In Toronto on Wednesday night, Jason Pominville, Drew Stafford, Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller were asked to comment on the firing of the only NHL coach that they've ever played for.
In case you were working, or stick in traffic, here is Darcy Regier's press conference in its entirety. Regier, who was hired one month before Lindy Ruff 15 years ago, had the unenviable task of having to fire his friend and colleague on Wednesday.
The business part of the hockey business can be cold and impersonal. Only the strong survive. Ruff will send his suits to the cleaners and when they are ready to be picked up, he'll have several job offers to consider.
Regier's job just got tougher with the ouster of Ruff. Regier will have to work with his NHL rookie head coach, Ron Rolston, to teach him the ropes.
Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier today announced that Lindy Ruff has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres. Regier also announced that Ron Rolston will serve as the interim head coach of the Sabres, beginning with the team’s game against Toronto tomorrow.
Statement from Sabres owner Terry Pegula:
"The hockey world knows how I and the entire Buffalo Sabres organization feel about Lindy Ruff not only as a coach but also as a person. His long tenure with the Sabres has ended. His qualities have made this decision very difficult. I personally want Lindy to know that he can consider me a friend always."
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I'm wondering how James Patrick is feeling right about now. He's been Lindy's loyal friend and confidante for decades. Today, his friends was fired. Some in th emedia speculated incorrectly that Jeep would be named interim head coach for the rest of the season. Regier opted to pull Rolston, a newbie to the NHL, into a head coaching role in Buffalo. Patrick has served his apprenticeship well in the NHL, and should have garnered some serious consideration to replace Ruff. Perhaps the poor defensive play of the Sabres blue line in the first 17 games of the season had an impact on Regier's decision to promote Rolston to bring in a new voice, new vision, and new sttrategy.
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5:20pm:
Sabres GM Darcy Regier has announced that Rochester Amerks head coach, Ron Rolston, will be the interim head coach of the Buffalo Sabres for the reamainder of the season.
Rolston is en route to Buffalo and will travel with Regier to Toronto tonight.
Regier and Rolston will meet with the team tonight.
The assistant coaches are TBD.
Regier told the assembled media that Tuesday night's home loss to Winnipeg was the "tipping point" for the decision to fire the incumbent coach.
Regier stressed that he and Ruff have had multiple conversations about the team and its erratic play of late. Regier did say that the decision to ultimately fire Ruff was made today, while Ruff was running the team through a 90 minute practice in preparation for Thursday night's game in Toronto. Regier said that he drove to Ruff's home in Clarence, NY to break the news in person. Regier said that Ruff asked if he could say goodbye to the team. Ruff drove to the airport and and bid farewell to his boys. The players left the bus and shook hands with their former ciach. Some players hugged Ruff as they said their goodbyes. Others did not.
Did you find it odd that Regier cited the ineffective play fo the Foligno-Ennis-Stafford line as a reason for the team's failures this season.
Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier today announced that Lindy Ruff has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres. Regier also announced that Ron Rolston will serve as the interim head coach of the Sabres, beginning with the team’s game against Toronto tomorrow.
Statement from Sabres owner Terry Pegula:
"The hockey world knows how I and the entire Buffalo Sabres organization feel about Lindy Ruff not only as a coach but also as a person. His long tenure with the Sabres has ended. His qualities have made this decision very difficult. I personally want Lindy to know that he can consider me a friend always."
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Rolston becomes the 16th head coach in franchise history and joins the Sabres after spending the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons as head coach of the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL). As head coach of the Americans, Rolston compiled a 63-44-17 regular-season record.
Prior to joining the Americans, Rolston spent seven seasons as head coach with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, where he became the first coach in U.S. history to lead the United States Under-18 team to three gold medals (2005, 2009, 2011) at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Under-18 Championship, adding a silver medal (2007) in his other appearance as head coach.
In addition to coaching at the Under-18 and Under-17 levels, Rolston also served as head coach for the U.S. National Junior Team at the IIHF U20 World Championship in 2007 and 2009. In 2007, he led Team USA to the bronze medal.
Rolston joined USA Hockey after serving as an assistant coach at four different NCAA Division I hockey programs (Lake Superior State University, 1990-1995; Clarkson University, 1996-1999; Harvard University, 1999-2002; Boston College, 2002-2004) between 1990 and 2004, winning National Championships in 1992 and 1994 with Lake Superior State University.
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Chadd Cassidy will assume head coaching duties of the Rochester Amerks for the rest of the season.
The Sabres have announced that head coach Lindy Ruff has been fired.
I'm shocked by this news.
The team tweeted the announcement. Ruff's successor has not been named yet.
Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier announced on Wednesday afternoon that Lindy Ruff has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres. More details will be made available at a press conference this afternoon.
There have been 170 coaching changes in the NHL since the Sabres first hired Lindy Ruff on July 21, 1997.
So much for Mr. Pegula saying:
"Lindy ain't goin' anywhere"....
Famous last words.
Rochester Amerks head coach Ron Rolston's name immediately hops to mind as a replacement to Ruff. he knows the players and the system, and has attended "Sabres University".
Team USA WJC gold medal coach Phil Housley may be available to replace Lindy Ruff. Oh by he way, he's a Sabres legend.
Scott Arniel of the Chicago Wolves may be a possibility. One rumour has Patrick Roy becoming the next head coach of the Buffalo Sabres.
More to come...
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Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff recently sat down with my friend Adam Benigni of WGRZ-TV in Buffalo. The Sabres GM and head coached shared their views on the changes inside their organization in 2013. Regier and Ruff have changed their approach off the ice in the post lockout, 48 game season.
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