Sabres sign Lindy Ruff to two-year extension

Ruff is coming off a memorable 2025-26 season, where he guided the Sabres from the bottom of the NHL toward the top. Under the Warburg, Alb. native’s tutilige, Buffalo clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 15 years, ending the longest postseason drought in league history. The Sabres also finished atop the Atlantic Division, clinching the franchise’s first division title since the 2009-10 season. The team didn’t stop there. Buffalo took down the Boston Bruins in the opening round of the playoffs, marking the team’s first series win since 2007.

Ruff’s efforts led to him being named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, awarded to the coach of the year. 20 years after he took home the trophy for the first time.

Ultimately, the Sabres fell to the Montreal Canadiens in a thrilling seven-game series in the second round. While some thought the end of the 66-year-old was near, Ruff has decided to see if he and the team can build on the impressive performance.

This past year was Ruff’s 17th season with the Sabres, and his 25th campaign as a head coach in the NHL. He returned to Buffalo in 2024 after spending time with both the Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils and has given life to a franchise that he called hom for 15 consecutive seasons. With the Sabres, Ruff has guided the team to a 657-494-100 with 78 ties.

All-time, Ruff has a regular-season coaching record of 950-741-169 with 78 ties, sitting fourth all-time in wins behind Hockey Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman, Joel Quenneville of the Anaheim Ducks, and Paul Maurice of the Florida Panthers. Ruff is also third in games coached (1,938), and could become just the third person to coach 2,000 NHL games next year.