Off Topic: Sabres rehire Lindy Ruff as Head Coach

[davefan66]

Do we know contract length?  Fewer years tells me they are giving him the reigns, but could separate much easier.  Long contract tells me they believe he is the long term answer. Love the guy, but 3 year contract tops.  They have to have the mindset to move on as soon as they are not where they need to be.  Can’t get into another Granato scenario.

 

He is a much better coach than any we’ve had in some time.  He will demand more from his players, and hopefully they but into him. 5 wins more this season and we’d have made the playoffs, Lindy should be able to get that out of this team.

 

For me? I’ll be paying more attention to the team.  Got some good players, but need to see grit all the time. Ruff will bring that.

Edited April 23 by davefan66

[The Helmet of]

7 hours ago, transient said:

Well, it’s better than re-hiring Ted Nolan… time will tell how much. 
 

I’m hoping that Adams made the decision to fire Granato some time ago and gauged the interest of other currently unemployed coaches.
 

I suspect, however, that Adams knows his job is on the line and Ruff is a desperate panic hire given their familiarity with one another with Adams having previously been on Ruff’s staff. 
 

Hoping it works, but certainly tempering my enthusiasm (despite being a big fan of Ruff during his first stint).

 

To those citing his lack of a Cup, he got them there and came close with a much less talented team than the Stars, and their best chance was derailed by a freakish run of defensive injuries against Carolina. It was certainly not a coaching issue in either of those seasons. Can’t speak to his time outside of Buffalo. 
 

 

Nolan got fired after leading a weak team to the conference semi finals. They were tremendous overachievers . . . Jason Dawe, Brian Holzinger . . . not elite talent.  How can you fire a guy after winning a playoff series? Not to mention, that was the year Hasek got hurt in the postseason  (or was he faking?) and he still managed to win a playoff series with Steve Shields in net.  Don't understand how anyone can dog him. Hasek wanted him out so they pushed him out.

 

Then he had two seasons with the Isles and made the playoffs in one of them. Isles at the time were infamously dysfunctional 

 

As far as his second stint in Buffalo . . . it hardly seems right to hold it against him after the LaFontaine fiasco. Management was dysfunctional.

 

Ted Nolan got shafted hardcore. Never got a fair shake and it's a shame. Not saying they should hire him now. But someone certainly should.  

Edited April 23 by MarkKelso'sHelmet

[papazoid]

left wing lock

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

13 hours ago, BigAl2526 said:

Ruff might get the Sabres into the playoffs, if that is their goal.  I don't see him taking them on a deep playoff run.  

At this point, I’m sure they’ll throw a parade if they squeak into the playoffs as a bottom seed and get swept 

[The Helmet of]

25 minutes ago, papazoid said:

left wing lock

Is that still a thing? 

[ddaryl]

Lindy Ruff is the best Sabres coach since...... Lindy Ruff

Not sure I'm inspired here but can it get any worse

[zow2]

As I recall, Ruff was pretty good with Dallas and he did lead the NJ Devils to 52 wins and 112 points last year.  The Devils got poor goaltending this season which Ruff paid the price for.  I'm not inspired by this hire either, but I've always liked Lindy and he has an edge to him that this team needs.  Hoping for the best.

Edited April 23 by zow2

[bmur66]

Lace up those skates boyz and get ready to work. I've missed Lindy's heavy breathing post-game interviews and the Sabres have not done one thing to get me back since the last one.

[transient]

4 hours ago, MarkKelso'sHelmet said:

Nolan got fired after leading a weak team to the conference semi finals. They were tremendous overachievers . . . Jason Dawe, Brian Holzinger . . . not elite talent.  How can you fire a guy after winning a playoff series? Not to mention, that was the year Hasek got hurt in the postseason  (or was he faking?) and he still managed to win a playoff series with Steve Shields in net.  Don't understand how anyone can dog him. Hasek wanted him out so they pushed him out.

 

Then he had two seasons with the Isles and made the playoffs in one of them. Isles at the time were infamously dysfunctional 

 

As far as his second stint in Buffalo . . . it hardly seems right to hold it against him after the LaFontaine fiasco. Management was dysfunctional.

 

Ted Nolan got shafted hardcore. Never got a fair shake and it's a shame. Not saying they should hire him now. But someone certainly should.  

Technically Nolan wasn’t fired, Regier upon his hiring, opted not to retain him and offered him an underwhelming 1 yr contract. Given the ongoing headache between Muckler, Hasek, and Nolan during the preceding season, one could hardly blame Regier for being wary, and in hindsight Ruff over Nolan was obviously the right call. 

