The Buffalo Sabres are the worst team in the Eastern Conference. And given that we’re approaching the one-third point of the season, that makes it a great time to hand out grades for Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams, coach Lindy Ruff, and Sabres players. 

We started on the process by grading Adams, and in today’s column, we’re focusing our attention on Ruff. Let’s get to it: 

Lindy Ruff, Coach

Grade: D 

The Lowdown: The blame for the Sabres’ current 10-11-4 record can’t completely be laid at the feet of Ruff. But since Oct. 24, Buffalo has gone 6-7-4 – totals that, in other NHL markets, could be grounds for dismissal. So Ruff has to own his team’s performance, and figure out how to improve this team before their Stanley Cup playoff aspirations are dead and buried for the 15th consecutive season.

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When you’ve won just six times in your most recent 17 games, you have to consider one of two possibilities: the first is that you simply don’t have the talent to win consistently; and the second is that you have neither the structure nor the motivation to do so. Now, the Sabres aren’t utterly bereft of high-end NHL players. So we’re of the opinion that, simply put, Buffalo just isn’t getting the best out of the talent that it currently has. 

That means that Ruff (and Adams) are ultimately to blame for where the Sabres are in the standings right now. And although Ruff has escaped an ‘F’ grade in this story, he’s much closer to that mark than he is to an above-average grade.

Sabres Goalie Roulette Not Working, Samuelsson In Concussion ProtocolBuffalo's three-goalie rotation has not contributed to consistent performance between the pipes

This return to Buffalo will almost assuredly be Ruff’s final pit stop after a long career as an NHL bench boss. But the way things are going, he’s on track to go out not with the ‘bang’ of one last winning stretch, but with the ‘whimper’ of another season lost to underwhelming performances and outright letdowns. And that means Ruff has enormous pressure to turn things around before it’s too late.