Breaking News: Buffalo Sabres to Retain Ruff, Regier

For all you Sabres fans who were calling for the heads of either Lindy Ruff or Darcy Regier (or both) after the Sabres failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year, you'll have to wait at least another season.

Paul Hamilton, at WGR 550 sports radio in Buffalo just confirmed that both will be back for the 2009-2010 season for the Sabres.

The two started in 1997 and are the longest tenured general manager and head coach in all of professional sports. Ruff by far is also the longest tenured coach in the NHL. He has a 438-334-78-52 coaching record and has led the Sabres to four Eastern Conference Finals and one Stanley Cup Final.

Ruff will be the bench boss for Team Canada at the World Championships this spring. He is also a likely candidate to be an assistant on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic team.

Last week after the Sabres were eliminated from the playoffs, managing partner, Larry Quinn told the media that the front office will conduct a thorough evaluation of the team from top to bottom. Obviously it did not take long for the "top" to be evaluated.

I now expect the team to make a lot of roster changes. Guys like Henrik Tallinder, Jochen Hecht, and Clarke MacArthur may be on the move (all were Hamilton's top picks to be on the move). The three players are just a few of the many disappointments for the Sabres this season.

Drew Stafford will also be a restricted free agent this summer.