[KHAN]

Lindy ruff has now been employed by the Sabres in every decade they've existed.

[Bruffalo]

Ruff is a good choice to right the ship.  I doubt we're going to win a cup with him at the helm, but I also don't think we're going to stick around as a perennial joke in the NHL with his leadership either. 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

15 hours ago, buffblue said:

If they went through an extensive head coach search, were turned down by a few top candidates, and determined Lindy to be the best option? Yes

 

If they went the nostalgia route and didn't even conduct interviews (which is likely what happened)? No

Do you follow hockey? They fire guys on Monday and hire a new guy by the next game on Wednesday.

 

The Sabres are acting like a real NHL team. This is what they do. There doesn’t need to be an extensive search because everyone knows about these guys. They’ve been hired by 3-4 teams already.

 

Ruff is right up there with all the other candidates. This not a nostalgia hire. He’s exactly what the GM said he wanted. He’s a better fit than some of the other guys because of how well he works with young teams.

Edited April 23 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Rubes]

6 hours ago, davefan66 said:

Do we know contract length?  Fewer years tells me they are giving him the reigns, but could separate much easier.  Long contract tells me they believe he is the long term answer. Love the guy, but 3 year contract tops.  They have to have the mindset to move on as soon as they are not where they need to be.  Can’t get into another Granato scenario.

 

He is a much better coach than any we’ve had in some time.  He will demand more from his players, and hopefully they but into him. 5 wins more this season and we’d have made the playoffs, Lindy should be able to get that out of this team.

 

For me? I’ll be paying more attention to the team.  Got some good players, but need to see grit all the time. Ruff will bring that.

 

2 year contract.

 

[boater]

14 minutes ago, Rubes said:

 

2 year contract.

 

That's a relief. I have low expectations, it's a good thing they can cut bait soon.

 

Lindy's record in NJ is the same as Granato's record in Buffalo. The fan boys tell me it is because Lindy had poor goaltenders in NJ. I think that is a weak rationalization of poor performance.

[That's No Moon]

Has there ever been a situation where the second go round with a coach has been better than the first? I can't think of any off hand.

[buffblue]

1 hour ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Do you follow hockey? They fire guys on Monday and hire a new guy by the next game on Wednesday.

 

The Sabres are acting like a real NHL team. This is what they do. There doesn’t need to be an extensive search because everyone knows about these guys. They’ve been hired by 3-4 teams already.

 

Ruff is right up there with all the other candidates. This not a nostalgia hire. He’s exactly what the GM said he wanted. He’s a better fit than some of the other guys because of how well he works with young teams.

Terry, is that you?

[Buffalo_Stampede]

1 minute ago, buffblue said:

Terry, is that you?

I wish.

[Dr. K]

4 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

After Buffalo, Lindy had a losing record with Dallas which he followed with a losing record with New Jersey.  I don't know a lot about hockey but in sports, generally, losing is considered a bad thing.  So I don't know why hiring Lindy is considered a good thing?  

Ruff's record with the Dallas Stars was 165-122-41. His record with the Devils was 128-125-28.

 

Under him, two years ago New Jersey had its best points total ever, going 52-22-8. 

 

In his eight seasons with other teams since he left the Sabres, he made the playoff three times.  

[sullim4]

I haven't followed the Sabres closely in years - since the original Ruff era.

 

My general take on the team is that it very much resembles the drought-era Bills - bad culture, meddling ownership, and an uncertain future.  They are a long way from building a contender and need a fixer-type coach or hockey operations guy that knows how to win and will purge the organization of its cruft.

 

Lindy doesn't strike me as the guy that will do this.  I think he will toughen up the team but I don't think he has what it takes to get them to a division title or a deep playoff run.  I do, however, think there's a good chance he gets the team back in the playoffs as a lower seed.  If that is the goal - and perhaps that's an appropriate one given the drought - then I think this will be a successful hire.  Otherwise, if there are delusions of Ruff bringing Buffalo a Stanley Cup... prepare to be disappointed.

[hondo in seattle]

58 minutes ago, Dr. K said:

Ruff's record with the Dallas Stars was 165-122-41. His record with the Devils was 128-125-28.

 

Under him, two years ago New Jersey had its best points total ever, going 52-22-8. 

 

In his eight seasons with other teams since he left the Sabres, he made the playoff three times.  

 

My bad... I was looking at his playoff records.  Feel somewhat better now.