KeyBank Center to be rocking again like back in the ‘90s and 2000s. And in Year 2 of his second stint behind the Buffalo bench, he’s seen that vision through, ending the 14-year drought and leading the Sabres back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2011.

“You see how much he cares about the crest and the City of Buffalo and how much it means to him,” Alex Tuch said, “so for him to be the coach to get us out of the drought, I think means a lot for him and means a lot for our group.”

It’s been a remarkable rebound from last season, when the team was derailed by an early 13-game winless streak and finished with 79 points, 12 out of a postseason spot. As Ruff has admitted, that failure to turn things around ate at him.

“Obviously, it was painful,” Ruff reflected. “What’s etched in my mind was the 13 games. I felt at least half we could have won, we should have won, but we didn’t. Part of it was scoring, part of it was we didn’t defend well enough. And I think that type of adversity just pushes you to a solution.”

That solution didn’t set in immediately; these Sabres showed glimpses of potential early on, but sub-.500 hockey had them in last place in December. Ever since, a full-team buy-in – defense, goaltending, physical and mental toughness, coaching, etc. – has carried them to the playoffs.

“I think the players have done such a great job embracing the challenge,” he continued. “It would’ve been easy to lose hope in December, and we had dealt with plenty of adversity. … They deserve all the credit in the world for it.”

He’s not one to take some of that credit himself, but Ruff has been steering the ship through all Buffalo’s successes and failures, wins and losses, injuries and health issues. He’s a leading candidate – and the most deserving – for his second Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s best coach. Here’s why.

‘No days off with him’

One of the catchphrases for these Sabres has been “Share the morning coffee.” Come in, wake up a bit, hang out with your teammates. Then, it’s off to the video room with Ruff and the coaching staff, where anything goes.

“He’ll come in and tell you he’s gonna share the morning coffee and then let a couple guys hear it,” said Mattias Samuelsson. “It’s not like he’s personally going after guys, but he definitely puts the group on notice about the standard around here.”

And he won’t only reprimand a player behind closed doors. During a recent practice, for example, Ryan McLeod passed out of a great chance to shoot the puck – a team-wide issue at times, despite the Sabres’ success. Screamed Ruff from the other end of the rink: “Just shoot the [f-ing] thing!”

“When it’s time,” captain Rasmus Dahlin said, “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.”

Compared to last season, his introduction to most of these players, Ruff now has a better feel for communicating with them and, in turn, getting results. Outside additions and rookies alike – think Josh Doan, Noah Ostlund, Zach Metsa – have quickly become key contributors, while others like Jack Quinn, Beck Malenstyn and Samuelsson have enjoyed career years under the coach.

“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,” Samuelsson said.

Five days after McLeod got that earful in practice, he scored against the Rangers to snap his 16-game goal drought, then returned to the bench and looked straight to his coach. Ruff’s reaction: “I was ecstatic.”

‘Such a good man’

While Ruff can be fiery and critical when needed, he’s also good for a laugh with the guys.

“We’ve always seen that humorous side. He’s always dropping jokes,” said Zach Benson, who was five years old when Ruff last took the Sabres to the playoffs. “He’s awesome in video; when it needs to be serious, he’ll keep it serious, but he also knows how to keep the room light and get laughs out of the guys.

“He’s sarcastic, for sure. He likes, I don’t know what they’re technically called, but dad jokes, almost. Just simple jokes. That’s his humor.”

With an NHL team spending seven-plus months of the year together, a good coach needs to manage his team as people, not just athletes. That challenge has been front and center with Dahlin, whose fiancée, Carolina, underwent an emergency heart transplant last summer. The superstar defenseman twice left the Sabres to be with Carolina in Sweden and missed three games during Buffalo’s worst stretch of the season, a five-game losing streak in early November.

“The only thing that really matters is Carolina’s wellness and helping support a player with a family matter,” Ruff said. “It’s always family first. Really, that’s the way we treated it.”

Said Dahlin: “It’s hard to explain, but he’s such a good man. He’s good with the personal stuff, too. He really cares about his players.”

‘One game at a time’

Throughout this rollercoaster of a season, Ruff has been sure to keep his team in the moment. After a blowout loss? The focus is on tomorrow’s game. Approaching the franchise-record win streak? One game at a time. That rematch with Tampa Bay next month? Worry about San Jose this week.

“He’s been really even-keeled,” Tuch said. “… Really just simplifying it as much as possible. Taking out a lot of the outside noise and a lot of the outside things that can maybe distract you from the task at hand, and really just dialing the group in.”

Individual games have added up to an incredibly consistent run of hockey – the Sabres have been the league’s best team since Dec. 9, losing three consecutive games only once in that span. And when there’s a lapse in team identity, like the April 4 loss in Washington, Buffalo typically corrects things the next time out.

Entering the year, Ruff insisted that the Sabres improve defensively; they’ll finish top 10 in goals against per game after ranking 30th last season. He insisted they become harder to play against; they’ve established a culture – an expectation – of answering physical challenges and standing up for one another.

Above all else, they’ve seen a 27-point increase (and counting) from last season’s record, one of the biggest year-to-year turnarounds in franchise history. The Sabres are the talk of the town again. KeyBank Center is back to being a sold-out madhouse, and it’s about to turn up a notch for playoff hockey.

Ruff has spent 25 seasons as an NHL head coach and ranks fourth all-time in regular season wins. Despite coming close with the 1999, 2006 and 2007 Sabres, he’s never won the ultimate prize. Another Jack Adams Award – he won it in 2005-06 – would be one thing, but this year’s team has a chance to play for the Stanley Cup.

On brand for Ruff, however, he won’t talk about that just yet.

“We’re gonna stay with ‘just one more.’ Just win one more,” he said. “It’s been our mantra through this whole thing: not get too far ahead of ourselves. We’ll take it one game a time, and at the end of that, if that shiny object comes our way, that was our ultimate goal, for sure.”

By the numbers

Check out some more stats detailing Ruff and the Sabres’ success this season:

Improvement from 2024-25 to 2025-26

• Goal differential has improved from minus-20 to plus-44.
• Penalty kill has improved from 76.3 percent (23rd in NHL) to 81.7 percent (7th).
• Went 9-1-3 in the second game of back to backs last year, compared 5-8-0 last year.
• Buffalo has allowed 119 high-danger chances at even strength, eighth fewest in the NHL. Last season, it allowed 169, most in the NHL (Stathletes).

Situational success

• The Sabres have gone 36-6-2 (.818 win percentage) when scoring first, second best in the NHL.
• They're 34-2-0 (.944 win percentage) when leading after two periods, fourth best in the NHL.
• They went 16-6-4 (.692 points percentage) in Atlantic Division games, best in the division.

Franchise ranks

• The Sabres have 106 points (and counting), their most since the franchise-record 113 in 2006-07.
• Their 49 wins are tied for third most in franchise history.