2 reasons why the Sabres must strongly consider bringing back Lindy Ruff and 2 reasons why they shouldn’t

Why they should: Ruff would immediately reignite fan interest in the team

If you have been to Sabres games in recent seasons, you may notice a few alarming issues: About 18 percent of the seats are empty, and half of the time, you see the opposing team’s colors outnumber those of the home crowd’s, plus so many cheers for the road team that you’d think the Sabres were the visitors.

Overall, it’s a demoralizing atmosphere and the product of a team that is about to hit the 13-year mark in its current playoff drought if it drops a few more games this month. Now, imagine hiring back a coach who took the team to the Stanley Cup Final once and the Conference Final on four separate occasions and one who coached several Sabres greats from the 1990s and 2000s. 

That coach would immediately bring interest back to the team regardless of what the Blue and Gold do over the next several weeks. They could lose out, start rebuilding the organization from scratch (again), and project near the bottom of every statistical category in 2024-25, but fans would still show up to watch Ruff play a major role in building the team. 

Okay, maybe that’s a little extreme, but the point is, if Sabres owner Terry Pegula wants to see a rise in attendance and more Sabres fans in the building, Ruff would play a huge role in bringing them back in.