Sabres announce Lindy Ruff signed to a two year extension

[darksabre]

8 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

I'm less you have to fire Appert and more you have to hire someone new for the PP coach

I'm as much of an Appert hater as anyone but the late adjustments to the power play units in the Montreal series speak to a different issue:

They were struggling to get the right mix of players more than anything.

I think seeing a bunch of guys improve throughout the season and gradually increase their contributions overall means we may see an improved power play next year basically by default. 

[RETURNTOGLORY]

16 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Seriously, how incompetent were the assistant coaches when your team had 50 regulation wins? Do you actually think Ruff couldn't get rid of anyone he didn't want?

Did you watch our powerless play at all??

[Pimlach]

4 hours ago, Taro T said:

That was expected.  The question remains: which of the assistants does he bring back and what new blood gets added.

Agree.   The assistants were originally assigned to him.  

4 hours ago, tom webster said:

Excellent 

Well, we will see if it is.   Hard to argue with extending him given the season he had.  

3 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

I'm less you have to fire Appert and more you have to hire someone new for the PP coach

This sounds right. 

Last year the brought in a new strength and conditioning guy and that seems to have helped.   Now look at the PP.  

Edited May 20 by Pimlach

[PromoTheRobot]

Just now, RETURNTOGLORY said:

Did you watch our powerless play at all??

I can't argue with that infallible logic.

11 minutes ago, Ghost of Ville Leino said:

Oh wow, look at that, Promo is being really annoying again!

I know. Having your beliefs challenged is very annoying.

[TageMVP]

7 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

I'll be the stick in the mud. I’m mildly disappointed. I understand though that there was next to zero chance that he would be gone, unless he wanted to be gone. Still, I was hoping that he would want to move on to an advisory role or retirement.

The Sabres are one of the youngest teams in the league and are entering into what should be a window of multiple years of playoff and possibly Cup contention. As an NHL head coach, Ruff, to me, is mediocrity. In 24 seasons as an NHL head:

-          His teams have a points % of .553 and a winning % of .490* in the regular season (*for the first 7 years of his coaching career, games could end in a tie).  An average Ruff-team is barely in the wild-card mix.

-          His teams make the playoffs 50% of the time

-          His teams have a .538 winning % in playoff games and have won 13 of 25 playoff series (52%)

-          He hasn’t won a cup and has been to one cup final

-          He hasn’t made the playoffs 3 years in a row since the start of his career with the Sabres, and he hasn’t made the playoffs twice in a row since 2011

Many will dismiss the above as Ruff being dealt bad luck or bad teams for 1/2 of his career. There is some of that, to be sure, but the drop-offs are steeper than justified some years (in my view).  

I have a lot of respect for Ruff and his career as a Sabre.  He most definitely deserves his own spot in the rafters.  We had a great and fun season. Ruff being the coach that took the Sabres back to the playoffs is a great story.  I just don’t think a contending team, other than the Sabres, hires Ruff to be their head coach.

This is a great post that makes a lot of sense, at least to me. 

I give Ruff full credit for turning the team around, I really do. But it seems like its actually impossible for a team to win a cup with him as coach. PerreaultForever hit the nail on the head I think, he said Ruffs "changes" during the Montreal series were "reactionary". Thats 100% true. I give Ruff credit for making those changes, but all that proves is that he had a bad gameplan to begin with. And also didn't make those changes FAST ENOUGH. (Krebs off top line) That took WAY TOO LONG. I was screaming for changes after game TWO 

Here's a problem with the extension, although im glad its only two years. What if the Sabres fail again in the playoffs the next two years? As in get far, but dont win the cup? I fear that they just keep handing Ruff 2 year extensions until he's 100 years old and HOPE he finally wins a cup. Terrible idea

Ruff stuck around FAR TOO LONG the first time around. I do not want that to happen again 

[PromoTheRobot]

10 minutes ago, darksabre said:

I'm as much of an Appert hater as anyone but the late adjustments to the power play units in the Montreal series speak to a different issue:

They were struggling to get the right mix of players more than anything.

I think seeing a bunch of guys improve throughout the season and gradually increase their contributions overall means we may see an improved power play next year basically by default. 

 

4 minutes ago, RETURNTOGLORY said:

Did you watch our powerless play at all??

You two fight it out.

[steveoath]

GET A PROPER POWERPLPAY COACH 

[CallawaySabres]

Now just go get Helleybuck OR Thomas

[Eleven]

I couldn't really understand what @steveoath was trying to say on account of his heavy Scottish accent.

[pi2000]

their pp was 9 for 24 (38%) vs MTL

sure they had long drought but the issue with the PP is the players

poor puck decisions on zone entries and lack of faceoff wins

that's not a coaching issue

Edited May 20 by pi2000

[RETURNTOGLORY]

27 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

You two fight it out.

I'm in!

[Skibum]

Great news and congrats to Lindy. A lot of people seem to think we'd be better off with a different coach moving forward, but I fail to see why. 

[RETURNTOGLORY]

28 minutes ago, steveoath said:

GET A PROPER POWERPLPAY COACH 

Oooooh. Be careful! 😂

[PASabreFan]

Will have to search for the quote, but off the git go Lindy rebutted the idea he was being saddled with the assistants. They survived through a second year. In what universe do people think a coach of Lindy's stature was not going to have the assistants of his choice. He doesn't do assistants who will challenge him. No former NHL head coaches etc.

Also, EVERYONE* loves Lindy. Stop. Just not as coach.

