Managing, or ignoring, the noise from the outside will be a challenge for the Sabres, the youngest team in the NHL. Nearly half of the forward depth chart has changed since March.

Coach Lindy Ruff’s return provides 16 years of experience behind the Sabres bench. Can he bring luster back to a franchise that’s floundered through various rebuilding plans, is on its fourth general manager and gone through six coaches since Ruff was fired a month into the lockout shortened 2013 season?