“He has experience, a proven track record, familiarity with young players, and so much more,” said Buffalo Sabres’ general manager Kevyn Adams when Lindy Ruff was brought in to replace Don Granato. After a shambling display on the ice in 2024, Granato was fired with the Sabres finishing the season in sixth place of the Atlantic Division (39-37-6).

During 15 seasons between 1997 and 2012, Lindy Ruff achieved incredible things with the Sabres. With 57 playoff victories during his first tenure in Buffalo, the coach showed he meant business. However, it looks like the team’s troubles run much deeper, as the coach’s wisdom proved to be unable to turn things around in his second season back at the helm.

The Sabres sink to an all-time low

On April 8, PuckEmpire took to X to share the embarrassing end to the Sabres’ 2024-25 NHL season. With the Canadiens defeating the Red Wings on Tuesday, Buffalo’s fate was sealed. But it wasn’t just another poor finish to the regular season for the Eastern Conference heavyweights. Instead, Ruff’s boys just seated themselves with the likes of the Jets, and not in a good way.

“The Buffalo Sabres will not be in the NHL’s playoffs for the 14th consecutive season — tying the New York Jets (NFL) for the longest active drought in pro sports,” the social media update broods at the Sabres’ misfortunes. However, it wasn’t like this was an entirely surprising situation for many Buffalo loyalists. The team’s consistently poor performance (the Sabres were 0-10-3 at one point in the season) probably made many see this coming.

The playoff elimination still calls for delving into whether getting Ruff back on board was the right call by the Sabres GM. To make matters worse, per Sports Illustrated, Lindy Ruff was drawing a salary of $2 million per season during his stint with the Dallas Stars. Considering that, chances are Adams is paying him more for his services at Buffalo.

Thankfully, it hasn’t been entirely bleak for the Sabres, despite missing the playoffs for the 14th straight season. Instead, the indications are there that, if the cards are played correctly, things could soon look better.

Not all hope is lost

While Buffalo is already out of the playoffs, they have successfully managed to record five straight victories. Just tonight, at the KeyBank Center, the Sabres trounced the Hurricanes 3-0. On top of that, it’s not like Ruff’s team couldn’t score goals. The Sabres have amassed 256 goals so far this season, somewhat making up for the incredibly poor half-season performance in the 2022-23 season. However, the 13-match losing streak was a blow that Buffalo just couldn’t heal from.

And yet, both Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin have flourished this season, despite the team’s playoff woes continuing for another year, with the latter even making things look pretty swell with a possible Norris Trophy candidacy. Furthermore, the Sabres arguably have more raw talent in their roster than any other non-playoff team this season.

But will that be enough to get things rolling for the better next time? Can Lindy Ruff’s wisdom finally start making its mark to give Terry Pegula some hope that Kevyn Adams didn’t make a mistake? What do you reckon? Share your predictions about the Buffalo Sabres’ possible position after the remaining games are played in a comment below!