If not Ruff, who?

[zenthusiast]

Ruff being fired doesn't seem likely, but what if he, for example, died under suspicious surcumstances,

I love you



Pat Quinn as interim get itttttt

 

[Paxon]

Kevin Dineen.... whoops

 

[Foppa2118]

Gimme an upstart like a Boughner, Roy, Eakins...

David Quinn?? Pascal Vincent??

Don't give me a retread.

We'll trade you David Quinn for Lindy Ruff?

 

[Woodhouse]

Kevin Dineen.... whoops

There's plenty of time for him to get fired too, especially if FLA continues to man the cellar.

 

[jBuds]

We'll trade you David Quinn for Lindy Ruff?

He has been that much of a detriment already?!

 

[tsujimoto74]

Dallas Eakins

That'd be my pick too.

 

[DixonWard15]

 

[SwordsgoneWild]

Dallas Eakins - highly respected and motivational. Well respected by his teams and is doing a great job. Also with Toronto hiring Carlyle, he could be had as he wants to advance to the NHL. Learned under the great Roger Neilson.

Mike Keenan - highly disciplined, won a cup, been in the system before as he won a championship in Rochester. Pushes his players to the limit

Guy Carbonneau - Coached Montreal, great defensive forward for the Habs. Currently the president of Chicoutimi in the Q.

Marc Crawford - former Jack Adams winner, won a cup with the AVS.

John Stevens - LA assistant, former head coach in Philly, won a Calder in the AHL

Ron Wilson - successful in Washington and SJ but was most recently with Toronto

Scott Arniel - Brought CBJ to a playoff berth and coached in Columbus, was a former assistant here in Buffalo

John Anderson - Coached Atlanta and was successful while in the AHL with Chicago winning 4 Calder Cups. Currently an assistant in Phoneix to Dave Tippet

Jeff Daniels - Charlotte AHL coach, was an associate coach when the Hurricanes won the cup, has had success at the AHL level since 2008



Some ideas, Eakins looks like to be the logical choice

Not to nitpick here but wasnt that Hitch that got them to the playoffs?

 

[Foppa2118]

He has been that much of a detriment already?!

No it's near impossible to tell what kind of impact he's had in the few games so far. He's the Avs assistant. Sacco is the one that's been the detriment.

 

[jBuds]

No it's near impossible to tell what kind of impact he's had in the few games so far. He's the Avs assistant. Sacco is the one that's been the detriment.

Seems skeptical you'd be willing to jettison him so fast, especially if you consider his meteoric rise and his reputation of his teams playing hard for him as a head man.

 

[Disengage]

Ron Rolston.

 

[Woodhouse]

Honestly, if you're pining for a mid-season move, many of these guys aren't feasible options as they're currently contracted to various organizations. I don't see many teams granting them permission to leave, only to jeopardize their on-ice product. I do believe that Carbonneau (124-83-23, .589 PTS%) is one of the few names mentioned in here that would be available in the interim if Ruff were in fact fired.

Also, for comparison's sake, here's a reference tool for "retreads": http://www.hockey-reference.com/coaches/NHL_stats.html

 

[joshjull]

If Ruff gets canned mid season, my money would be on James Patrick replacing him.

 

[Tapu Coco]

Eakins or Cooper please

 

[TheMistyStranger]

Ron Rolston.

Not calling you an idiot, just liked the gif :p

 

[GodHatesBuffalo]

This team has mental problems. Confidence is lacking. The coach is responsible for creating an environment to prevent and solve this, however Ruff is incapable of this task. His solution is to yell at his players, and this type of coach is a dying breed. We need a Dan Bylsma type who can energize his team through his interactions with players, as well as the environment and vibe created.

Not to mention Lindy's system blows and has serious deficiencies. He's a defensive minded coach who has an abysmal defensive unit. That alone is grounds for firing.

Lindy does not do much well. Hes an average coach at best who WNY adores. The fact that he is still coaching this team reflects poorly on management, and our beloved new owner Mr. Pegula. The owner is starting to come off as a 10 year old kid who bought a hockey team and gets to pal around with his hero's. It's not about winning, it's about pegula living out childish fantasies and being friends with his idols.


Who to replace him with?? Friggin pee-wee herman for all I care.

 

[1TuchAnd1NoTuch]

Ron Rolston.

