The Buffalo Sabres announced on Wednesday that the franchise has signed head coach Lindy Ruff to a two-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
The agreement comes two days after a 3-2 overtime loss to Montreal in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series.
Ruff, 66, was completing the final year of his contract upon returning to Buffalo, where he previously coached for 15 seasons and spent 10 years as a player.
He is the winningest coach in franchise history and a finalist for the Jack Adams NHL coach of the year award.
Dramatic Turnaround
The Sabres experienced a dramatic turnaround after being in last place in the Eastern Conference in early December.
They went 39-9-5 over their final 53 games to finish second in the conference with 109 points and an Atlantic Division title.
"It's great to be here in a sense that I'm going to continue, and I'm humbled again by the opportunity," Ruff said during a season-ending news conference.
The veteran coach credited the turnaround to a healthier roster and the vital presence of captain Rasmus Dahlin, whose fiancée recovered from heart transplant surgery in Europe.
"The energy that our fans brought, the energy in the city, where we got to in the second half of the year, excited me," Ruff added.
The season marked the first time Buffalo advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2007, when a Ruff-led squad reached the Eastern Conference Final.
"I can tell you that I was proud of the way (the players) handled it for a group that has never been there before," Ruff said.
"This is a giant step for us," he added. "A giant step for all the players to really get a feel of what it's really like.
To be proud of being a Buffalo Sabre, to be proud of playing here."
Ruff noted that his primary objective upon taking the coaching job was to rebuild the team's pride in representing the city of Buffalo.
"When I took the job, I thought, number one, I wanted these guys to like being a Buffalo Sabre.
I think they like being a Sabre and I think they made our city proud," he said.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen, who took over in mid-December after Kevyn Adams was fired, strongly endorsed the extension.
"Extending Lindy, a no-brainer," Kekalainen said.
"Real proud of the whole group and what we went through, how much we learned," he added.
"I can't emphasize enough how excited I am about the future of this group and the potential we have," Kekalainen said.
He noted that studying the game alongside Ruff has motivated him to improve his own performance as an executive.
"I've really enjoyed working with Lindy.
I've enjoyed his sense of humor, his experience, his passion for the game, his details and how he's still involved as a coach," Kekalainen said.
"He's not a spring chicken anymore, but he's a student of the game. I view it the same way.
I feel like I've got to be a better general manager," he added.
Roster Decisions Ahead
The front office faces several roster decisions this summer, with Buffalo holding $12.9MM in salary cap space and multiple pending free agents.
Kekalainen identified re-signing restricted free agent defenseman Bowen Byram to a long-term contract as a major priority.
Contract negotiations with pending unrestricted free agent forward Alex Tuch remain unresolved.
Tuch completed his fifth season in Buffalo with 33 goals and 66 points in 79 regular-season games, adding seven points during the team's 13 playoff appearances.
Several players battled severe injuries during the postseason, including defenseman Owen Power, who played through a Grade 3 right ankle sprain, and forward Tage Thompson, who managed lingering lower back injuries.
Thompson finished his campaign with 81 points in 81 games and added 15 playoff points after playing continuously since winning gold with Team USA at the 2025 World Championships and competing in the 2026 February Olympics.
Center Sam Carrick also rushed his return from a regular-season left arm injury to appear in one playoff game, while defenseman Logan Stanley played through an undisclosed injury.
The Sabres enter the offseason looking to retain key free agents, including unrestricted forwards Beck Malenstyn, Tanner Pearson, and Joshua Dunne, alongside defensemen Luke Schenn and Logan Stanley, and restricted free agents Peyton Krebs, Zach Benson, and Michael Kesselring.
