stevestojan Posted May 14, 2006 Posted May 14, 2006 I absolutely think Lindy Ruff is the best coach in he NHL. A team with supposedly no "stars" and in OT he trusts his rookies to go in there and produce. This guy doesn't have an Alfredson, but he has 20 guys who the majority of could be the hero any given night. In the words of Rick Jenerete, these guys are good - scary good. And I'd say that includes the head coach.
Buftex Posted May 14, 2006 Posted May 14, 2006 I absolutely think Lindy Ruff is the best coach in he NHL. A team with supposedly no "stars" and in OT he trusts his rookies to go in there and produce. This guy doesn't have an Alfredson, but he has 20 guys who the majority of could be the hero any given night. In the words of Rick Jenerete, these guys are good - scary good. And I'd say that includes the head coach. 691093[/snapback] I agree! You know, it is funny. I had Sabres season tickets during Ruffs career as a player in Buffalo. When you watch a team, night after night, you start to have opions about them, that don't always jibe. As a player, I could not stand Ruff. I can't even really remember why anymore. I just remember, there was a very vocal group up in the orange section of the AUD, that cringed evertime Lindy took the ice. I look at his stats as a player, and it seems he was solid enough. As a coach, however, Ruff has blown me away. Sometimes he flaps his jaw a little too much for my liking, but I can't really recall any coach in Sabres history, that seems to have more of an impact, during the game, on the play on the ice. When I moved away from Buffalo in the late eighties, through the late 90's, it became sort of difficult to follow NHL hockey (let alone the Sabres) during the season, only the playoffs. My memory is a little fuzzy. Can anyone tell me when they instituted the home ice line change rule? I really don't remember it before the last 10 years. Has this always been the rule? Either way, Lindy is a master of the line swaps. The way he has adapted to the new rules, and his steadfast approach toward dealing with players is very commendable. It used to seem that every guy (particularly older vets- Andreychuk, Gilmour, Satan, and a bunch of others) would always badmouth the Sabres, and Ruff, when they left Buffalo. With this team, I get the sense that they are a very tight-knit bunch, and I don't sense the animosity toward Ruff that used to be there. I guess winning helps a lot. I give Ruff (and Reiger for sticking with him) a lot of kudos!
MadBuffaloDisease Posted May 14, 2006 Posted May 14, 2006 I'm assuming that the Sabres' struggles since Dom left have been because of a lack of the wide disparity in team salaries, i.e. a lack of talent. However now that the salary cap is in place and that's less of an issue, we can expect great things annually out of the Sabres because of Ruff? Am I right in assuming that?
ExiledInIllinois Posted May 15, 2006 Posted May 15, 2006 I agree!You know, it is funny. I had Sabres season tickets during Ruffs career as a player in Buffalo. When you watch a team, night after night, you start to have opions about them, that don't always jibe. As a player, I could not stand Ruff. I can't even really remember why anymore. I just remember, there was a very vocal group up in the orange section of the AUD, that cringed evertime Lindy took the ice. I look at his stats as a player, and it seems he was solid enough. As a coach, however, Ruff has blown me away. Sometimes he flaps his jaw a little too much for my liking, but I can't really recall any coach in Sabres history, that seems to have more of an impact, during the game, on the play on the ice. When I moved away from Buffalo in the late eighties, through the late 90's, it became sort of difficult to follow NHL hockey (let alone the Sabres) during the season, only the playoffs. My memory is a little fuzzy. Can anyone tell me when they instituted the home ice line change rule? I really don't remember it before the last 10 years. Has this always been the rule? Either way, Lindy is a master of the line swaps. The way he has adapted to the new rules, and his steadfast approach toward dealing with players is very commendable. It used to seem that every guy (particularly older vets- Andreychuk, Gilmour, Satan, and a bunch of others) would always badmouth the Sabres, and Ruff, when they left Buffalo. With this team, I get the sense that they are a very tight-knit bunch, and I don't sense the animosity toward Ruff that used to be there. I guess winning helps a lot. I give Ruff (and Reiger for sticking with him) a lot of kudos! 691111[/snapback] Ruff was captain of the team for a spell... He is also active in the alumni games. I always loved him... Remember his rookie year, 1979? When Billy Smith took the "butt end" of his goal stick to Ruff (during the playoffs) and Ruff charged back from the blue line to get a piece of Smith? He was one to always have drive, protect his team... That same drive exists today... He seems like the type of guy you either love or hate... IMO.
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