Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff won his 600th game behind the Buffalo bench last night, cementing himself as one of the greatest coaches of all-time. While the Sabres will not be playoff bound, this is a bright spot that Ruff can hang his head on.
Sabres' Ruff not aware of milestone
The Sabres got a much needed victory Tuesday night with a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. This gave Ruff career win #893 and he sits fifth all-time in head coaching wins. Ruff said after the game that "he was not aware of this but admitted it felt good," Forward Tage Thompson scored the game-winning goal just minutes into the third period.
Ruff has previously coached for the Sabres, getting the job on July 21, 1997, and immediately advanced to the Eastern Conference final for the 1997-98 season. He would go on to win the Jack Adams award for the league's best coach in 2005-06 while part of the Buffalo organization.
Ruff would go onto have coaching stints with the New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars before returning to Buffalo on April 22, 2024, replacing Don Granato.
While he is a great NHL head coach, he was also a fierce player with the Sabres. In 602 games, he posted 102 goals and 183 assists for 285 points and 1,128 penalty minutes.
Ruff continues to coach at a above average level. While the Sabres have struggled, he has not changed his philosophy at all. He is a verbal coach who gets the most out of his players throughout his career. His style has got him mich success and he pushes on as one of the better senior coaches on th league. His career dates back to the 1993-94 season when he was an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers until the 1996-97 season.
Ruff has the unfortunate distinction of being the most successful head coach without a Stanley Cup to his name. This does not mean that he did not have success with the teams he coached at one point or another, or was the assistant coach for. He remains one of the best coaches in NHL history and one that gets his point across. It is unknown how much longer he will be behind an NHL bench but he will go down as one of the best coaches ever.