To be hanging with the veterans like that, you know, he had that personality and the players just loved you.". Tom Renney of the New York Rangers and Peter Laviolette of the Carolina Hurricanes were also nominated. Schneider missed Ruffs initial call, and then called him back. Two decades of lonely birthdays, though. Before this game, Patrick Kaleta hadn't been playing as well as he had last season. He called Tucker's hit "an absolute joke".[4]. Next comes the story of how Foley first told Murray Craven, now a senior vice president of the Golden Knights, about his grand idea a hockey team in Las Vegas while standing on a lake dock in Whitefish, Mont. Use arrows to navigate between autocomplete results. "He was still pretty slight and hadn't grown or filled in yet," Lindy said. Subban in a trade over the off-season, the Devils had expected to both contend and entertain. Egeland might have known Brent better than Lindy did. The wayward New Jersey Devils took major steps to chart a clearer course on Thursday for better or worse. They hung out together, went to school together, went to the rink together. 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. On April 29, 2011, the Sabres announced Ruff had agreed to a multiple year contract extension. Scoring six goals against the Stanley Cup Champions shows what this team can do, but it also shows that this team needs motivation. Lindy was Buffalo's captain at the time, while Marty, the brother in between, was drafted 20th overall in 1981. In his post-game interview 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 200506 season, Ruff said, "I want him [Tucker] suspended." If you're going to blame this and blame that you're going to walk around bitter your whole life, and eventually you can't live with yourself.". Twenty years later, that remains the most difficult day of Lindy's life. His greatest success as an assistant coach was with the 199596 Florida Panthers, who made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, but lost to the Colorado Avalanche in a four game sweep. Lindy Cameron Ruff (born February 17, 1960) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach who is the head coach for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). Instead, Ruff spent the first few days after he was named head coach of the Devils on a steady stream of phone calls. Also Read: Learn More About Selen Vigil-Wilks Biography. "It was something to be around him," Brent's best friend and Broncos teammate Tracy Egeland said, the lasting pain evident in his words. On April 29, 2013, Ruff ended his tenure with the Sabres as the NHLs longest active-serving coach with one team. There's nothing you can do about it except hope your son is in a better place. You won't believe what happened next. The type of surgery you have will affect the selection of a prosthetic eye. Discover Lindy Ruff's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. The bus fishtailed, dipped into a ditch and slammed into an elevated farm access road. Ron Rolston, head coach of the American Hockey League's Rochester Americans, was named as his replacement. An older brother, Randy Ruff, played and coached in junior hockey. "Ruff never was the most talented player in the world," historian Andrew Podnieks wrote in "Players," Podnieks' definitive who's who of hockey. You have permission to edit this article. Along with Arbour, Billy Reay and current New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz, Ruff is one of just four coaches to coach 1,000 NHL games with a single team. What followed was one of the 200607 season's most memorable hockey brawls. Against Boston, Gaustad was involved in every single altercation and made his presence felt. Ruff got up, skated back to the goaltender and tackled him. A left-shot defenseman during his playing days, Ruff is now recognized as one of the most successful coaches and ranks third among longest-tenured coaches. On February 20, 2013, the Sabres announced Ruff had been relieved of his coaching duties, ending his tenure as the NHL's longest active-serving coach with one team and second only to Gregg Popovich in the four major sports in North America. GM Tom Fitzgerald confirmed the news Thursday at his end-of-season media availability, saying Ruff was brought in to . The NHL said Ruff precipitated the brawl following a questionable hit on then co-captain Chris Drury by the Senators' Chris Neil. Kresse and Scott Kruger, Brent's linemates, were thrown from the bus and died. Buffalo missed the playoffs in the three seasons preceding the 200405 NHL lockout amidst the team's bankruptcy and financial problems caused by the Adelphia Communications corporate scandal. All Rights Reserved. Lindy Ruff was fired Wednesday after almost 16 years behind the Buffalo Sabres' bench, but he likely had a clue this was coming. When regulars Jerry Korab and Jim Schoenfeld were injured Darcy got his chance. Lindy Ruff, an assistant with the Rangers this season, was hired as head coach of the Devils on Thursday, having impressed team executives with his experience and infectious personality. And yet they never spoke over two decades, not until each was asked before the All-Star Game why he hadn't done so. Brent Ruff never had another birthday. "[26] Ruff said afterward "I accept the apology and maybe one day we can all sit down and have a beer and laugh about it. "Ruff fumes as Hecht expected to miss two weeks", "Sabres fans launch fundraisers to pay coach Ruff's fine", "Sabres coach, Clarence