Who will be the next Head Coach of the Buffalo Sabres?

[GASabresIUFAN]

Who will be the next coach of the Buffalo Sabres?  How extensive will the coaching search be? 

The obvious candidates are no NHL experience Seth Appert and Sabres re-tread Lindy Ruff.  Are there any other serious contenders?  Will TP spend on Brind’amour or someone else of that quality?  During TP’s ownership we have hired re-tread with a Cup (Bylsma), NHL Rookie coaches (Housley, Granato) and one semi-experienced coach from left field (Krueger). So what’s next?

Edited April 16 by GASabresIUFAN

[PASabreFan]

They need to sell the fans on someone. It can't be a rookie coach. Not even Peca. It just can't be.

If it's Ruff, it's a very good sign. I never thought he was fired but instead wanted out when he saw the tanking handwriting on the wall.

For him to return it would mean 1. He has been assured Terry is committed to winning (read: spending) and 2. He will be given some control over the roster.

Win-win. Then win.

Edited April 16 by PASabreFan

[triumph_communes]

If the internal cap was real you’d think a new coach would make sure it’s a thing of the past?

[PASabreFan]

1 minute ago, triumph_communes said:

If the internal cap was real you’d think a new coach would make sure it’s a thing of the past?

As an understanding before taking the job, yes.

[LabattBlue]

My choice…”doesn’t matter until Pegula sells the team and a real GM is hired”.

[GoPuckYourself]

1 minute ago, PASabreFan said:

They need to sell the fans on someone. It can't be a rookie coach. Not even Peca. It just can't be.

If it's Ruff, it's a very good sign. I never thought he was fired but instead wanted out when he saw the tanking handwriting on the wall.

For him to return it would mean 1. He has been assured Terry is committed to winning (read: spending) and 2. He will be given some control over the roster.

Win-win. Then win.

This is the exact opposite of what I'm looking for, this to me would show that they couldn't care less about winning NHL games, this would be nothing more than to get fans in seats to make Pegula money, nothing more and nothing less. Ruff has failed at evey gig he was given since being let go as the HC of the Buffalo Sabres and most notably with a young team like us in the new Jersey Devils.

For me to take this organization seriously it has to hire a proven winning head coach, I don't care what it costs, I don't care who has to sell their soul to get him here but there are only 32 HC gigs in the NHL, I'm sure you can find someone whether that's Brindamour, Berube, Gallant or another then you go out and get said coach. If he's a winner than you don't have to worry about his assistants because he'll pick people who he thinks will help him win once again. I want to have our owner live up to that Stanley Cup hype train when he 1st got here, drill another well Terry and get a proven winner here so you can have 2 franchises who adore you and are filling up the seats.

[Big Guava]

I'd love to see Ruff back...this mentally weak team would suddenly be galvanized from the inside out.

[WhenWillItEnd66]

Hamilton was on GR. I am one of the ones that actually likes what he has to say and had some good thoughts. 

 

Appert - Harder nose coach. Could be what this team needs, but not proven at NHL level.

Brind’amour - Actually good friends with KA. Hamilton seems to think if he wanted to move on from the Canes he would be interested here. BIG IF Though

Ruff - Been there done that. 

Peca - Here is an idea i like. Seems to be doing well in NY and is a hard working player that would expect the same from his team. Again, no NHL Level coaching exp.

Any retread - There is a reason why they are not employed right now. Would be a bit skeptical.

 

A good point was brought up that this is going to be a good job to walk into. Owner with money, lots of skilled players at NHL and in the pipeline. Is it the best job, no. But the coach that takes this team to the playoffs would be treated like a god. (For a couple of years anyways)

[Weave]

23 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

I'd love to see Ruff back...this mentally weak team would suddenly be galvanized from the inside out.

This is somewhat revisionist.  Ruff was the coach during the Miller - Lucic incident and the “fragile little children” comments by Miller.  Ruff is not a panacea.

[Night Train]

Ruff liked to switch lines up every other shift. Not a winning formula unless he changed. 

[Flashsabre]

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/latest-news/joel-quenneville-has-sights-set-on-coaching-up-to-10-potential-teams

[LGR4GM]

If it is Lindy Ruff, I am out. 

