"Pardon My French...

Lindy Ruff

...but Lindy ain't goin' nowhere"

So spoketh the great Pegula at his presser back in February.

There's no question that new owner Terry Pegula pegged Ruff as his head coach. No question that he liked what he saw in the 14-year bench-boss. No question that Ruff, even though he was in the last year of his contract, was a shoe-in for the "Pegula Rewards Program." Thus the contract extension announced at the year-end press conference.

Lindy Ruff (left) and Darcy Regier
form the longest-tenured GM/coach
tandem in the NHL.

Ruff has gone through the same trials and tribulations with the organization that GM Darcy Regier has gone through since Regier hired him 14 years ago, and the two have been linked since that day. They're the longest running GM/Coach-pairing in the NHL and there were questions as to whether or not Ruff would stay on board after balking at a contract extension from former Team President Larry Quinn.

But, in Pegula's mind, there's no other coach that he would want guiding his team into the new era.

It's not as if Ruff is perfect, he's had flaws over the course of his tenure with the Sabres.

The biggest thing, mostly for Sabres fans, is the lack of a Stanely Cup banner hanging from the rafters. In fact, one of the major criticisms concerning Ruff (and Regier) was a stretch of seasons where the team made the playoffs in only two of seven seasons (2005/06 and 2006/07) from the 2001/02 season through the 2008/09 season.

Rampant criticism from fans and media alike were calling for significant changes--namely Ruff and Regier--in the summer of 2009.

The 2009/10 season saw the team start off strong and fade going out in the first round of the playoffs.

Criticism of Ruff continued with that first round playoff loss to Boston and hit a crescendo in November of last year as the team--basically the same team that took the division the previous year--struggled to a 3-9-2 start.

Even with that start, Regier remained true to his word that, as long as he was GM, Ruff was his coach.

I've always been a Ruff fan, although some of the things he does makes me scratch my head. I believe that he plays the cards he's dealt (by management,) and I believe that he gets the most out of it. And that's always been my stance, even before I started this blog.

When it seemed as if he was on the verge of getting fired, I felt that a huge injustice would have occurred if that happened.

Most of the troubles over the past four seasons were a direct result of "the core" that Regier has remained enamored with, a core that's a major drop-off from the team that made the Eastern Conference Finals two years running.

The 2010 Canadian Olymic Team
Coaching Staff

This season he did a tremendous job of guiding the team to a playoff spot when they started the 2011 calendar year 12 points out of eighth place. He did that despite the fact that he had no top-six centers on the team. Also of note, his defense was loaded with young players supplanting the sub-par efforts of the veterans on the team.

Although he is not without flaws, he can coach any style, and is one of the most respected coaches (outside of Buffalo) in the league. Respected enough in the hockey community to be named as an assistant coach under Mike Babcock for the 2010 Canadian Olympic Team.

Imo, there's no question that Lindy Ruff should be a part of the Pegula Rewards program.

The Pegula Rewards Program buffalosabresnow list:

GM, Darcy Regier--no
Coach Lindy Ruff--yes