Lindy Ruff Fired as Devils HC

[Buffalonill]

Ruff Would recreate the magic we had with the drury, briere team 

And i'm sure he would tell  power to Hit the gym

 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Just now, nfreeman said:

I'm certainly open to a different veteran coach with a successful track record, but I don't know which guy meeting that bill is available, willing to come here and better than Lindy.

I am not OK with bringing back DG.

Would you rather bring DG back, or make Lindy the HC?

I would rather keep DG at this point.  I don't think coaching is the biggest issue right now.

@Eleven has always said it is about the roster.  I agree with him.  It's always about the roster.

The Devils GM has not done enough and they have had some key injuries - the coach is the scapegoat and is fired.

KA has not done enough and the Sabres have had some injuries and the team decided to change focus on the defencive side of the game.  It has taken a while, but things are starting to come together.

DG is not the problem.  Some of his assistant coaches are not good enough.

Bring in Ruff if they want, but not as HC.

[That Aud Smell]

11 hours ago, Broken Ankles said:

Blizzard of ‘77 - his advice was to enjoy a “six pack”.  Buffalo through and through. 

That was the Blizzard of '85. Griffin was both mayor and acting streets commissioner at the time (!).

Stan Makowski was Buffalo's mayor for the Blizzard of '77.

[Buffalonill]

7 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

I would rather keep DG at this point.  I don't think coaching is the biggest issue right now.

@Eleven has always said it is about the roster.  I agree with him.  It's always about the roster.

The Devils GM has not done enough and they have had some key injuries - the coach is the scapegoat and is fired.

KA has not done enough and the Sabres have had some injuries and the team decided to change focus on the defencive side of the game.  It has taken a while, but things are starting to come together.

DG is not the problem.  Some of his assistant coaches are not good enough.

Bring in Ruff if they want, but not as HC.

What do you mean? It's his job To keep the team motivated And have them ready for the game 

Which He never does

And that's one of his many flaws

Edited March 5 by Buffalonill

[...]

14 hours ago, CallawaySabres said:

And here we still hold on for dear life to the worst coach in the league...

Yeah, but we're morons for entertaining the idea of acquiring a better coach. Lots of people have said so in this very thread.  🤪

[...]

1 hour ago, nfreeman said:

Would you rather bring DG back, or make Lindy the HC?

This is the fundamental question.

 

[wingnut]

He's the last Sabres coach with a winning record, so there's that. Over a decade ago. Man.

The rest since then are quite a list - only Phil Housley and Ruff still had/have NHL-level jobs. This is not a serious organization.

[Buffalo Super Fan]

20 hours ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

Wouldn't mind Lindy coming home in some capacity, but NOT behind the bench.

Why for the Buffalo Sabres fans that don’t want Lindy Ruff back? Do you feel comfortable with all the Sabres head coaches that followed Lindy Ruff. You know some Sabres fans don’t get it. The Buffalo Sabres aren’t a destination have to take the head coaching job in Buffalo. You’re not getting A list coaches like the past Buffalo Sabres teams when the NHL was a lot smaller in size Scotty Bowman and Punch Imlach aren’t coming to the Buffalo Sabres today. The NHL has more franchises today in warmer climates. Terry Pegula can reach out and offer the moon but it doesn’t mean they are coming to coach the Buffalo Sabres see Mike Babcock. The Sabres organization would be lucky if Lindy Ruff would comeback to coach the Buffalo Sabres. Lindy Ruff is a hockey coach not a President of hockey that is Bucky Gleason crap from the Buffalo News a decade ago idea. And a president of hockey wouldn’t make a difference anyway the owner always has the final say because it’s there team.

The Buffalo Sabres need a coach like Lindy Ruff to at least get the Sabres in the hunt for playoffs again. The Sabres are so bad presently they aren’t even in the hunt for the playoffs. At least as bad as the Buffalo Bills use to be in the playoff drought they were in the hunt for the playoffs. Hire Lindy Ruff as Sabres head coach just to create some excitement in the offseason. If the Sabres stay the course with Don Granato no chance year 14 of the Sabres playoff drought will continue in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

[7+6=13]

I'm really surprised at the amount of posters against it.  Lindy is a legitimate NHL coach and we need that.  It's not about nostalgia for me, I don't care about that.  

If Lindy shows he still has the desire,  I'd go that way.

When the Bills sucked, we were in this constant cycle of not knowing if it was the players or the coach.  I'd like to eliminate one of those.  

Let's be honest,  we like DG but we're not going to ever say, oh man we let a great coach leave our building. 

