Sabres re-sign – Lindy Ruff will stay on the Buffalo Sabres’ bench after the organization signed him to a two-year extension that runs through the 2027-29 season. The move follows the team’s first playoff appearance in 15 years, a turnaround Ruff helped deliver and which ended
When Buffalo’s season finally snapped into playoff reality for the first time in 15 years, it wasn’t just the standings that changed. The Sabres’ bench — and the leadership inside the room — did too. Now the organization is making it clear it wants that same voice back for what comes next.
The Buffalo Sabres have signed head coach Lindy Ruff to a two-year extension that will keep him with the team through the 2027-29 season. Ruff’s history with Buffalo runs deep. He was a second-round pick for the organization in 1979. spent a decade with the team. and returned later to coach them in 1997-1998.
He started his second stint as head coach in 2024 with a mission that was as plain as it was demanding: get Buffalo back to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. This season, they did exactly that.
The Sabres won 50 games in the regular season, the third-highest total in franchise history. They then opened the playoffs by defeating the Boston Bruins in the first round. The run, however, ended in heartbreak in the second round when Buffalo lost a Game 7 to the Montreal Canadiens.
Ruff addressed the team in the immediate aftermath, speaking through team radio host Brian Koziol. “It hurts, I told the team it hurts. That pain will go away. But I won’t let this one game define the season we had. I told them how proud of was of them,” Ruff said.
Buffalo’s path to that moment was anything but smooth early on. The Sabres were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings in December before flipping the script with a 10-game winning streak. From there. they led the NHL in wins and point percentage. turning what looked like a long climb into one of the league’s strongest regular-season surges.
The hope now is that the Sabres can carry that momentum into next season. With Ruff re-signed and standing at the center of their turnaround story. Buffalo is betting that the same leadership that carried them back from the edge can help them build again — and stay in the playoff picture long enough to go further than a Game 7 heartbreaker.
Buffalo Sabres Lindy Ruff NHL playoff appearance Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins Game 7 coaching extension