Lindy Ruff has been fired

[Wisent42]

I would say that approximately 90% of this board and Buffalo Sabres fans know that this needed to be done and even wanted it to be done, but also recognize the "bad" aspect of it.

To you, a Stanley Cup is a Stanley Cup and who cares how you get it. To me, I want a Cup for this team/city more than anything and I don't really care how we get it, but I can acknowledge the fact that it would have meant more with Lindy Ruff. The man was a part of this franchise for 54% of it's existence.

Think about that. The Buffalo Sabres have existed since 1970. That's 43 years ago. Lindy Ruff has been part of this organization for 54% of that period of time. It's f-ing sad to see the guy go, and even more depressing to see him go without a Cup.

Don't confuse acknowledging that today sucks with accepting and supporting mediocrity, because it simply isn't the same. I stand by my earlier comment. Either you are an imbecile or have been a fan of the team for 2-3 seasons. Any rational fan who has followed the team with passion since 1997 or earlier probably feels the same.

I just wanted to get behind this.

 

[Sabretip]

Some more bullseyes from various media outlets - it's astounding how unanimous the feeling that Regier is equally, if not moreso, to blame and should be kicked to the curb is:

And so Regier, whose blind loyalty to Ruff kept the struggling coach employed years after his best-by date, finally made the call to let him go on Wednesday afternoon.

Ruff is a good man and an excellent coach, but his message had gone stale. It was absolutely the right decision by Regier…and absolutely the last one he should be allowed to make.

The culture of losing that permeates this franchise won’t be any easier to disinfect than the Carnival Triumph. Installing a new man behind the bench might be just the tonic elsewhere, but in Buffalo it’s the equivalent of slapping on a new coat of paint. Regier has assembled an ill-fitting mix of parts. There are too many small forwards, the defense is soft and ineffective and there’s a serious deficit of character. This organization needs to be stripped down to the frame, and rebuilt from there.

And that’s why Regier should have followed Ruff out the door.

http://nhl.si.com/2013/02/20/buffalo-sabres-fire-coach-lindy-ruff/#

But now that he’s gone, it’s time to reevaluate everyone else, starting with Regier. The problem wasn’t patience, but the people. Ruff and Regier are good people, but Ruff clearly wasn’t the right coach anymore and Regier might not be the right GM anymore, either, based on the roster and the record.

Making the playoffs shouldn’t matter as much as making sure the Sabres have the leadership to execute their philosophy, so Pegula can remain patient and watch it pay off next time.

Pegula knows what he needs to do. He said it at his introductory news conference. He said he wanted the Sabres to be the best in the league at “finding,†“developing†and “keeping†talent.

Is Regier the best man for that job? Should he be the one making moves down the stretch before the Sabres are even in position to decide on the permanent coach? What about up-and-coming executives, like the Nashville Predators’ Paul Fenton, the Los Angeles Kings’ Ron Hextall and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Claude Loiselle?

Pegula needs a GM with a strong vision. He needs his GM to surround himself with a strong staff and his own coach. And then, yes, he needs to give more resources, more time and more patience before he ratchets up the expectations.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl--a...ffalo-sabres-to-take-inventory-013152271.html

But even Ruff’s smarts could not overcome a series of bad personnel moves by Regier. Pegula opened his wallet and the Sabres payroll ballooned to $65-million in the last two seasons, but they have missed the playoffs in three of the last five years. High-priced acquisitions such as forward Ville Leino and defenceman Robyn Regehr failed to live up to their salaries. Defenceman Christian Ehrhoff is the best of the team’s big-money players, but that is only by comparison to the rest.

But Pegula’s loyalty to Regier and Ruff quickly ended the honeymoon with the fans and media. The watch is now on for the other half of the tandem to fall.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...es-fire-head-coach-lindy-ruff/article8893766/

 

[zenthusiast]

Some more bullseyes from various media outlets - it's astounding how unanimous the feeling that Regier is equally, if not moreso, to blame and should be kicked to the curb is:



http://nhl.si.com/2013/02/20/buffalo-sabres-fire-coach-lindy-ruff/#





http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl--a...ffalo-sabres-to-take-inventory-013152271.html



http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...es-fire-head-coach-lindy-ruff/article8893766/

If Pegula really wants the Sabres to be excellent at finding, developing, and keeping talent, I'd say that's prime reason to keep Regier. Your captain, the NHL's leading scorer, your Vezina goalie, your Calder winner, etc.

