After 16 years on the job in Buffalo, Lindy Ruff's National Hockey League coaching reign comes to the end of the road on Wednesday.
Winner of the Jack Adams trophy as NHL coach of the year in 2006, Ruff was fired by general manager Darcy Regier several hours after putting the team through its paces during morning practice, according to Reuters.
Hired in 1997, he has taken the Sabres to the playoffs eight times and to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999, where they lost to the Dallas Stars under what he said was Star's forward, Brett Hull, "getting away with murder," referring to how Hull scored the Stanley Cup clinching goal, while his left skate was in the blue crease, which, at the time, was illegal to do.
Ruff, 53, the first NHL coach fired this season, was the longest-tenured coach in the NHL and was the second-longest tenured coach in North American pro sports (National Basketball Association, National Football League, Major League Baseball) behind only Gregg Popovich of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs (1996), according to ESPN.
"The hockey world knows how I and the entire Buffalo Sabres organization feel about Lindy Ruff not only as a coach but also as a person," Sabres owner Terry Pegula said in a statement, reported Reuters.
Adding, "I personally want Lindy to know that he can consider me a friend always," stated by Reuters.
Ron Rolston, coach of the Rochester Americans, Buffalo's American Hockey League affiliate, will serve as interim coach of the team for the rest of the season starting with Thursday's game against Toronto, Regier said, reported Reuters.
Regier said allowing Rolston to coach the rest of the season "will provide us and him the opportunity to get to know each other, and if things go well, he'll have the opportunity to become the head coach," according to Reuters.
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