Lindy Ruff
| Lindy Ruff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Born |
February 17, 1960 Warburg, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 2 ft 02 in (66 cm) | ||
| Weight | 3,000 lb (1,361 kg; 214 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Forward/Defence | ||
| Shot | really bad | ||
| Played for |
Buffalo Sabres New York Rangers | ||
| NHL draft |
32nd overall, 1979 Buffalo Sabres | ||
| Playing career | 1979–1979 | ||
Lindy Cameron Ruff (Born: February 17, 1960 in Warburg, Alberta, Canada) is head coach of the Buffalo Sabres and former left winger in the National Hockey League.
Playing career
Lindy was chosen in the second round, 32nd overall of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. He played for the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. Ruff gained a reputation as a player for his toughness, character and hard work on the ice. An illustration of this came in a May 10, 1980 playoff game against the New York Islanders where opposing goaltender Billy Smith struck Ruff with his stick as he passed in front of his net. Ruff got up, skated back to the goaltender and tackled him.
Ruff played most of his NHL career for the Sabres, serving as captain of the team for nearly three years, but he was traded to the Rangers at the 1989 NHL trade deadline in exchange for a draft pick. The Sabres would use that pick to select Richard Smehlik, who would later play for several years under Ruff.
Ruff played in 691 NHL games, scoring 105 goals and adding 195 assists for an even total of 300 points. He also recorded 1,264 penalty minutes. In 52 playoff games, Ruff recorded 11 goals and 13 assists while accumulating 193 penalty minutes. [1]
Coaching career
He became assistant coach of the Florida Panthers for the 1993-94 NHL season until the 1996-97 NHL season. His best success then was with the 1996 Florida Panthers, who made the Stanley Cup Finals. He then became head coach of the Buffalo Sabres before the 1997-98 NHL season where he has been since. In Ruff's second season as coach, the Sabres reached the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals before finally losing to the Dallas Stars in six games. Ruff is currently the longest-tenured coach in the NHL.
Ruff is known for being blunt with the media. One well-known example of his bluntness is his comments on Toronto Maple Leafs player Darcy Tucker. In his postgame comments following a questionable hit on Jochen Hecht that knocked the Sabres centre out of the lineup for two weeks with a sprained ACL in the 2005-06 season, Ruff said, "I want him [Tucker] suspended." He also said, "I have not called the NHL office all year and I will call them ten times tomorrow." He called Tucker's hit "a definition of a joke."[2]
On April 5, 2006, Ruff became the 31st coach in NHL history to win 300 games, and just the 16th to do it with only one team. Ruff led the Sabres to their most successful regular season ever in 2005-2006, with a 52-24-6 record for a total of 110 points.
Ruff was the winner of the 2005-06 Jack Adams Award for coach of the year in the National Hockey League. Tom Renney of the New York Rangers and Peter Laviolette of the Carolina Hurricanes were also nominated.
Ruff was again nominated for the Jack Adams Award in 2006-07. His nomination is the second time he has been a finalist for coach of the year. Michel Therrien of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks are also up for the honor. [3]
In February 2007 Ruff was fined US$10,000 by the NHL after a brawl with the Ottawa Senators. The league said that Ruff precipitated the brawl following a questionable hit on Chris Drury by Chris Neil. [4] Because the hit to Drury did not result in a penalty, Ruff sent out Andrew Peters, Patrick Kaleta, and Adam Mair; the team's "enforcers". What followed was one of the '06-'07 season's most memorable hockey brawls. Adam Mair began the brawl, punching Ottawa's Jason Spezza as soon as the puck was dropped. Andrew Peters tried to start a fight with Dany Heatley, who didn't want to fight. Even the goaltenders got into the fight, with Martin Biron challenging Ray Emery. After a second round playoff match against the New York Rangers on April 27th, 2007, Ruff would be fined again by the league after harshly criticizing officials for an obvious missed too-many-men call against the Rangers, giving New York a chance to tie the match in the closing minute. [5]
In the 2006-07 season he became the first Sabres coach to lead the team to back-to-back 50 win seasons, boasting the 5th best win percentage in terms of points captured vs. points available from 1979-present for the entire league.
Ruff ranks 30th in the history of the NHL with 358 regular season coaching wins. His 51 career playoff wins are good for 15th place on the all-time list. Among coaches with 40 or more playoff wins, Ruff is in the top 5 in terms of career winning percentage.
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Personal
Ruff's younger brother, 16-year-old Brent Ruff, was one of four teammates killed in a bus crash while playing for the Swift Current Broncos in 1986.
Another younger brother, Marty Ruff, was a first round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, but never appeared in an NHL game.
An older brother, Randy Ruff, played and coached in junior hockey.
Lindy and his wife Gaye have four children, Brett, Eryn and twins Madeleine and Bryan. Madeleine was in the news in 2006, as she had a brain tumor removed.
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Updated November 7, 2024[1][2]
See also
Reference
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00004701
- ^ "Buffalo Sabres Roster". National Hockey League. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
- ^ "Buffalo Sabres Hockey Transactions". The Sports Network. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
- 1960 births
- Buffalo Sabres coaches
- Buffalo Sabres draft picks
- Buffalo Sabres players
- Canadian ice hockey coaches
- Canadian ice hockey players
- Ice hockey personnel from Alberta
- Jack Adams Award winners
- Lethbridge Broncos alumni
- Living people
- National Hockey League assistant coaches
- New York Rangers players
- Rochester Americans players
- San Diego Gulls players
- National Hockey League coaches