Also, Ehrhoff's been excellent, and not just by comparison to the other two. Globe and Mail's off-base.

 

[schpaff]

If Pegula really wants the Sabres to be excellent at finding, developing, and keeping talent, I'd say that's prime reason to keep Regier. Your captain, the NHL's leading scorer, your Vezina goalie, your Calder winner, etc.

Also, Ehrhoff's been excellent, and not just by comparison to the other two. Globe and Mail's off-base.

Yikes...this roster is terribad. If you think that's what it takes, keep waiting another 40 years.

Sweep it..sweep it ALL. This is his cat litter and it smells, enough. No prime reason for anything.

 

[BCS]

Also, Ehrhoff's been excellent, and not just by comparison to the other two. Globe and Mail's off-base.

Yep. Ehrhoff has been tremendous by any standard. The "he's only good compared to Buffalo's other big-money guys" line of thinking is absolute crap. He's worth every bit of that $4 million cap hit and plenty more.

 

[Corto]

If Pegula really wants the Sabres to be excellent at finding, developing, and keeping talent, I'd say that's prime reason to keep Regier. Your captain, the NHL's leading scorer, your Vezina goalie, your Calder winner, etc.

I disagree.

The talent pool is filled with quite a few high-risk prospects like Armia and Grigorenko. If anything, we don't have a safe bet to be a top-tier scoring forward or a top-tier overall defenseman... Or a top-tier goalie, anywhere in the system.
Grigorenko is the first ballsy pick they've had in 7-8 years, along maybe with Myers who's been stuck in a rut for 2 years.

Regier did a great job in 2005. Then he slipped up at the deadline.
Then he blew it (Quinn etc.) in 2007 and he never did anything of importance to offset the chaos from that offseason.

The ONLY time Buffalo looked anything remotely like a top-tier team was the year when Miller did a Hasek, Myers had an amazing rookie year, forwards were adequate and Hecht, Grier and Goose led the league-leading PK AND still contributed offensively.

Apart from that one year, this team looked mediocre at best.

...

I'm too lazy to look it up, but after Briere and Drury went, I wrote here somewhere, this team could've been a perennial contender, instead it was headed for perennial mediocrity.

Firing Ruff solves nothing if Regier and his doctrine of running a team stays the same.
Firing Ruff made sense for both sides - and I love Lindy - but ONLY if the changes don't stop there... Regier has to go in order for this franchise to take a different direction.
(IMO firing Regier makes more sense than hoping he changes his managing habits and perspectives)

 

[wunderpanda]

I honestly can't believe it happened. I'm glad it did.

Part of me thinks Ruff is a good coach who can coax points out of guys that hit first and grind it out in the corners. Part of me knows Ruff had early success with the team and prospects Muckler assembled, later he was fooled into believing in a flawed system due to the efforts of Drury and Briere. I think many of us questioned his use of Vanek over the years, or Afinogenov or Satan or Myers or any number of skilled offensive players but have always been happy when a role player steps up and gets some ugly points.

Maybe Ruff is simply better when he has less to work with.

 

[brian_griffin]

On Day 2 Post-Ruff, it feels a lot like having your aging or sick dog put down. Part of you didn't want to do it because of all the memories and you know you'll hurt afterwards, but you did it because you had to, for both you and the dog.

(And I'm not equating LR to a dog, rather drawing analogy to the emotions & decisions.)

 

[boots electric]

I'm not sure where all the "bad personnel decisions" talk is coming from. I mean, I suppose they were all bad if you were expecting this team to compete this year, but Darcy's been pretty obviously building for the future for some time now. That's one of the biggest reasons Ruff is gone I think; he coaches to win now when he should have spending time to develop his young talent.

If the team is still terrible in two years, yeah, throw Regier under the bus. But to do so before that when he's been playing the long game for a good couple years now? Yeah, doesn't seem like the greatest idea.

