Off Topic: Sabres rehire Lindy Ruff as Head Coach

[CoudyBills]

On 4/22/2024 at 9:07 PM, BuffaloBillsGospel2014 said:

 

Weren't there 2 head coaches available who won Stanley Cups.. Gallant and Berube? Maybe a HC with a Stanley Cup on their resume? Just sayin!

From what I've read in this thread they aren't worth hiring because they are losers now.  The game has passed them by, that's why they didn't win the cup last year, and also why they were fired.

[Gregg]

[aristocrat]

On 4/22/2024 at 9:07 PM, BuffaloBillsGospel2014 said:

 

Weren't there 2 head coaches available who won Stanley Cups.. Gallant and Berube? Maybe a HC with a Stanley Cup on their resume? Just sayin!

 

gallant never got a cup. lost in the finals with vegas and got canned. Berube did get one with st louis when they went on that crazy run.  it's amazing how these coaches are recycled and it seems like there are no young guys. 

[L Ron Burgundy]

3 hours ago, eball said:

 

This isn’t the 80s.  You can have grit without needing to be a “fighting” team.

 

Agreed.  You do need players capable of fighting though should the need arise. 

[Chandler#81]

The 2nd Sabre to score 4 goals in a game! 

 

Edited April 24 by Chandler#81

[eball]

37 minutes ago, L Ron Burgundy said:

Agreed.  You do need players capable of fighting though should the need arise. 

 

I'm sure they will sort that out once Lindy analyzes the roster and tells Adams what he needs...

 

[Paup 1995MVP]

1 hour ago, L Ron Burgundy said:

Agreed.  You do need players capable of fighting though should the need arise. 

Definitely.  What's wrong with being a fighting team, as long as you have some scorers too?  The Flyers in the mid 70's were that.  And they ruled the NHL world.  Fighting was big in the NHL up til maybe the late 2000's.  I haven't followed the Sabres in quite some time.  At least the last 10 years.  Why is fighting not big anymore in the NHL game?  And were the Sabres ***** again this past season?

 

I used to be a huge fan.  And loved when Lindy coached the team.  Heck I remember when he played for the Sabres.  He used to live in my subdivision (Ransom Oaks) in East Amherst back when he played for us.  Him, Mike Ramsay and Mike Foligno (who lived right across from my house) in the early 80's.  I feel like I am in Ground Hog day.  LOL  But very cool to have Lindy back.  It like Lou Saban coming back to coach the Bills a second time.

[EasternOHBillsFan]

On 4/22/2024 at 10:26 PM, IBTG81 said:

🙄🙄🙄

112 points last season in an "old and terrible system" isn't missing the playoffs for umpteen straight years. Sorry, but your words didn't match the finish.

 

The man took us to the Cup Finals and should have been two... 

[PBF81]

Dude's 64, isn't that a concern for anyone?   Is there an older coach in the NHL?   

I don't follow hockey, but that's pretty old it seems.  

 

Also, 8 seasons with the Stars and Devils, only three playoff appearances, losing in the first round once, in the second round the other two times.  

 

More asking than commenting, I know little about hockey, but that alone seems to contradict many of the supportive statements herein.  

 

 

Edited April 24 by PBF81

[SoCal Deek]

23 minutes ago, PBF81 said:

Dude's 64, isn't that a concern for anyone?   Is there an older coach in the NHL?   

I don't follow hockey, but that's pretty old it seems.  

 

Also, 8 seasons with the Stars and Devils, only three playoff appearances, losing in the first round once, in the second round the other two times.  

 

More asking than commenting, I know little about hockey, but that alone seems to contradict many of the supportive statements herein.  

 

 

Hey Whipper Snappee! Since when did 64 become old? 😂 

[PBF81]

12 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Hey Whipper Snappee! Since when did 64 become old? 😂 

 

LOL 

 

Touche`

 

 

Edited April 24 by PBF81

[Bruffalo]

3 hours ago, L Ron Burgundy said:

Agreed.  You do need players capable of fighting though should the need arise. 

