Is Lindy Ruff the right man for the Sabres, or just a nostalgia hire? 

A notable coaching change sees a veteran bench boss return to his first big break.

On Monday, the Buffalo Sabres announced that Lindy Ruff is going to return as head coach next season.

Ruff is just over a month removed from being fired by the New Jersey Devils, in which the team fell out of playoff contention. The Devils were expected to build off their run to the second round last spring.

The Sabres bring in the 64-year-old, taking the place of Don Granato, with the hopes of revitalizing a franchise that has been a doormat since his first tenure ended over a decade ago. Ruff coached in Buffalo from 1997 to 2009, leading the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999. In 1,165 games under Ruff, the Sabres went 571-432-78-84.

On Tuesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss the legitimacy of the Sabres hiring Ruff, and whether or not it will pay off.

Frank Seravalli: It’s a really strange hire…and it’s not because Lindy Ruff is going home. The tough part for me is…did the Buffalo Sabres actually conduct a search, or was this cooked from the beginning? I don’t know how, if you’re Kevyn Adams, and your players come out after the season ends and use the words “casual” and “comfortable” to describe the environment that was around your team this season…they had 91 points last year. 91 points would’ve gotten them in this year. Instead, they were seven points back of where they were last year.

I don’t know how you can watch New Jersey, and how that team played like before the coaching change, with the lack of attention to detail…and say that’s absolutely the guy we need…that’s the part I don’t get. This is the first step Kevyn Adams has made as general manager where I’m like, that doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me.

You can watch the full segment and the entire episode here…