resident Lindy Ruff highlights Greater Buffalo 2010 Class", "Sabres sign Ruff to contract extension AP", "Buffalo Sabres relieve Lindy Ruff of coaching duties", "Sabres Fire Ruff; Rolston is the Interim Coach - ABC News", "Sabres fire head coach Ruff, name Rolston interim coach", "Dallas Stars hire Lindy Ruff as 22nd Head Coach in franchise history", "Head Coach Lindy Ruff, Captain Jamie Benn and Forward Tyler Seguin to Represent the Dallas Stars at the 2016 All-Star Game", "Stars announce Lindy Ruff won't return as head coach", "NHL Black Monday Roundup: L.A. Kings clean house", "Rangers Name Lindy Ruff Assistant Coach", "RELEASE: Devils Name Lindy Ruff Head Coach", "Lindy Ruff named Devils' coach, Tom Fitzgerald stays GM", "Hart makes 33 saves, Raffl breaks tie as Flyers beat Devils", "Devils have another rough season under Lindy Ruff", "Devils coach Lindy Ruff on 'Sorry Lindy' chants, his future, texting players, more", "Devils fans sing 'sorry Lindy' as New Jersey extends win streak to nine", "Devils see 3 goals waved off, 13-game winning streak end vs. Leafs", "Ruff continues to adapt, becomes fifth NHL coach to win 800 games", Head coaches of the National Hockey League, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lindy_Ruff&oldid=1141866253, Canada men's national ice hockey team coaches, Articles with dead external links from November 2021, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Biographical information and career statistics from, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 06:52. I just start to feel sad that he wasn't able to carry on.". Performance & security by Cloudflare. The duo takes the helm of a Devils team recovering from an organizational demolition, having traded Taylor Hall, the leagues 2018 most valuable player, and fired Coach John Hynes and General Manager Ray Shero by January of this year. [7] A large contingent of Sabres fans attempted to raise money to pay the fine on Ruff's behalf. After serving the Panthers for four seasons, Ruff returned to Buffalo in 1977 to become the head coach. Along with Arbour, Billy Reay and current New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz, Ruff is one of just four coaches to coach 1,000 NHL games with a single team. They are younger than the other NHL head coaches, except for maybe Guy Boucher of the Lightning and Randy Cunneyworth of the Habsbut they might be what this organization needs in the years ahead. Lindy Ruffs income source is mostly from being a successful . 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. Even as his hockey playing and coaching career took the couple to various NHL cities, the Ruffs continued to return to the state. Ruff became assistant coach of the Florida Panthers for the 199394 season until the 199697 season. In the 1998-99 season, he led the team to their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 24 years. But to have your youngest child taken away from you . . He seemed pretty upfront and was really easy to talk to, Schneider said of Ruff. 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 still has the flames burning within him and the super-Cup-motivation. Lindy Cameron Ruff (born February 17, 1960) is a Canadian assistant coach for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). That put him one "W" ahead of Montreal's legendary Hall of Famer Toe Blake. Ruff repaid Bowman's faith even without hefty numbers. For two decades, Egeland has lamented lost friendship. 1 over all in the 2019 draft. All Rights Reserved. In 52 playoff games, Ruff recorded 11 goals and 13 assists while accumulating 193 penalty minutes. Moreover, Lindy Ruffs daughter holds a doctorate in occupational therapy from Belmont University. If he could still play while taking the punishment that he'll start taking from now on, he'll be of great service to Buffalo. While many Devils fans understandably assumed Lindy Ruff was a lame duck these last few months, a combination of some unclear media reports, vocal support for the Devils' bench-boss from some key players, and silence from the Devils front office has made the organization's plan for the coaching position as clear as mud. "That's probably my single biggest regret. Eventually they bought the house on Whitefish Lake, and it has become a gathering place for both sides of their family. Lindy was adamant and finally forced it out of her. During the decisive game 6 of the 1980 Semifinals. Here is how the Rangers have fared in various defensive statistics under Ruff's . The Ruffs left Montana this past weekend and returned to their home in Clarence, N.Y., a town just outside of Buffalo. (Lindy Ruff). Eryn, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, works as a teacher at Faubion Middle School. Ruff has since been a part of 157 regular season games with the Rangers, and so judgment is now more than fair. Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks won the honour; Ruff placed second in voting with 126 points to Vigneault's 134. The following two seasons saw Ruff's Sabres lose in the first round to the Philadelphia Flyers and the second round to the Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively. 