Just need to change the NHL bylaws to allow color commentators to fight too.

 

I bet Razor could still kick some tail. 

[Jauronimo]

On 4/23/2024 at 2:08 PM, Mr. WEO said:

 

he coached 3 other teams since he last  coached the Sabres.  He was in Jersey last year.

Those were remote positions.

[BillsFan4]

On 4/22/2024 at 5:55 PM, IBTG81 said:

As a Devils fan…😂😂😂😂😂

His system is old and terrible. 

He just broke the devils record for most wins and points in franchise history last year. The devils had the 3rd best record in the entire NHL for 2022/23, and the 4th most goals.

 

On 4/22/2024 at 6:26 PM, njbuff said:

 

Trust me when I tell you......

 

The Devils won last year in spite of Lindy.

 

This year the Devils totally miscalculated their goaltending situation and Lindy's outdated system and lack of in game adjustments were too much to handle.

 

Lindy was fired WAY TOO LATE from the Devils and there is a reason he was fired in the first place.

 

Good luck Sabres fans.

 

Lindy is well known for constant in-game adjustments. He’s known as one of the better tacticians in the NHL. So many of his ex-players have talked about it.

Devils players even talked about it. For ex: Tyler Toffoli said you have to be very smart to play for Lindy because he’s constantly making systems adjustments in game.

 

You could see the Devils switch from a 1-2-2 to a 1-3-1 or a 2-1-2 on the fly in games. To say he didn’t make adjustments just isn’t true.

 

Last year’s playoff series against the NYR is another good example. After losing the first 2 games of the series, Lindy completely changed the way the devils attacked and defended NY and Gallant had almost no answers for it the rest of the series.

Lindy pretty thoroughly out-coached Gallant IMO.

 

and to say his system is out-dated isn’t true either (I mean, we aren’t talking about the old trap system NJ ran under Lou…lol). Almost every coach+team in the NHL use similar systems. Some coaches just emphasize different aspects. The system the devils ran isn’t much different than what many other good NHL teams currently run. They were a very potent rushing attack under Lindy and were the best in the NHL at defending off the rush (last season). 

 

If anything, I would argue someone like Berube coaches a more out-dated style (heavy forecheck, dump & chase, grind it out hockey) than Lindy does (high powered offensive attack and taking away time & space on defense).

 

As an outsider (who probably watched more devils games than Sabres games this past season), what I saw wrong with the Devils this year was goaltending, inexperienced defenseman and injuries.

 

Y’all lost 2 of your veteran top 4 defenseman to free agency, then replaced them with inexperienced players. Then lost your #1 D for the season in November (which erased like 60+ points from the lineup). All of that exacerbated the already poor goaltending.

Hughes also missed time with injuries too and just wasn’t as impactful (25 less points than last season). Devils were top 5 in injuries this season, but still actually had good underlying numbers for the most part.

 

Plus, NJ got worse after Lindy left, and that was with significantly better goaltending! Most teams get a bump after firing a coach.

Almost all of NJ’s underlying analytics got worse after Lindy left (which wasn’t true after Brunette leaving. The devils underlying analytics were good the season before Brunette was hired and good the season after he left. Until Lindy was fired, then we saw the numbers get worse 🤷‍♂️) 

 

[njbuff]

12 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

He just broke the devils record for most wins and points in franchise history last year. The devils had the 3rd best record in the entire NHL for 2022/23, and the 4th most goals.

 

 

Lindy is well known for constant in-game adjustments. He’s known as one of the better tacticians in the NHL. So many of his ex-players have talked about it.

Devils players even talked about it. For ex: Tyler Toffoli said you have to be very smart to play for Lindy because he’s constantly making systems adjustments in game.

 

You could see the Devils switch from a 1-2-2 to a 1-3-1 or a 2-1-2 on the fly in games. To say he didn’t make adjustments just isn’t true.