[Marvin]

Also, with UPL raising his game and Devon Levi in the wings, we can cover one of the weaknesses of the system Ruff runs: it relies on the read-and-react skills of the goaltender more than others.  That is one of their strengths

 

[mjd1001]

58 minutes ago, 7+6=13 said:

I'm really surprised at the amount of posters against it.  Lindy is a legitimate NHL coach and we need that.  It's not about nostalgia for me, I don't care about that.  

If Lindy shows he still has the desire,  I'd go that way.

When the Bills sucked, we were in this constant cycle of not knowing if it was the players or the coach.  I'd like to eliminate one of those.  

Let's be honest,  we like DG but we're not going to ever say, oh man we let a great coach leave our building. 

If they make a coaching change, I'm all for Lindy being the pick.  I'm just not ready for a coaching change yet.  Other than 'its obvious', i haven't really heard many reasons why Granato should be gone. To me, this team was always in for the 'long build' despite fans not wanting it to be that way. The Defense (top 4 at least) is SO young and inexperienced, a couple forwards had career years last year, and they have had more key injuries this year than last year.  That isn't on the coach to me.

8 hours ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

I would rather keep DG at this point.  I don't think coaching is the biggest issue right now.

@Eleven has always said it is about the roster.  I agree with him.  It's always about the roster.

The Devils GM has not done enough and they have had some key injuries - the coach is the scapegoat and is fired.

KA has not done enough and the Sabres have had some injuries and the team decided to change focus on the defencive side of the game.  It has taken a while, but things are starting to come together.

DG is not the problem.  Some of his assistant coaches are not good enough.

Bring in Ruff if they want, but not as HC.

Agreed. Its an unpopular opinion, but I totally agree.

[LGR4GM]

This thread has this energy...

 

[DarthEbriate]

Is Ruff the better coach? Would he be a logical next-step playoff-bound coach after Granato got the kids to believe in themselves? Are Lego Y-Wings cool?

But no one has answered the question: Even if offered the job, why would Ruff return to this two-bit Jawa-****** franchise?

 

Ruff just signed a multiyear extension. He can kick back on his Ruff duff for all of 2024-25 and take it easy (meanwhile, Granato also just signed an extension so it'd be very un-EEE). And when Ruff is ready, he should have several bench/assistant options and maybe a HC spot available after any midseason firing. He'll likely be involved with Team Canada again.

Ruff can get more money coaching elsewhere. Rolston, Nolan, Bylsma - not direct from Pittsburgh, but from USNTDP -, Krueger, Granato -- these are not the highest paid coaches in the league. (And it's doubtful Babcock's agent did anything with the Sabres except to negotiate a higher salary from Toronto.)

His last season here the team had already elected to begin selling off parts and was ready to tank. They gave him this center spine to start 2013-14 coming out of the lockout: Hodgson-22, Ennis-23, Grigorenko-18, Ellis -- and then Hecht played center after Ellis was waived (and cleared!). That's not a playoff roster. Big surprise they started out a bit slowly apart from Vanek (who led the league in scoring after 10 games). And Ruff was fired for it.

He's watched the organization run veterans and future stars out of town, alienate the (#1 % US television viewing) fan base, let the arena waste away... and purposefully tank for multiple seasons, only to churn through GMs who flopped their the entire makeup of the team and coaches who shouldn't have ever a NHL HC.

He's seen team leadership doesn't want anyone with an alpha personality who is going to stir things up (and Ruff has chilled as he's gotten older; but he's still got some fire).

He saw his former player, AHL affiliate coach, and now Devils bench coach get fired by the organization -- not for incompetence or leaning too heavily on AHL veterans, but because he and his staff's salaries during the pandemic shutdown prevented the owners from money for yachts and such.

 

If Ruff wants to get to 900 career wins, he deserves somewhere better than this mess to attempt to do so.

[PerreaultForever]

Well if they did fire Granato and hire Lindy the one sure thing would be the fans (us) would believe that next season is THE season and the nightmare might finally end. Whether or not he could get it done idk, but we'd definitely believe he could until proven otherwise. If they keep Granato and don't bring in any key free agents I think most of us will be in a here we go again and show me mode. 

So I guess what I'm saying is it would be a good marketing, PR move that would likely boost season ticket sales. 

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

Is Ruff the better coach? Would he be a logical next-step playoff-bound coach after Granato got the kids to believe in themselves? Are Lego Y-Wings cool?

But no one has answered the question: Even if offered the job, why would Ruff return to this two-bit Jawa-****** franchise?

 

Ruff just signed a multiyear extension. He can kick back on his Ruff duff for all of 2024-25 and take it easy (meanwhile, Granato also just signed an extension so it'd be very un-EEE). And when Ruff is ready, he should have several bench/assistant options and maybe a HC spot available after any midseason firing. He'll likely be involved with Team Canada again.

