Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff notched career win #900 with a victory over Philadelphia in the season finale. [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/31aadfea-4094-4228-8515-ecca39194ac4.jpeg] Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff notched career win #900 with a victory over Philadelphia in the season finale. The Buffalo Sabres struggles at the end of the season served to provide a bit of drama to what looked to be the inevitability of head coach Lindy Ruff reaching a notable career achievement, but after four attempts to reach career win #900, the Sabres 5-4 season finale victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday put Ruff in exclusive company. The 65-year-old bench boss is only the fifth head coach in NHL history to compile 900 wins, joining former Sabres head coach Scotty Bowman (1,244 wins), Joel Quenneville (969), Paul Maurice (914), and Barry Trotz (914). Ruff compiled 328 wins during four seasons with the Dallas Stars and another 281 victories in almost four years in New Jersey, but more than two-thirds of his victories (607) were with the Sabres over 16 seasons. Other Sabres Stories Is Peterka In Prime Position For Big Payday? [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres/latest-news/is-peterka-in-prime-position-for-big-payday] Sabres Ownership Ranked Worst In NHL By Survey In The Athletic [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres/latest-news/sabres-ownership-ranked-worst-in-nhl-by-survey-in-the-athletic] Dahlin Refutes Assertion Of Wanting Out Of Buffalo [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres/latest-news/dahlin-refutes-assertion-of-wanting-out-of-buffalo] "It's a number for sure. I've coached a lot of hockey games." Ruff said after the game. "I've had a lot of good players, a lot of good coaches and management, and with a lot of trust in me. It isn't about me, it's about the teams I've had and the people around me." Ruff ranks fifth all-time in total wins (regular season and playoffs) with 971 and could join Bowman and Quenneville as the only coaches in NHL history with 1000 or more total wins sometime next season, but his focus to end the season was to end on a positive note, and not on the personal milestone. In spite of some positive individual achievements and stretches where the club seemed to find their footing, the Sabres season overall was a failure, as the club really did not come close to ending their long playoff drought. GM Kevyn Adams revealed in an interview with WGR 550 on Tuesday that Ruff will return for the final year of his two-year contract, but there could be significant changes to the roster and coaching staff over the summer. Follow Michael on X, Instagram and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo [https://twitter.com/MikeInBuffalo]
