BUFFALO, NY -- Less than 30 minutes after the Buffalo Sabres' announcement that head coach Lindy Ruff had been relieved of his duties "Lindy Ruff" was trending nationwide on Twitter.
The #Sabres tag had exploded, too, with thousands of tweets and retweets trending.
The vast majority of those in favor of firing Ruff were gracious and supportive of Ruff's tenure as Sabres coach.
Some of the early tweets:
Jessie Pegula @JLPegula (daughter of Sabres' owner Terry Pegula)
Change was needed but we still love you Lindy
Ryan Wolfe @rwolfe09
571 career wins with the franchise, Lindy Ruff deserves one hell of a thank you. #sabres
kcobuffalo @kcobuffalo
I was 16 years old the last time the #sabres had a different coach. This is the end of an era. I'm 32!
Tommy Wisniewski @awisniewski23
somber day to be a sabres fan, we grew up watching lindy coach our sabres...nothing but respect for him as he goes #Sabres #thankyoulindy
SC @scottrcolonna
New era ahead. Always an advocate of Lindy, but it was time. He had lost the team. I've been calling for this for weeks. #Sabres #Lindy
Scott @ivyhurst
Guess I'm keeping my ticket stub from last night's loss. Last game of the#Lindy Ruff era. He will be missed. #Sabres