*Larry Playfair doesn't, because of the dollar bill/shaving cream/feather incident.

[Brawndo]

 

[Brawndo]

 

[Believer]

Congrats to Lindy Ruff.

We finally have a team capable of winning a Cup.

Unless Jarmo balls it up, we will have for at least 5-10 years.

Plenty of time to win the Cup.

Let Ruff have his shot.

He earned it.

[Brawndo]

Sounds like 3 goaltender on the roster will continue per Ruff

[shrader]

3 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Sounds like 3 goaltender on the roster will continue per Ruff

I forget what the rule change is in terms of the ebug going away, but I was wondering if this might happen. You do see it happening in more places lately. 

[Doohickie]

1 hour ago, pi2000 said:

their pp was 9 for 24 (38%) vs MTL

Something something sample size.

[Eleven]

33 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Sounds like 3 goaltender on the roster will continue per Ruff

I wouldn't assume that.  I heard the presser too.  

[Taro T]

58 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

Was told something to that effect by someone I know and trust about 1 week ago.  IF true, and believe my friend more than the Bullfrog's kid, fine keep Appert on the staff.  But for the love of all that is Holy, get somebody that can coach a PP onto the staff.

How many MM's of dollars would've rolled into Terry Pegula's pockets if the Sabres could've scored A PP goal in game 7?  That extra round would EASILY have covered the extra salary.  (And realize they only had 1 kick at that can, but they didn't even get a single scoring chance off it.)

Edited May 20 by Taro T

[mjd1001]

Just now, Taro T said:

Was told something to that effect by someone I know and trust about 1 week ago.  IF true, and believe my friend more than the Bullfrog's kid, fine keep Appert on the staff.  But for the love of all that is Holy, get somebody that can coach a PP onto the staff.

How many MM's of dollars would've rolled into Terry Pegula's pockets if the Sabres could've scored A PP goal in game 7?  That extra round would EASILY have covered the extra salary.  (And realize they only had 1 kick at that can, but they didn't even get a single scoring chance off it.)

This is one of the more puzzling things to me. Not getting a coach, but how hard can it be to BE a PP coach.

The powerplay is one VERY small aspect of hockey and PP and PK are relatively simple compared to the 200 foot even strength game.  Study the best PPs in the league, what are they doing that you aren't? Study when YOU have a successful powerplay vs when you don't, what did you do vs what didn't you do?  

I have a hard time thinking that a PP coach or a PP system is a mystery that needs to be unlocked, and more that it is your players either 1.) being not good enough or 2.) not following the instructions you give them. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't get it.

Now from having a few boring nights where I watched the replays of every single powerplay goal scored across the league (done it more than a few times actually) there is something that I noticed: Most (at leat half) of the PP goals happen in a scrum around the net, people banging away at a loose puck, or on a deflection.  But there you go, get people to the net.  Why is Doan good on the PP? He goes to the net and is willing to bang away at the puck.  Zucker and Doan accounted for 19 PP goals this year between them (in 435 minutes). Tuch, Thompson, Quinn and Norris COMBINED had 19 (in 745 minutes)  Are Zucker and Doan that much more talented, have that much of a better shot than those other guys? Nope, they go to the net.

So that leaves what? Zone entries?  THAT is what you simply study every single PP in the league and figure out what the good ones do that you don't do. And then once you have the puck in the Zone, you need ONE guy screening the goalie from 5 feet out 100% of the time and preferably a 2nd one doing it most of the time also.

I know there are a few more subtleties to the PP (A guy like McDavis not only has talent, but he opens up more space because he draws more guys to him), but again, it shouldn't be that complicated.  Study the BEST PPs, study the worst ones, come up with a plan, and get your talented guys to do it.

[Flashsabre]

The biggest problem with the PP is a lack of a true playmaker to run it from up front. That is why trading for a Thomas would be big but I think Östlund playing on it full time would really help it as well.

 

People have created this narrative about Appert that they have no idea if it is true or not. No one on this board knows what he does on a day to day basis.

[tom webster]

2 hours ago, TageMVP said:

This is a great post that makes a lot of sense, at least to me. 

I give Ruff full credit for turning the team around, I really do. But it seems like its actually impossible for a team to win a cup with him as coach. PerreaultForever hit the nail on the head I think, he said Ruffs "changes" during the Montreal series were "reactionary". Thats 100% true. I give Ruff credit for making those changes, but all that proves is that he had a bad gameplan to begin with. And also didn't make those changes FAST ENOUGH. (Krebs off top line) That took WAY TOO LONG. I was screaming for changes after game TWO 

Here's a problem with the extension, although im glad its only two years. What if the Sabres fail again in the playoffs the next two years? As in get far, but dont win the cup? I fear that they just keep handing Ruff 2 year extensions until he's 100 years old and HOPE he finally wins a cup. Terrible idea

Ruff stuck around FAR TOO LONG the first time around. I do not want that to happen again 

Well considering the odds of actually winning the Cup, the fact that no one knows the exact coach to hire, the fact that hiring coaches with past experience almost never works and the fact that hiring coaches with no experience almost never works, you could say the same thing about every coach. Jon Cooper was a choice almost universally panned, Paul Maurice failed at three locations. Peter DeBoer might get you to the finals. Jim Montgomery was David Carle before David Carle…..it’s hard winning the Stanley Cup. If you want a guaranteed shot at winning it, make the playoffs and hope for the best. Yo got a guy that got you there, stick with him.