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Good Idea to Keep Ruff and Regier?

Many fans were already hoping that Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff would not return next season due to the first round loss against the Bruins.

As almost every Sabres fan knows, Ruff is the longest tenured coach in the NHL, beginning his coaching career with Buffalo back in 1997. I don’t understand why so many people want him out of the Sabres’ front office.

The Sabres have made the playoffs seven out of 12 seasons with Ruff behind the bench. They have made it to the Finals once, which ended on a controversial call. I believe Ruff has performed well, especially making mediocre teams look better.

Ruff won the Jack Adams Award in the 2005-2006 season and was again nominated for it after the next season. He was also named assistant coach for Team Canada in the 2010 Olympics where he won a gold medal.

I’ve heard people argue that his playing styles aren’t working with the team, and a change would made the Sabres system better. The Sabres won the Northeast Division this season, finishing with 100 points.

After a season like that, I can’t see why a team would fire their coach. Ruff got his team to the playoffs by finishing third in the Conference, but many people still want him gone. The team lost in the first round, which is only the second time that has happened under Ruff.

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Comments 2
I don't think Ruff is to be blamed, he's doing the best he can with an average team that made it because of Miller's sensational season. If you can't score you can't win games. The Sabres need production and they don't have it.

People have short attention spans when it comes to sports, it's about what have you done for me right now. I don't care if you finished the season 82-0-0, if you lose in the 1st round against a lower seeded team many of the fairweather fans will want you out. It's the simplest solution, it's easier to replace the coach than the team. It allows the GM to stay around on borrowed time.
While I understand your argument Demez, if a team can't really do anything anything in the playoffs, what would be the point of playing great in the regular season. It's about winning the Stanley Cup, not the President's Trophy. And while I like Ruff, he's a great coach and a great motivator, you have to wonder whether that organization may have to start thinking about a change... maybe even for the sake of change...

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