[Big Guava]

8 minutes ago, Weave said:

This is somewhat revisionist.  Ruff was the coach during the Miller - Lucic incident and the “fragile little children” comments by Miller.  Ruff is not a panacea.

Meh, that team was not mentally weak. Lacking some toughness maybe, mentally weak? Never.

Mentally weak teams don't go on the road in ECF game 7 down 4 defenseman and take a lead into the 3rd period.

Ended up losing but not due to being mentally weak, Carolina exploited the weakness on D finally.

Edited April 16 by Big Guava

[LGR4GM]

1 minute ago, Big Guava said:

Meh, that team was not mentally weak. Lacking some toughness maybe, mentally weak? Never.

Mentally weak teams don't go on the road in ECF game 7 down 4 defenseman and take a lead into the 3rd period.

 

Those teams you are comparing were WILDLY different. 

[thewookie1]

6 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/latest-news/joel-quenneville-has-sights-set-on-coaching-up-to-10-potential-teams

I wouldn't hate it 

[Weave]

11 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

Meh, that team was not mentally weak. Lacking some toughness maybe, mentally weak? Never.

Mentally weak teams don't go on the road in ECF game 7 down 4 defenseman and take a lead into the 3rd period.

Ended up losing but not due to being mentally weak, Carolina exploited the weakness on D finally.

Different years, much of the roster the same, same coach.  That coach couldn’t save the Drury-Briere Sabres from becoming the Sabres that couldn’t figure out how to rise above.

Ruff is not a panacea.

[xzy89c1]

20 minutes ago, Weave said:

This is somewhat revisionist.  Ruff was the coach during the Miller - Lucic incident and the “fragile little children” comments by Miller.  Ruff is not a panacea.

You nailed it. Ruff is not a great coach. He is average coach. Always struggled with in game management and match ups. He will always be overrated due to Hasek.

[thewookie1]

11 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

I wouldn't hate it 

It would we better than Julien or Appert for sure

[Weave]

1 minute ago, xzy89c1 said:

You nailed it. Ruff is not a great coach. He is average coach. Always struggled with in game management and match ups. He will always be overrated due to Hasek.

I’m actually not trying to discount Ruff as a good coach.  Specifically relating to the point Big Guava made, that Ruff would somehow galvanize a mentally weak team, history has shown Ruff to not have that particular trait with a set of players that was (Im guessing cuz Im lazy) 75% the same as the team that lost to Carolina in the conference finals.

[msw2112]

Quenneville would be great, but I'm not sure if it's worth the PR nightmare after what went down under his watch in Chicago.  It makes me cringe just to think about it.

Although he has no NHL experience, Appert is an interesting option.  I honestly don't know that much about him, but he seems to be the best coach Rochester has had in years.  Many successful NHL coaches have started at the AHL level.

I love Lindy Ruff.  He was my favorite Sabre player as a kid and he was one of my favorite coaches too.  He had a lot of success in Buffalo.  Based on his post-Buffalo track record, I see him as a short-term solution, but not a long-term one.  He had good starts in both Dallas and New Jersey, but it eventually petered out and he got fired.  I think he could get the current Sabres into the playoffs next season, but I don't know if he's the right guy for long-term, sustained success.  I would not be opposed to having Lindy brought into the organization in some capacity.  He's a great hockey man and great person overall.

Brind'Amour would be the best option, but I just don't see it happening.  From what I've read, he likes it in Carolina and they'll come up with the money.  I think it would cost $5M+ to bring him to the Sabres.

I'm not sold on the likes of Gallant and Boudreau.  Like Ruff, they could be great short-term solutions and get this team into the playoffs, but I don't see them having long-term success.

I think Peca will be a great coach (like Brind'Amour) and would do well, but it's a big risk to bring in a guy with no head coaching experience.  I don't think he has any, at any level.

So I don't have the answer, but these are my thoughts on some of the names that are circulating. 

Edited April 16 by msw2112

[erickompositör72]

38 minutes ago, WhenWillItEnd66 said:

Hamilton was on GR. I am one of the ones that actually likes what he has to say and had some good thoughts. 

 

Appert - Harder nose coach. Could be what this team needs, but not proven at NHL level.