Please noooo

 

[couture23]

Dallas Eakins. Would be hard to pry away, but I think we could get it done.

 

[BUFSABES1981]

This is kind of ironic. Back track to Mularkeys resinging from the Bills. I remember a lot of Bills fans on the Bills board, jokingly of course, saying Lindy Ruff to fill the vacant Bills job cuz he was such a great coach. Oh how things change.

 

[studebaker1*]

Dallas Eakins. Would be hard to pry away, but I think we could get it done.

Pegula and Black can get it done. I honestly don't care if Patrick is the interim and they look for a permanent coach in the offseason. Something needs to be done soon because the players have just stopped trying, with a few exceptions. I like Ruff as a person, but his time as Buffalo's coach should've came to an end last season.

 

[SabresFanNorthPortFL]

GodHatesBuffalo is spot on that the coach is responsible for the attitude on the ice.

exhibit:

a. Leopold not pasting the forward for Toronto into the front row, allowing him to score the winning goal with 1.5 seconds left. There was less than 10 seconds left in the game, a penalty doesn't matter.

b. Leopold being on his stomach, verticle with the net as Boston scored one of their goals.

c. Marchand going around Myers and scoring.

d. Numerous times that our defense backs off at the blue line, allowing offenses room to roam inside our zone.

e. Numerous times our defense stick checks when taking the body should be the play.

f. Numerous ill-advised pinches by our defense. Several of which have led to goals.

All 6 of these are "coaching." Snarl is an attitude. I've always been one of the Ruff supporters but enough is enough. With the way VHP is playing, there is no reason why we are loosing games, for that matter being blown out. How can one line have it, and the rest of the team is crap? Again, coaching.

It's just time for Ruff to go.

 

[studebaker1*]

What about Cunneyworth? I'm kind of ignorant to his coaching history in the NHL - other than the fact that he was **** on for not speaking French in MTL. I know he is 7th overall in AHL coaching wins. Does he have the potential to be a good NHL coach? Again, I have no idea so I'm just asking you guys.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

This team has mental problems. Confidence is lacking. The coach is responsible for creating an environment to prevent and solve this, however Ruff is incapable of this task. His solution is to yell at his players, and this type of coach is a dying breed. We need a Dan Bylsma type who can energize his team through his interactions with players, as well as the environment and vibe created.

Not to mention Lindy's system blows and has serious deficiencies. He's a defensive minded coach who has an abysmal defensive unit. That alone is grounds for firing.

Lindy does not do much well. Hes an average coach at best who WNY adores. The fact that he is still coaching this team reflects poorly on management, and our beloved new owner Mr. Pegula. The owner is starting to come off as a 10 year old kid who bought a hockey team and gets to pal around with his hero's. It's not about winning, it's about pegula living out childish fantasies and being friends with his idols.


Who to replace him with?? Friggin pee-wee herman for all I care.

The only other coach I see do this is Tortorella. But at the same time, He doesn't treat his players like garbage. When they have a good shift, or score goals, or do something pretty nicely, he'll give them a good pat on the back or a fist bump or etc... it goes a long way

 

[start winnin]

There were reports late this past season that there wasn't a strong relationship between you and longtime Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff, that he had misused you and didn't play to your strengths such as giving you regular playing time. What qualities do you look for in a coach?

BB: Coming from coaches and having success with coaches that were yellers and screamers and hard on you, that's fine, as long as you get a pat on the back when you do something well. I want to play for a coach that I respect a lot and that'll go a long way in the way that I play.

That starts by communicating with off-ice stuff, saying hi, asking how the family is. Those things go a long way. I'm just looking for a coach that will do that to begin with. Once you get the personal side, then it's the hockey stuff, with the coach communicating what he likes or doesn't like about your play.

I don't need someone telling me every game, every minute or every shift if I've done something good or bad, but every once in a while it's nice to hear some communication either way to know you're part of the team and feel important.

I'll take what I can from last year but I'm looking at next year to really getting back to having fun and playing on a team that wants me there and I want to be a part of.

For those who didn't read it, here's what Boyes had to say on Ruff. Take what you will with it. I mean how often have we seen players leave Lindy's system and flourish. Others come to Lindy's system and get neutered.

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]

Come on, we all know the obvious choice is Doug Marrone.