 

[SackTastic]

I disagree.

The talent pool is filled with quite a few high-risk prospects like Armia and Grigorenko. If anything, we don't have a safe bet to be a top-tier scoring forward or a top-tier overall defenseman... Or a top-tier goalie, anywhere in the system.
Grigorenko is the first ballsy pick they've had in 7-8 years, along maybe with Myers who's been stuck in a rut for 2 years.

Grigerenko was the #1 ranked forward for a LONG time until he got sick. Hardly a high risk pick there.

 

[BK201]

I'm not sure where all the "bad personnel decisions" talk is coming from. I mean, I suppose they were all bad if you were expecting this team to compete this year, but Darcy's been pretty obviously building for the future for some time now. That's one of the biggest reasons Ruff is gone I think; he coaches to win now when he should have spending time to develop his young talent.

If the team is still terrible in two years, yeah, throw Regier under the bus. But to do so before that when he's been playing the long game for a good couple years now? Yeah, doesn't seem like the greatest idea.

Coaching to win now is developing talent.

This morning on Ottawa radio Pierre McGuire said this was the wrong thing to do and that Ruff is not the problem, and really surprised the way it happened.

You can hear it later as a pod cast if interested on the team1200.com McGuire podcast. But he seemed kinda ticked.

 

[CrankyJay]

Coaching to win now is developing talent.

This morning on Ottawa radio Pierre McGuire said this was the wrong thing to do and that Ruff is not the problem, and really surprised the way it happened.

You can hear it later as a pod cast if interested on the team1200.com McGuire podcast. But he seemed kinda ticked.

Coaching counts for nothing now?

 

[FiLe]

Pope resigns. Lindy Ruff gets sacked.

What next? The skies depart, a shining light falls on Earth, and a booming voice says: "Fend for yourselves, guys. I quit."

 

[S319R11S16]

Coaching to win now is developing talent.

This morning on Ottawa radio Pierre McGuire said this was the wrong thing to do and that Ruff is not the problem, and really surprised the way it happened.

You can hear it later as a pod cast if interested on the team1200.com McGuire podcast. But he seemed kinda ticked.

Isn't he the one who was ripping apart Ruff and the team last year during the Blackhawks game?

Well it's 1 of 3 things. Either Ruff was the problem, Darcy was the problem; or both.

Lindy being the first out the door, shows me that Pegulas faith went into Darcy apparently more than Lindy. Even just a little, he's still here and Lindy isn't. Darcy is the one who holds on to some of his players too long though. In a round about way, we'll know soon enough what direction this season is going and where the issued lied.

Personally I think both of them were to blame. Lindy had his faults and Darcy has his too. I don't think the current state of the franchise can be solely blamed on Ruff or Regier. Both of them caused these problems.

 

[Chainshot]

Pope resigns. Lindy Ruff gets sacked.

What next? The skies depart, a shining light falls on Earth, and a booming voice says: "Fend for yourselves, guys. I quit."

Bob Gainey already resigned.

 

[sabres4ever]

I'm not trying to defend Darcy, but just how much have his hands been tied with so many teams vying for any individual? DO we know how many people he has tried to get, but unable to woo them with TPegs $$? Given the choice between 4 teams with same money, who'd really want to come to hockey heaven to play, with our management?

If we need someone bolder, who can get the deals done, then by all means, dump Darcy. Question is, do we have a fire sale after this season and go back to square one? Or do we hope a new coach and some player transactions will be enough?

 

[JThorne]

Coaching to win now is developing talent.

This morning on Ottawa radio Pierre McGuire said this was the wrong thing to do and that Ruff is not the problem, and really surprised the way it happened.

You can hear it later as a pod cast if interested on the team1200.com McGuire podcast. But he seemed kinda ticked.

There's your first mistake, listening to this egghead.

 

[Imagining Defeat]

Has anyone poster any player reactions in any of these threads yet? I haven't really heard much...

 

[Duddy]

Has anyone poster any player reactions in any of these threads yet? I haven't really heard much...

Poms: Never thought that day would come
Vanek: Sad day, Ruff was the face of Buffalo.