Brind’amour - Actually good friends with KA. Hamilton seems to think if he wanted to move on from the Canes he would be interested here. BIG IF Though

Ruff - Been there done that. 

Peca - Here is an idea i like. Seems to be doing well in NY and is a hard working player that would expect the same from his team. Again, no NHL Level coaching exp.

Any retread - There is a reason why they are not employed right now. Would be a bit skeptical.

 

A good point was brought up that this is going to be a good job to walk into. Owner with money, lots of skilled players at NHL and in the pipeline. Is it the best job, no. But the coach that takes this team to the playoffs would be treated like a god. (For a couple of years anyways)

Thanks for the recap- interesting thoughts from PH. Glad I didn't end up putting you on ignore 😛

[GASabresIUFAN]

The case for Ruff is simple and good.  He is a Sabres.  He is the only coach to lead this team to the conference finals or better with two distinctly different player groups (Hasek Era and Briere/Drury window).  He understands what it takes to win in Buffalo.

Someone else mentioned he failed other places. I’m not sure I agree.  In Dallas he got them to the playoffs for the first time in 6 years, reached the playoffs twice in 4 years, won a division title, and his record was 165-122-41.  In NJ he took a rebuilding club to the playoffs in year 3 and was fired this season when his team was hovering at 500.  He was 128-125-28 in 3+ years in NJ

Granato’s record in Buffalo was 122-125-27 with no playoff appearances.  

Edited April 16 by GASabresIUFAN

[USMCSnyper]

I believe I read somewhere....a while ago.. that Boudreau was interested when Granato was hired..?

2 minutes ago, msw2112 said:

Quenneville would be great, but I'm not sure if it's worth the PR nightmare after what went down under his watch in Chicago.  It makes me cringe just to think about it.

Although he has no NHL experience, Appert is an interesting option.  I honestly don't know that much about him, but he seems to be the best coach Rochester has had in years.  Many successful NHL coaches have started at the AHL level.

I love Lindy Ruff.  He was my favorite Sabre player as a kid and he was one of my favorite coaches too.  He had a lot of success in Buffalo.  Based on his post-Buffalo track record, I see him as a short-term solution, but not a long-term one.  He had good starts in both Dallas and New Jersey, but it eventually petered out and he got fired.  I think he could get the current Sabres into the playoffs next season, but I don't know if he's the right guy for long-term, sustained success.  I would not be opposed to having Lindy brought into the organization in some capacity.  He's a great hockey man and great person overall.

Brind'Amour would be the best option, but I just don't see it happening.  From what I've read, he likes it in Carolina and they'll come up with the money.  I think it would cost $5M+ to bring him to the Sabres.

I'm not sold on the likes of Gallant and Boudreau.  Like Ruff, they could be great short-term solutions and get this team into the playoffs, but I don't see them having long-term success.

I think Peca will be a great coach (like Brind'Amour) and would do well, but it's a big risk to bring in a guy with no head coaching experience.  I don't think he has any, at any level.

So I don't have the answer, but these are my thoughts on some of the names that are circulating. 

Brind'Amour with Peca. My dream duo.

[msw2112]

Brind'Amour-Peca would be a great duo.  I'm not sure I see it happening.  I could live with a Ruff-Peca duo, with the idea that Ruff is an older guy who might put in a couple of years to change the culture, then pass the reins onto Peca.  Or even something like Ruff-Appert.  Maybe set it up where Ruff will coach 2 years, then turn over the reins to the younger guy and move into a front-office job.  I don't know if something like that is realistic, but I do think it could work.

[dudacek]

38 minutes ago, Weave said:

This is somewhat revisionist.  Ruff was the coach during the Miller - Lucic incident and the “fragile little children” comments by Miller.  Ruff is not a panacea.

No one is.

I hate coaching searches because we have only the most peripheral idea of what any coach brings to the table, what the current needs of the team are, and how well those two situations match.

There's a reason all coaches are hired to be fired.

Most candidates are going to be qualified. It's all about trusting Adams to find the right match for these players in this particular place and time.

Granato, in hindsight, was a good match for the summer of 2021, so I guess Adams has that going for him.

 

Edited April 16 by dudacek