Ruff can get more money coaching elsewhere. Rolston, Nolan, Bylsma - not direct from Pittsburgh, but from USNTDP -, Krueger, Granato -- these are not the highest paid coaches in the league. (And it's doubtful Babcock's agent did anything with the Sabres except to negotiate a higher salary from Toronto.)

His last season here the team had already elected to begin selling off parts and was ready to tank. They gave him this center spine to start 2013-14 coming out of the lockout: Hodgson-22, Ennis-23, Grigorenko-18, Ellis -- and then Hecht played center after Ellis was waived (and cleared!). That's not a playoff roster. Big surprise they started out a bit slowly apart from Vanek (who led the league in scoring after 10 games). And Ruff was fired for it.

He's watched the organization run veterans and future stars out of town, alienate the (#1 % US television viewing) fan base, let the arena waste away... and purposefully tank for multiple seasons, only to churn through GMs who flopped their the entire makeup of the team and coaches who shouldn't have ever a NHL HC.

He's seen team leadership doesn't want anyone with an alpha personality who is going to stir things up (and Ruff has chilled as he's gotten older; but he's still got some fire).

He saw his former player, AHL affiliate coach, and now Devils bench coach get fired by the organization -- not for incompetence or leaning too heavily on AHL veterans, but because he and his staff's salaries during the pandemic shutdown prevented the owners from money for yachts and such.

 

If Ruff wants to get to 900 career wins, he deserves somewhere better than this mess to attempt to do so.

This is intense.  

I enjoyed reading it.    

[nfreeman]

4 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

If they make a coaching change, I'm all for Lindy being the pick.  I'm just not ready for a coaching change yet.  Other than 'its obvious', i haven't really heard many reasons why Granato should be gone. To me, this team was always in for the 'long build' despite fans not wanting it to be that way. The Defense (top 4 at least) is SO young and inexperienced, a couple forwards had career years last year, and they have had more key injuries this year than last year.  That isn't on the coach to me.

Agreed. Its an unpopular opinion, but I totally agree.

Because of the zillion games this season they came out clearly not ready to play an NHL game.

That is an incontrovertible indicator of a team that is the opposite of focused, intense and determined.

And that is partially on the roster but very much also on the coach.

To be fair:  I've read several articles about Lindy's firing that cite similar flaws with the Devils this season.

 

3 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

Is Ruff the better coach? Would he be a logical next-step playoff-bound coach after Granato got the kids to believe in themselves? Are Lego Y-Wings cool?

But no one has answered the question: Even if offered the job, why would Ruff return to this two-bit Jawa-****** franchise?

 

Ruff just signed a multiyear extension. He can kick back on his Ruff duff for all of 2024-25 and take it easy (meanwhile, Granato also just signed an extension so it'd be very un-EEE). And when Ruff is ready, he should have several bench/assistant options and maybe a HC spot available after any midseason firing. He'll likely be involved with Team Canada again.

Ruff can get more money coaching elsewhere. Rolston, Nolan, Bylsma - not direct from Pittsburgh, but from USNTDP -, Krueger, Granato -- these are not the highest paid coaches in the league. (And it's doubtful Babcock's agent did anything with the Sabres except to negotiate a higher salary from Toronto.)

His last season here the team had already elected to begin selling off parts and was ready to tank. They gave him this center spine to start 2013-14 coming out of the lockout: Hodgson-22, Ennis-23, Grigorenko-18, Ellis -- and then Hecht played center after Ellis was waived (and cleared!). That's not a playoff roster. Big surprise they started out a bit slowly apart from Vanek (who led the league in scoring after 10 games). And Ruff was fired for it.

He's watched the organization run veterans and future stars out of town, alienate the (#1 % US television viewing) fan base, let the arena waste away... and purposefully tank for multiple seasons, only to churn through GMs who flopped their the entire makeup of the team and coaches who shouldn't have ever a NHL HC.

He's seen team leadership doesn't want anyone with an alpha personality who is going to stir things up (and Ruff has chilled as he's gotten older; but he's still got some fire).

He saw his former player, AHL affiliate coach, and now Devils bench coach get fired by the organization -- not for incompetence or leaning too heavily on AHL veterans, but because he and his staff's salaries during the pandemic shutdown prevented the owners from money for yachts and such.

 

If Ruff wants to get to 900 career wins, he deserves somewhere better than this mess to attempt to do so.

3rd bold:  are you saying that Travis Green coached in Rochester?  I think he coached in Utica, but not Rochester.

2nd bold:  this is complete speculation and IMHO silly.  Krueger was very much an alpha personality, as is Babcock, who they tried very hard to get.

1st bold:  he'd want to come here because he wants to be an NHL head coach, and after getting fired 3 times and winning a total of 2 playoff series since 2007, he's pretty close to being out of options.

