This afternoon, the Buffalo Sabres front office held their annual end-of-the-year press conference. The big news out of the press conference was Lindy Ruff’s future with the Buffalo Sabres organization. Owner Terry Pegula put any sort of rumors to rest when he announced that Ruff has officially signed a “multi-year contract” to remain the Buffalo Sabres head coach.
Ruff, the longest-tenured coach in the NHL, currently has a lifetime coaching record of 526-390-78-72. He has coached the Sabres to playoffs eight times in thirteen seasons.
Under Ruff, the Buffalo Sabres have also won the Presidents Trophy, in the 2006-07 season, as well as three division championships (in the 1996-97, 2006-07 and 2009-10 seasons).
Ruff currently sits second all-time in NHL history, with 1066 games coached with one franchise. He also owns the second-most wins all-time with one franchise, at 526.
Terms of the contract were not released at the time of the press conference.
During the press conference, Lindy Ruff and General Manager Darcy Regier updated the status of injured/previously injured Sabres players.
Jason Pominville – Underwent surgery on Monday to repair a severed tendon in his leg. Out 4 to 6 months.
Tim Connolly – Suffered a separated sternum. Will heal in 4 to 6 weeks.
Patrick Kaleta – Suffered broken hand in Game 6, blocking a shot. Will be undergoing surgery this week.
Mike Grier – Will undergo wrist surgery in the near future.
Andrej Sekera – Suffered a strained oblique, an injury that caused him to miss the first five games of the playoffs.
Jochen Hecht – Suffered a concussion late in the season, the injury that caused him to miss the first six games of the playoffs.
Ryan Miller – Missed the final four games of the regular season due to a concussion.