Sabres Fire Head Coach Lindy Ruff
Published at(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — The Buffalo Sabres fired longtime head coach Lindy Ruff on Wednesday.
The 53-year-old Ruff was in his 16th season with the Sabres, having compiled a record of 571-432-78-84. He led them to the playoffs eight times and to the Stanley Cup championship finals once, when they lost in six games to the Dallas Stars in 1999.
The Sabres are off to a slow start this season, going 6-10-1 with 13 points after opening the year with two consecutive victories.
Ruff was the longest-tenured coach in the NHL and the second-longest-tenured coach in the four major pro sports leagues. Only Gregg Popovich of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs has been coaching with the same team longer.
The Sabres tapped Ron Rolston to take over on an interim basis. Rolston was in his second season with the Sabres’ top minor-league affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
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