69.163.234.236 He and Sabres defenseman Mike Ramsey were bowling at Parkside Lanes in North Tonawanda. Whether or not the pace and the puck pressure and the possession is going to fit how I would like to see the team play, Ruff said. After the lockout, Ruff lead the Sabres to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals appearances only to lose to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and the Ottawa Senators in 2007. ". Moreover, Lindy Ruffs daughter holds a doctorate in occupational therapy from Belmont University. He previously covered the New Jersey Devils for The Athletic, and before that the Washington Capitals for the Washington Times and CSN Washington, and the league for NHL.com. While he might opt for some of Montanas famous fly fishing in a river nearby, most days hes content to fish from his dock with the hope of snagging some lake trout. "Brent was just a great guy, and you could tell he was going to be an awesome player," said Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic, a teammate on that Swift Current bus. Mike Foligno once hit Lindy Ruff in the eye with his stick while celebrating a goal. Ruff knew he wanted to be a head coach again after just one year. / Special to NewJerseyDevils.com. Maybe he would've been a captain like Lindy. The Devils will also be more than $30 million under the salary cap heading into the 2020-21 season, which will enable them to sign a few top veteran free agents to supplement a young core of players that Blitzer said is going to be very exciting for a very long period of time.. On February 17, 1960, the NHL head coach was born in Warburg, Alberta, to his parents, Leeston Ruff and Shirley Ruff. The New Jersey Devils made it official on Thursday that Tom Fitzgerald is staying on as GM (minus the interim tag) and Lindy Ruff will be their new head coach. Ruff served as the head coach of the Central Division squad in the 201516 All-Star Game. Guess what? Al Arbour won more games for the New York Islanders, but he also coached the St. Louis Blues early in his career. Ruff was an assistant coach for the 2014 Canadian Olympic Hockey Team. But to have your youngest child taken away from you . He always brought it up. He got his first head coaching gig in 1997 when the Sabres took a gamble on a green leader and gave Ruff a shot at the job. After serving the Panthers for four seasons, Ruff returned to Buffalo in 1977 to become the head coach. Another younger brother, Marty Ruff, was a first round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, but never appeared in an NHL game. Lets learn how Coach Ruff has grown his career from a merely known ice hockey player to the top coach in the NHL. Ruff noted that Seversons performance in Slovakia improved as the tournament progressed and that momentum seemed to carry into his 2019-20 campaign, which included a career-high in ice time per game. Ruff was the winner of the 200506 Jack Adams Award for coach of the year in the NHL. 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. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a1a1a328b39fd9d Severson, in particular, could benefit greatly from playing in Ruffs system. Lindy was adamant and finally forced it out of her. Ruff grew up in Canada, in the tiny Northern Alberta village of Warburg; his wife, Gaye, is from Lethbridge, which is in Southern Alberta and not far from the Montana border. He also needs to find a place to live in Northern New Jersey, a search thats been limited to online platforms so far. In 52 playoff games, Ruff recorded 11 goals and 13 assists while accumulating 193 penalty minutes. Eryn, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, works as a teacher at Faubion Middle School. Apart from marital bliss, they are blessed with four amazing kids. Ruff became assistant coach of the Florida Panthers for the 199394 season until the 199697 season. Ruffs youngest daughter earned her doctorate from Belmont University in Nashville this year but didnt have a graduation ceremony, so she invited a few friends from grad school to come celebrate in Montana. We can't ask much of these guys because they are just keeping the bench warmbut they may prove themselves worthy of a job depending on the team output. He wanted to be like Lindy, and he wouldn't let anything stop him. I must confess that despite being one of Lindy's largest detractors this season, it was kind of odd not seeing him behind the bench in such an important game. Lindy Ruff spent half of his life working for the Buffalo Sabres, as a player for 10 years and a coach for 16. . During his playing career, Ruff played in . He went 32nd overall. Sabres.com is the official Web site of The Buffalo Sabres. "Ruff never was the most talented player in the world," historian Andrew Podnieks wrote in "Players," Podnieks' definitive who's who of hockey. "He got by on determination and a modicum of skill.". Lindy Ruff, named head coach of the New Jersey Devils last month, and his family have a summer home on Whitefish Lake. Ruff joked during his introductory press conference as Devils coach on July 10 that he was the first coach in league history to be unveiled over Zoom. Ruff gained a reputation as a player for his toughness, character and hard work on the ice. Ruff was previously the head coach of the Dallas Stars of the NHL, and also the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres from 1997 to 2013, with whom he won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year in 2006. [26] After the Devils lost their first two games of the season in a manner much resembling the prior years, chants of "Fire Lindy!" Every time I had a conversation with Lindy or we watched video or anything like that, I thought he was really solid, Severson said. On July 10, 2017, it was announced Ruff was named as assistant coach of the New York Rangers. Wake surfing is also a very popular activity in the Ruff household. One of the Devils strengths is the collection of young forwards they have, headlined by Hischier, Hughes and Jesper Bratt. Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks won the honour; Ruff placed second in voting with 126 points to Vigneault's 134. Eventually they bought the house on Whitefish Lake, and it has become a gathering place for both sides of their family. All Lindy had was headaches and negative memories. Theres another prominent hockey figure drawing up plans for his new team by the lake these days. The driveway became a ramp. Lindy Cameron Ruffs fatherran a farm and worked multiple jobs to support the family. Click to reveal He also said, "I have not called the NHL office all year and I will call them ten times tomorrow." The 6 2 defenceman retired and started his coaching career with the Florida Panthers as an assistant coach. Ruff's younger brother, Brent Ruff, was one of four teammates killed in a bus crash while playing for the Swift Current Broncos in 1986. Brian Costello, a reporter for the Swift Current Sun, emerged from the wreckage and saw Trent Kresse's mangled leg. [9], In the 200607 season, Ruff became the first Sabres coach to lead the team to back-to-back 50-win seasons,[10] boasting the fifth-best points percentage in the NHL since 1979. On January 6, 2011, Ruff became only the 16th coach in NHL history to win 500 games, and just the second to win 500 games while only having coached one team. "Lindy should know how much his little brother looked up to him," Egeland said. Ruff has had success behind the bench and on the international stage. . Some young kid the Sabres had drafted couldn't get the puck off Lindy, and Lindy had shared that story with him. After an organizational demolition this winter, the Devils tabbed Ruff and made interim general manager Tom Fitzgeralds role permanent. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Lindy Ruff is out as coach in Buffalo, meaning the slow-starting, inconsistent and sometimes lethargic Sabres have now become Ron Rolston's mess to clean up. Ruff was the longest-tenured coach in the NHL and was rewarded with a three-year contract extension that had an option for a fourth season. Good, bad, and neutral: Breaking down Devils hiring Lindy Ruff as head coach. Injuries eventually slowed him down after a while and he was traded to the Rangers.". At least that's how fellow coach Ken Hitchcock felt when it . Tom Renney of the New York Rangers and Peter Laviolette of the Carolina Hurricanes were also nominated. I would consider that a big deal, instead of just coming into the main camp cold, Ruff said. Lindy vividly remembers every detail about the day Brent died. With Dallas leading the series three games to two, the Sabres lost game six at home on a goal that's still being debated more than two decades later. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Within two wins of winning his first NHL title as well as the first Stanley Cup for Buffalo, the Sabres battled hard in Game Six at home; so hard that it appeared they just might upset the Stars. He also reached out to all of the players and had conversations similar to the one he had with Schneider. [22][23] On January 28, 2021, Ruff coached his 1,500th game in the NHL as the Devils lost 31 to the Philadelphia Flyers. A freezing rain began to fall. Rather than leave it unspoken, Sakic said he would be sure to seek out Lindy in Dallas. Eryn Ruff, Brett Ruff, Brian Ruff, Madeleine Ruff. Travis Zajac played for Ruff at the 2009 world championships. 1 overall draft pick twice in the last four years, which the team has used to take Hughes and forward Nico Hischier. Article by biographyset.com All right reserved. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The more we kept digging, the more Lindy kept rising, Fitzgerald said. What are you doing? Keep reading with unlimited digital access. But I know Brent would have been one constant friend I always would have had.". Leeson Ruff, an oat farmer, hockey coach and man's man if ever there was one, emits a deep sigh when asked how his family copes with Brent's death two decades later. Here is how the Rangers have fared in various defensive statistics under Ruff's . "He was just starting to turn into a young man, but he didn't get to experience any of that.". #Loveyou #21 pic.twitter.com/Hp8NkG1iJV, Brian Ruff (@BRuffles22) August 16, 2015. It was a tough day. There would be plenty of time for that somewhere down the road, wouldn't there? This was also on the anniversary of the controversial defeat of the Sabres in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999. The others include Al Arbour (Islanders), Billy Reay (Blackhawks) and Barry Trotz (Nashville.) [5], In February 2007, Ruff was fined US$10,000 by the NHL after a brawl with the Ottawa Senators. All of them have grown up and must be doing well. Sandy's physician said the tumor behind her eye had injured her optic nerve. The Devils have topped NHL analytics charts for most of the season - they rank third in Corsi for percentage at five-on five (55.12%) - and Ruff uses this information to make line decisions. "And he was younger [than Marty] by seven years, so he grew up at home alone for a period of time where it was just them three. . Thats the weirdest part.. Peters tried to start a fight with Dany Heatley, who was reluctant to respond, at one point even hiding behind a linesman. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. One of Lindy Ruffs brothers, Brent, was one of the four players of theSwift Current Broncoswho passed away in a tragic bus accident. 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. Fitzgerald ran the coaching search that landed Ruff, after having assumed the interim role when Shero was fired. "It's sorrow for what he wasn't able to move on and experience. Ruff's Devils are not choosy at all. His 501st win behind the bench with the Sabres put him one ahead of Toe Blake, who coached to 500 wins with the Montreal Canadiens. that's what hurts you the most. Nobody knew too much of Joe at that time, and he turned out to be a hell of a player.". Lindy Ruff has been behind the bench in Buffalo for the last 14 season. Brent was gleaming about that. "Smitty's stick caught Lindy in the eye," Action Sports Hockey publisher Bob Stampleman remembered, "and he went down to the ice in pain. "It just didn't seem real.". We touched a little bit on what to expect, but no promises or guarantees. "From Day One we really hit it off," said Egeland, head coach of the Rocky Mountain Rage of the Central Hockey League. If youre a huge basketball fan, then chances are youre already Lindy Ruff Biography New Jersey Devils Head Coach. Bowman was so impressed with Lindy's versatility that in 1983 he moved him from the blue line to the front line. They won big. You won't believe what happened next Tags: feature anniversary Sabres TV Sabres Memories: Lindy Ruff's. Lindy Ruffs children are Brett Ruff, Eryn Ruff,Madeleine Ruff, and Brian Ruff. The call came again, as it does every Feb. 17 from rural Warburg, Alberta, the words of his robust parents coming across the line a little fainter. "That's almost instantaneous when you see him playing. . 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