 

[sabresfan129103]

I just saw Miller's comments on TSN. Ryan always tells it like it is.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

Link to comments?

 

[Woodhouse]

Link to comments?

http://video.tsn.ca/?dl=nhl-latest/latest/2/0/869471/clip/53

 

[Imagining Defeat]

http://video.tsn.ca/?dl=nhl-latest/latest/2/0/869471/clip/53

Thanks...nothing too interesting...but none the less good stuff...

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

I'm not surprised the MSHM has totally bought into Ruff's mythos, especially since those same guys still list Ehrhoff as a failed signing. It's way easier to shoot from the hip than do things like actually research the position you're paid to take on the national scale.

Regier gave him a puzzle short a few pieces, but again, Lindy went full-toddler and started shoveling laminated cardboard into his mouth rather than trying to put them together.

 

[vcv]

http://video.tsn.ca/?dl=nhl-latest/latest/2/0/869471/clip/53

Jason Pominville
Start to finish, we've known for about 3 to 4 hours now. Still in shock. You never thought this day was gonna come. It's disappointing that he has to pay for it, for us not performing the way we should be. I think he was understanding, in the way he talked to us. He knows it's a business. He even said we're not that far off. He wished us all the best. It's just disappointing to see someone go that has put so much time and effort into us being a successful organization.

We were on the bus. We bus to Toronto usually, we were on the bus waiting. He showed up like he usually does. He came on the bus and started talking and wished us all the best. I think at that point we were still in shock. We weren't sure what he meant by that. Then we kind of figured it out. He stepped off the bus and we got off the bus and went over to talk to him.

It's tough to explain. If we know, we would have fixed it earlier. Our play defensively has to improve a lot. We've given up too many opportunities in our zone. Our PP has had a tough go. If you clean up those two areas, we're probably not in the situation we're in now. It's been a tough day for every one and we're still in shock of what happened.

He just wished us all the best, said that we were a great group of guys. He said we weren't that far off and he believes in our group. Just wished us all the best. At that point he stepped off and guys, everyone, got off the bus and shook his hand.

[in response to "Was Lindy emotional?"]

Yeah, I think a lot of guys were emotional. It was a tough go.

Ryan Miller
It's a hard day. It's disappointing. It's the only coach we've known, aside from Randy Cunneyworth in the American League. Lindy's always been an influence and some body who has been there and believed in us. He's been a Sabre for such a long time. We feel bad that this is how it played out for him. We had much higher expecations and much higher goals. We still hope to reach them but obviously he's not gonna be part of that and I just feel really sorry, because no one cares more than Lindy. He's a big part of the community and a big part of the Sabres.

No one really, you get a sense that, we're not playing well, so anything could happen. But it's pro sports, we're gonna have to take a good hard look at what each of us are doing. Reset, move forward.

I think it's just to get a reset, a restart. Get the attention of the guys and get us going in the right direction. Lindy's been here a long time and that's good for familiarity, but after a little while maybe our group does need to see someone else. I can't begin to put myself of the GM or the ownership and why they made the decision. But I get that feeling.. to get something out of us. The direction of the organization has been pretty clear for the last few years with Terry. We just haven't lived up to it.

We're not in a very good place and we knew we had to improve regardless of whose gonna be coaching us. There's some basic things we're trying to improve on and we're already on the way to fixing a lot of that stuff. Hopefully it's just a wake up call for the guys and to remind you that it's pro sports and it's about your performance and how professional you are. Lindy was very professional and I thought he was a great coach. He's had a great influence on my career obviously and I had a good relationship with him.

It came down to performance. We as a team haven't lived up to it and it's disapponting that he's taken the fall for something that's on us.

Thomas Vanek
For Jason and myself and some other guys, Lindy's the only coach we've ever had and the only things we've known. For me personally, I had my ups and downs with him but in the end we had a good relationship. We both wanted to win, still want to win. In the end, we didn't produce wins, that ultimately cost him his job. It's a very hard day. He's a top free agent out there now. Any organization that gets him is gonna get a great coach. It's a sad day. I was very surprised [by the news]. We had a meeting. I talked to him after the meeting and there was no quit in him, there never will be. It's a emotional day and it's a tough day, it's surprising.