The team has a lot of talent -- now maybe even in goal -- and Lindy knows that Buffalo can be a great place to play and coach.  Also, he has 4 kids and wikipedia says his primary home is in Clarence.

As for the money, I'd expect TP will pay more than he'd collect for not working.

You want to right a wrong?  You want Buffalo to love the Sabres again?

Here is opportunity.

 

 

[7+6=13]

6 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

If they make a coaching change, I'm all for Lindy being the pick.  I'm just not ready for a coaching change yet.  Other than 'its obvious', i haven't really heard many reasons why Granato should be gone. To me, this team was always in for the 'long build' despite fans not wanting it to be that way. The Defense (top 4 at least) is SO young and inexperienced, a couple forwards had career years last year, and they have had more key injuries this year than last year.  That isn't on the coach to me.

I don't post enough for anyone to remember me or know what my sentiment is.  I will tell you I'm an "eye roll" fan when it comes to blowing everything up and firing everyone.   I respect the injury issues and that it's valid. However I just don't get the feeling DG is a coach we'll regret departing from when it happens.  I like him and I think he's developed a handful of guys.  However, we don't compete every night and I'm bothered by it. 

We had some forwards have career years and still missed. I don't get the feeling things are or would have come together had the injuries been less significant.  

For me, it's not about squeaking into the playoffs and I think DG could do that.  I want to compete for the cup.  I totally get that the roster must have several changes/additions.  As I mentioned,  forget that Ruff was here for so long.  I think he's the type of coach to elevate the compete level without the players hating him. Which could be the case with other available veteran coaches.

I really don't see the downside, because,  I just don't see us holding our heads in our hands saying how did we let DG go.  It's time for change,  IMO and Lindy is the type of coach I'd do it for.

 

 

Edited March 6 by 7+6=13

[GoPuckYourself]

This would be the Sabsey (Sort of like Billsy but on skates) way to go, another failed former HC or Sabres player. We don't just need a good motivational speaker we need a legit head coach who has playoff and beyond experience, thats the guy we need. There are 2 guys sitting on the couch right now, those are the 2 I'd love to lure here. Not a a HC that has just been bounced for underperforming another franchise. 

[...]

 

[DarthEbriate]

12 hours ago, nfreeman said:

3rd bold:  are you saying that Travis Green coached in Rochester?  I think he coached in Utica, but not Rochester.

Chris Taylor joined the Devils staff to be with Ruff again.

[PASabreFan]

10 hours ago, ... said:

 

I love Bettman smirking throughout the affair. He knew what Buffalo was in for, I surmise.

[SwampD]

13 hours ago, nfreeman said:

Because of the zillion games this season they came out clearly not ready to play an NHL game.

That is an incontrovertible indicator of a team that is the opposite of focused, intense and determined.

And that is partially on the roster but very much also on the coach.

To be fair:  I've read several articles about Lindy's firing that cite similar flaws with the Devils this season.

 

3rd bold:  are you saying that Travis Green coached in Rochester?  I think he coached in Utica, but not Rochester.

2nd bold:  this is complete speculation and IMHO silly.  Krueger was very much an alpha personality, as is Babcock, who they tried very hard to get.

1st bold:  he'd want to come here because he wants to be an NHL head coach, and after getting fired 3 times and winning a total of 2 playoff series since 2007, he's pretty close to being out of options.

The team has a lot of talent -- now maybe even in goal -- and Lindy knows that Buffalo can be a great place to play and coach.  Also, he has 4 kids and wikipedia says his primary home is in Clarence.

As for the money, I'd expect TP will pay more than he'd collect for not working.

You want to right a wrong?  You want Buffalo to love the Sabres again?

Here is opportunity.

 

 

Not sure about the rest, but this is interesting.

For me, though, only winning will make me like them again.

[MISabresFan]

It is interesting to look at Lindy's coaching career at Buffalo.   Playoff years with Hasek and Ryan Miller in goal.  

[Marvin]

22 minutes ago, MISabresFan said:

It is interesting to look at Lindy's coaching career at Buffalo.   Playoff years with Hasek and Ryan Miller in goal.  

And goalkeeping has been a chronic problem for Ruff's teams after Buffalo.  IMHO, Ruff's system requires a good read-and-react goalie.  That is a strength of both 6K and Levi.  I suspect that he would be successful with this roster.

[MISabresFan]

1 hour ago, Marvin said:

And goalkeeping has been a chronic problem for Ruff's teams after Buffalo.  IMHO, Ruff's system requires a good read-and-react goalie.  That is a strength of both 6K and Levi.  I suspect that he would be successful with this roster.

Interestingly, DG and LR have similar winning percentages in Buffalo.