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. In a season in which the sport has confronted hazing and abuse scandals with new initiatives, Ruff acknowledged that the old days of barking orders at players is long gone. The two forwards, Lindy Ruff and Kevyn Adams, and two defensemen, James Patrick and Teppo Numminenhave been able to maintain the team in Lindy's absence. The two brothers probably were too oblivious of life's uncertainty to acknowledge their feelings for each other. Remarkably, he secured that job for no less than sixteen years. We touched a little bit on what to expect, but no promises or guarantees. Maybe he would've been a captain like Lindy. Several of those calls were with general manager Tom Fitzgerald so they could start putting together a plan for 2020-21 season and assistant coach interviews to fill out Ruffs staff. That's why Egeland wanted to make sure Lindy Ruff fully understood one thing: the glint in Brent's eye whenever he spoke of the man he idolized. On January 8, 2011, Ruff became the winningest coach who only coached for one team in NHL history when the Sabres defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 21 in overtime. However, he never appeared in an NHL game. Wake surfing is also a very popular activity in the Ruff household. with Buffalo and the Rangers, fit his preference for a coach with deep experience who could also win a locker room with his strong presence and infectious personality. A left-shot defenseman during his playing days,Ruffis now recognized as one of the most successful coaches and ranks third among longest-tenured coaches. is 6 2 and Weight 201lb (91kg; 14st 5lb). Ruff has had success behind the bench and on the international stage. "Enough time's past, just to get a chance to talk to him would be great.". "Very few coaches in National Hockey League history can match such a successful run," ex-Sabres GM Darcy Regier once observed. I think he was actually in the middle of reeling in a fish when I called, Schneider said. He had immediate success in Buffalo, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 199798 season. Credited to Brett Hull of the Stars, the goal appeared -- to many observers -- to be illegally scored but Ruff's protests went unheeded and Lindy never got as close to hockey's Promised Land after that. Brent was gleaming about that. Moreover, Lindy and Gaye are enjoying their blissful and long-standing marriage. Ruff was an assistant coach with Canada when P.K. But I know Brent would have been one constant friend I always would have had.". Ruff was the winner of the 200506 Jack Adams Award for coach of the year in the NHL. Ruff was the winner of the 200506 Jack Adams Award for coach of the year in the NHL. A left-shot defenseman during his playing days. broke out at the Prudential Center. On the other end was his wife, Gaye, clearly shaken but unwilling to relay the horrific news. Nonetheless, Lindy seems to be doing well professionally and in his personal life. For Ruff, a typical summer day in Whitefish starts with him sitting on his dock, fishing pole in hand. . If not for a telephone interview with a Medicine Hat reporter, Lindy said the milestone might not have dawned on even him. [6] 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". But his admirable string of successes -- as both player and coach -- far overshadowed that classic goal controversy. Can we leave the zone under control versus chipping it out of flipping it out? Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. If you are experiencing difficulties logging in or are a subscriber getting a paywall, please try one or more of the following steps. Billy Smith highsticks Lindy Ruff in the eye Disengage 1.52K subscribers Subscribe 212 Share Save 172K views 14 years ago 5/10/80 In the decisive Game 6 of 1980 Semifinals, goaltender Billy. He and Sabres defenseman Mike Ramsey were bowling at Parkside Lanes in North Tonawanda. Enter Search Term. This was also on the anniversary of the controversial defeat of the Sabres in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999. 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. The following two seasons saw Ruff's Sabres lose in the first round to the Philadelphia Flyers and the second round to the Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively. Lindy Ruff spent half of his life working for the Buffalo Sabres, as a player for 10 years and a coach for 16. . All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. For now, he will spend his time on more phone calls, in Zoom meetings, in film sessions and at the drawing board. As the youngest children, Brian and Madeline were born on August 16, 1994. "[27] The team's winning streaking would ultimately extend to 13 games, equaling the franchise record. . I got to watch Lindy Ruff boss the team Tom Fitzgerald assembled to one of the worst records in Devils history since the dark days of the 1980s. [3], Ruff is known for being blunt with the media. He proved that point 23 years ago when he became lead bench boss with Buffalo in 1997. Lindy didn't get any satisfaction from the league until after the season when he was presented with the Adams Award as the NHL's best coach. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. "On the inside, it's a painful day, but I don't want it to have any effect on my kids. He also needs to find a place to live in Northern New Jersey, a search thats been limited to online platforms so far. He is the present head coach of the New Jersey Devils in the NHL. [ 4 ] from the bus and died continued to return to the goaltender and tackled him difficulties! In his personal life youngest child taken away from you. ``,... Had immediate success in Buffalo, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in NHL... 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