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Lindy Ruff officially hired as Sabres HC


LGR4GM

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9 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

... either you don't know what an analogy is or .... no that's the only explanation. 

Comparing the Bills to the Sabres is folly. The nfl can change on a dime if you get a good QB.

I mean yes, I also UPL turns into the literal greatest goalie to ever play in the NHL.

I’d settle for being his Miller.

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2 hours ago, JohnC said:

My criticism isn't the specific hiring of Lindy. He may turn out to be an excellent hire. You ask why lengthen the process? There is a simple and good answer for that: You may end up with a better candidate by waiting a little longer when other candidates could have been available. Yes, Lindy fit the criteria that the GM laid out when the hiring process was established. That doesn't mean that by waiting other candidates wouldn't also fit the desired criteria. Quite the contrary, by waiting a little longer there would have been a longer list of candidates to choose from. What's wrong with that? Why the urgency to get Ruff in the fold right now? What other franchise was knocking on his door?

I'm rooting for Ruff to do well. In my mind, this hiring process was too limited and rushed. As @LGR4GM aptly stated: the organization hired the candidate that they wanted before the process was meaningfully gone through. That's not the best way to conduct business when doing a candidate search.

I wouldn’t strongly argue with anything you said but we don’t know that they didn’t have a good knowledge of who would be available to them if they waited. Also, there is some, even if minuscule, advantage to getting this behind them in order to plan the course of their offseason.

In general, I think you can learn a lot about yourself by interviewing a myriad of candidates. I don’t think the same applies to NHL coaches.

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Fairbairn makes pretty good case here for the hire.

Acknowledges the nostalgia factor and basically says 'So, how is that bad thing? It's actually a good thing unless he's a bad fit or a bad coach."

And then he goes on to explain why he might be a good fit and good coach.

https://theathletic.com/5437340/2024/04/23/lindy-ruff-buffalo-sabres-hired-coach/

Guess we'll find out in October if he's right.

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2 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Hmmmmmm. Ruff is not going win that much more than Granato did if they roll back the same roster.  Maybe enough to make a wild card, sure. 

Ruff talked about the little things, winning key face offs, protecting leads, winning puck battles, having leaders call out players, goaltending, building from the defense and out.   All great stuff.    They still need more players that have done that and will show the way.  
 

 

Tone doesn’t seem to be that Adams will be idle. Everything I’ve read makes it seem like he’s on the hot seat for this season and only playoffs are acceptable 

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8 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Tone doesn’t seem to be that Adams will be idle. Everything I’ve read makes it seem like he’s on the hot seat for this season and only playoffs are acceptable 

Adams has work to do. Needs 4 forwards and 2 defenders. Needs to stop with his letting the kids grow ***** and start jettisoning the slackers or lackluster performers. Needs a ruthlessness we've not seen. 

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3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Adams has work to do. Needs 4 forwards and 2 defenders. Needs to stop with his letting the kids grow ***** and start jettisoning the slackers or lackluster performers. Needs a ruthlessness we've not seen. 

Just asked Chad and he thinks he’s got 2 years which, yes, unfortunately brings me down quite a bit 

 

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7 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Something tells me even that is not set in stone.

Hope you are correct. One of the best things I inferred (perhaps incorrectly) from yesterday, truth be told, was that there was going to be literally no hedging on the standard this year, sort of an all-in agreement that playoffs are the only marker and indeed what job retention would be based on

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3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Hmmmmmm. Ruff is not going win that much more than Granato did if they roll back the same roster.  Maybe enough to make a wild card, sure. 

Ruff talked about the little things, winning key face offs, protecting leads, winning puck battles, having leaders call out players, goaltending, building from the defense and out.   All great stuff.    They still need more players that have done that and will show the way.  
 

 

As you point out, regardless who the coach is, the critical issue relates to the composition of the roster. That includes bringing in talent and better balancing the roster so it is not simply a collection of players but the proper construction of a team. It's about getting players slotted into the right roles. In my view, getting the right players to play in the lower lines is more important than addressing the top two lines. It is these lower lines that will determine whether the Sabres become a more rugged and difficult team to play. 

The Okposo and Olofsson spots will need to be filled. And most likely players such as Rousek, Jost, Robinson and maybe Girgs and Krebs spots will be open. That means that somewhere in the range of 4-6 positions will need to be addressed. These types of players are available at a reasonable price. It's a question of smartly using your assets to get the right type of support players on to your roster. I'm not looking for blockbuster Jack-like deals; I'm looking for judicious deals that makes this a more competitive team. 

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2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Adams has work to do. Needs 4 forwards and 2 defenders. Needs to stop with his letting the kids grow ***** and start jettisoning the slackers or lackluster performers. Needs a ruthlessness we've not seen. 

2 defenders?  You don't think

Dahlin-Byram
Power-Joki
Clifton-Muel
Johnson-Bryson

in whatever combination is enough?  Especially with some good coaching?

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6 hours ago, JohnC said:

My criticism isn't the specific hiring of Lindy. He may turn out to be an excellent hire. You ask why lengthen the process? There is a simple and good answer for that: You may end up with a better candidate by waiting a little longer when other candidates could have been available. Yes, Lindy fit the criteria that the GM laid out when the hiring process was established. That doesn't mean that by waiting other candidates wouldn't also fit the desired criteria. Quite the contrary, by waiting a little longer there would have been a longer list of candidates to choose from. What's wrong with that? Why the urgency to get Ruff in the fold right now? What other franchise was knocking on his door?

I'm rooting for Ruff to do well. In my mind, this hiring process was too limited and rushed. As @LGR4GM aptly stated: the organization hired the candidate that they wanted before the process was meaningfully gone through. That's not the best way to conduct business when doing a candidate search.

Not to mention - the interview process is a great opportunity to LEARN things about how your own organization is perceived, or how other organizations do things differently, that you might not otherwise get.  It’s free information that Terry and Kevyn seemed to have no interest in collecting.  Again: doesn’t doom Lindy but is not a good sign or look.  Once again Terry may be relying on luck.

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21 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

2 defenders?  You don't think

Dahlin-Byram
Power-Joki
Clifton-Muel
Johnson-Bryson

in whatever combination is enough?  Especially with some good coaching?

That second pair needs a testosterone injection. The third pair won't make it 10 games without an injury that keeps one of them out (Muel) for 10 weeks. 

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Quick takeaways 

1. He mentioned faceoffs.  I have zero doubt this has been discussed as a massive problem.

2. He talked about needing elite Defensemen.  He’s correct.  Common denominator with the best teams.  
 

3. He talked about how - these weren’t his exact words - but how it’s important for everyone to get excited about the little things they do in the game that should get guys fired up.  Like blocking shots or good clears, etc.  There is more to get excited about then scoring goals.   
 

 

I feel good about this.  I think Adams and Lindy know what needs to be addressed and where they have to improve. 
 

It was awesome to hear him interact with Harrington and Hamilton again.  Flashbacks not just to 2006 but 1997-98.  
 

Cannot wait to see what we do.  

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1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

2 defenders?  You don't think

Dahlin-Byram
Power-Joki
Clifton-Muel
Johnson-Bryson

in whatever combination is enough?  Especially with some good coaching?

Jokiharju needs replaced and I'd look to upgrade Bryson. Johnson is a top 6 defender unless your team is run by idiots. 

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