 

Last year’s playoff series against the NYR is another good example. After losing the first 2 games of the series, Lindy completely changed the way the devils attacked and defended NY and Gallant had almost no answers for it the rest of the series.

Lindy pretty thoroughly out-coached Gallant IMO.

 

and to say his system is out-dated isn’t true either (I mean, we aren’t talking about the old trap system NJ ran under Lou…lol). Almost every coach+team in the NHL use similar systems. Some coaches just emphasize different aspects. The system the devils ran isn’t much different than what many other good NHL teams currently run. They were a very potent rushing attack under Lindy and were the best in the NHL at defending off the rush (last season). 

 

If anything, I would argue someone like Berube coaches a more out-dated style (heavy forecheck, dump & chase, grind it out hockey) than Lindy does (high powered offensive attack and taking away time & space on defense).

 

As an outsider (who probably watched more devils games than Sabres games this past season), what I saw wrong with the Devils this year was goaltending, inexperienced defenseman and injuries.

 

Y’all lost 2 of your veteran top 4 defenseman to free agency, then replaced them with inexperienced players. Then lost your #1 D for the season in November (which erased like 60+ points from the lineup). All of that exacerbated the already poor goaltending.

Hughes also missed time with injuries too and just wasn’t as impactful (25 less points than last season). Devils were top 5 in injuries this season, but still actually had good underlying numbers for the most part.

 

Plus, NJ got worse after Lindy left, and that was with significantly better goaltending! Most teams get a bump after firing a coach.

Almost all of NJ’s underlying analytics got worse after Lindy left (which wasn’t true after Brunette leaving. The devils underlying analytics were good the season before Brunette was hired and good the season after he left. Until Lindy was fired, then we saw the numbers get worse 🤷‍♂️) 

 

 

Never once was there an in-game adjustment with the Devils.

 

One of the reasons that Devils fans wanted him out as HC, which Fitz waited WAY TOO LONG to pull the trigger.

 

Devils fans HATED Ruff and very smartly so.

 

I hope it works out for the Sabres. Sure as f didn't for the Devils. 

[Mr. WEO]

2 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

He just broke the devils record for most wins and points in franchise history last year. The devils had the 3rd best record in the entire NHL for 2022/23, and the 4th most goals.

 

 

Lindy is well known for constant in-game adjustments. He’s known as one of the better tacticians in the NHL. So many of his ex-players have talked about it.

Devils players even talked about it. For ex: Tyler Toffoli said you have to be very smart to play for Lindy because he’s constantly making systems adjustments in game.

 

You could see the Devils switch from a 1-2-2 to a 1-3-1 or a 2-1-2 on the fly in games. To say he didn’t make adjustments just isn’t true.

 

Last year’s playoff series against the NYR is another good example. After losing the first 2 games of the series, Lindy completely changed the way the devils attacked and defended NY and Gallant had almost no answers for it the rest of the series.

Lindy pretty thoroughly out-coached Gallant IMO.

 

and to say his system is out-dated isn’t true either (I mean, we aren’t talking about the old trap system NJ ran under Lou…lol). Almost every coach+team in the NHL use similar systems. Some coaches just emphasize different aspects. The system the devils ran isn’t much different than what many other good NHL teams currently run. They were a very potent rushing attack under Lindy and were the best in the NHL at defending off the rush (last season). 

 

If anything, I would argue someone like Berube coaches a more out-dated style (heavy forecheck, dump & chase, grind it out hockey) than Lindy does (high powered offensive attack and taking away time & space on defense).

 

As an outsider (who probably watched more devils games than Sabres games this past season), what I saw wrong with the Devils this year was goaltending, inexperienced defenseman and injuries.

 

Y’all lost 2 of your veteran top 4 defenseman to free agency, then replaced them with inexperienced players. Then lost your #1 D for the season in November (which erased like 60+ points from the lineup). All of that exacerbated the already poor goaltending.

