Hit The Road Jack (Adams Award Winner)

The unthinkable has been done. Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff has been fired. After a little more than 14 seasons, the longest tenured coach in the National Hockey League has been relieved of his duties.

In 1,165 games, Ruff won 571, lost 432, tied 78 and had 87 overtime losses. He was loved by players and fans and respected all over the league, but a change was needed.

The change comes on the heels of a horrid 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at home. At the time of the firing, the Sabres were 13^th in the Eastern Conference out of 15 teams, and dead last in the Northeast Division. The Sabres have the ninth highest payroll in the league and have been a huge disappointment this year.

Speculation circled at the start of the short season about Ruff being fired. Many questioned Buffalo owner Terry Pegula’s reasoning for keeping Ruff and General Manager Darcy Regier for this long.

The consensus seems to be that this needed to happen, but it’s a sad day. Everyone from Pegula and Regier to the players said it’s sad to see Ruff go.

As everyone assumed, Ruff’s systems and philosophies had grown old.

“Players are upset, shocked but felt it was appropriate… We’ve played the same game for years now,” expressed one player who asked to remain anonymous.

These comments should not come as a shock to any fan that follows the team. After the last lockout, Ruff’s system worked magically. The Sabres were an up and coming team and rolling off wins left and right. That was also with two superstars in Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. Could his system have worked just because of those two stars? Makes sense.

The coaching plan Ruff has instilled in the Sabres has hardly changed over the years.  Other teams have adapted but Buffalo hasn’t done a thing to change.

The change was extremely tough for Ruff’s longtime friend.

“Ultimately, it was my decision. I made this decision,” said Regier in his press conference at First Niagara Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Replacing Ruff is Rochester Americans former coach Ron Rolston. He coached Buffalo’s American Hockey League affiliate for the past year and a half. He led a team that was decimated with call-ups last year all the way to the Calder Cup playoffs.

According to Regier, Rolston will coach the Sabres on an interim basis until the end of the season. Regier did say Rolston is a possibility to be Buffalo’s fulltime head coach, depending on how he does for the remainder of the year.

With the Sabres near the bottom of the league, there isn’t much lower they can go. Hopefully Rolston can bring a new culture into “Hockey Heaven” and turn things around for the city that is so desperately waiting for a winner.