Coach Lindy Ruff and general manager Darcy Regier will return to the Buffalo Sabres next season.
Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn made the announcement Friday.
The Sabres are trying to make a final push for the playoffs but are a long shot to make it.
“I wanted to remove the issue from the table,” Quinn said. While Ruff and Regier are both under contract for next season, their status was uncertain after Quinn said changes would be considered if the Sabres failed to make the playoffs.
Quinn said he is pleased with the jobs Regier and Ruff have done in turning around a team that finished 26th last year.
He also is impressed with how the team has competed going 22-14-3-3 since Christmas.
Ruff has a 250-241-77 record in Buffalo and became the Sabres’ winningest coach last year, passing Scotty Bowman.
No charges for Hasek
Detroit Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek will not face criminal charges for injuring a player during an amateur inline game.
Hasek’s case should be treated as a misdemeanor punishable with a fine up to $111, said the county prosecutor in the goalie’s hometown of Pardubice, Czech Republic. During the amateur game in May, Hasek collided with a man who then was hospitalized for three days. Police suggested criminal charges be filed.
The prosecutor ruled two months later that there was no evidence Hasek caused bodily harm and recommended the case be treated as a misdemeanor.
The country’s top prosecutor overruled in October, saying the ruling was unlawful because the case had not been properly investigated. The Pardubice prosecution investigated the case again and reached the same decision.
Malhotra out indefinitely
Manny Malhotra of the Columbus Blue Jackets will be out indefinitely with an ankle injury.
The center hurt his ankle in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over the Minnesota Wild. Claimed off waivers from Dallas in November, Malhotra has 12 goals and 13 assists in 65 games.
Also Friday, the Blue Jackets recalled forward Mike Pandolfo from the club’s AHL affiliate.