Hughes also missed time with injuries too and just wasn’t as impactful (25 less points than last season). Devils were top 5 in injuries this season, but still actually had good underlying numbers for the most part.

 

Plus, NJ got worse after Lindy left, and that was with significantly better goaltending! Most teams get a bump after firing a coach.

Almost all of NJ’s underlying analytics got worse after Lindy left (which wasn’t true after Brunette leaving. The devils underlying analytics were good the season before Brunette was hired and good the season after he left. Until Lindy was fired, then we saw the numbers get worse 🤷‍♂️) 

 

 

why did they fire him?

[BillsFan4]

2 hours ago, njbuff said:

 

Never once was there an in-game adjustment with the Devils.

 

One of the reasons that Devils fans wanted him out as HC, which Fitz waited WAY TOO LONG to pull the trigger.

 

Devils fans HATED Ruff and very smartly so.

 

I hope it works out for the Sabres. Sure as f didn't for the Devils. 

That’s just not true. I literally watched the devils make in game adjustments with my own eyes. 

 

How could you possibly watch that NJ/NY playoff series last year and think no adjustments were made by NJ?

[BillsFan4]

3 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

why did they fire him?

Because the devils took a step back this year and IMO Lindy was the scapegoat.

I thought it was much more on the GM, and injuries.

 

The GM refused to address goaltending in any meaningful way even though it was a glaring hole/weakness (it was bad even last year during their record breaking season) and unsurprisingly the devils ended up with terrible goaltending again. They didn’t have one goalie with even a 90% save percentage while Ruff was there.

 

The GM also let two of the team’s top 4 veteran defenseman walk in free agency and didn’t replace them.

 

Then early in the season the Devils lost their #1 defenseman to injury for the year. So they were down 3 of their top 4 defenseman from last season.

That obviously negatively impacted the devils ability to defend, which exasperated the already bad goaltending. 

 

and their #1 C (and best player) was also hurt for a good amount of the year, along with a bunch of other guys.

 

Devils were top 5 in injuries in the NHL this season. They only had like 5-6 players that didn’t get injured and miss games at some point in the season.

 

I’m sure Lindy made some mistakes, but saying his system is “too old” and that he never made adjustments just isn’t true.

 

[njbuff]

22 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

That’s just not true. I literally watched the devils make in game adjustments with my own eyes. 

 

How could you possibly watch that NJ/NY playoff series last year and think no adjustments were made by NJ?

 

Adjustments were made after game 2 in the playoffs, not during games. Trust me on this.

 

His constant line juggling constantly messed with chemistry.

 

His insistence on playing an AWFUL Dman in Smith was head scratching to say the least as Brendan Smith is literally the worst player in the NHL.

 

Constantly being selective on who he benches was mind blowing.

 

Keeping Timo at LW when he is a RW. AWFUL MOVE

 

Putting Jack at LW when he is a C. AWFUL MOVE

 

I can go on forever

 

Like I have said, good luck with Lindy and hopefully he works out for you. 

 

 

[hondo in seattle]

On 4/24/2024 at 10:12 AM, PBF81 said:

Dude's 64, isn't that a concern for anyone?   Is there an older coach in the NHL?   

I don't follow hockey, but that's pretty old it seems.  

 

Also, 8 seasons with the Stars and Devils, only three playoff appearances, losing in the first round once, in the second round the other two times.  

 

More asking than commenting, I know little about hockey, but that alone seems to contradict many of the supportive statements herein.  

 

 

 

As someone who's 65 and - arguably - physically fit and mentally sharp, no I'm not concerned that Ruff's 64.  Why should I be?

 

Andy Reid is 66.  Age doesn't seem to interfere with his ability to coach a team to a championship. 

 

Hopefully things aren't so bad with the Sabres that we need Ruff to suit up again.

 

  

Edited April 25 by hondo in seattle