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Confirmed with Link: Lindy Ruff named Head Coach, Press Conference at 1:00 PM EDT

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Hilarious day to be off the grid. Very excited. I'm absolutely buying into the magic of it and leaving most of the worries for when/if they come. Makes sense that the Pegulas wanted to get this announced and pressered before the NFL Draft takes over for a week. Tidy dual ownership...or MASSIVE SMOKESCREEN?!

Pros
  • I really like Lindy Ruff. Adore him even, as far as these things go.
  • Lindy is still a good coach and we're fortunate that NJ a peer rival stumbled and coughed him up. The legend of Brunette has been addressed - NJ offensive fancy stats were just as strong as their huge 22-23, and this season can be chalked mostly to D injuries/personnel and their much-discussed woeful goaltending. Game hasn't at all passed him by at 64.
  • He's the best blend of old school disciplinarian/emotional leader and diverse tactician that was available. And we need both. He (and staff) should be able to embrace our natural attacking while bringing the all-situations structure to NHL standards. He's a fossil in the right places and also progressive in the right places imo.
  • Maybe most importantly, Lindy wants to win in Buffalo, for Buffalo. More than anyone in the org - players, staff, owners. Now that RJ has passed, he's probably the most important living figure in franchise history. Getting this team to the playoffs would certainly lock that in. So he's uniquely qualified to inject our petulant young core with the pride and sacrifice that the fanbase and city deserve (and that championship teams play with). As a former captain here and future first ballot HOFer, he can take our culture and leadership group to the next level.
  • And relatedly, he can help mend the relationship between the team and the fans. Ofc winning is what will really do that in the end, but if he can get them playing hard-working, attractive hockey they can win back the fans quickly. Hell he's a Buffalo sports fan himself, he gets it. No other coach could really have gotten it. Making the playoffs will be that much sweeter with an old friend at the helm and should get the public behind them. And when a fanbase is as jaded and defeated as ours, helping repair the vibes is crucial to helping break a drought/curse.
  • The other assumed options were kind of uninspiring in the end. None stood out from Lindy even before the bonuses he comes with.
Cons
  • Like others have mentioned, it doesn't seem like Adams took the opportunity to at least get free consulting from a handful of other veteran candidates. Feels like a no-brainer and I wonder what his honest answer would be to "why not?"
  • My one theory is that Adams fired Granato only with Ruff in mind if not tacitly in the fold. I don't think it's a stretch to think that next season it was either Granato or Ruff, which opens up alternate realities I don't even want to entertain. They could have still token interviewed a few in that case, but I could see Adams just wanting to get Lindy on the job.
  • If it goes badly to start the season next year, the discourse is going to be unbearable. The patience reserves are empty unfortunately and they need to hit the ground running. Fortunately, I think Lindy keenly understands this and will impart it on the team.
  • If it goes badly overall, it's likely the end of the second unsuccessful rebuild and plunges us into a rather unimaginable future. It was always a high stakes hire, but this amps things up even more.
Questions
  • Assistants - Jeep and Appert seem like frontrunners. Wilford maybe the upstairs coach but maybe with the D. Think we'll lose Appert soon to another org as an AC soon if we don't promote him. Don't love the idea of Chris Taylor back, but the last four years with Ruff is significant. Peca and Weber feel unlikely to budge. Would really just like the best available professional PP coach - who is that?
  • Captain - how does Lindy approach forming a new leadership group?
  • Will Lindy be in the owners' box at the Bandits' game Saturday? Because I'll be there and that place will go INSANE.
 
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pigpen65 said:
Has everybody's memory been erased? We've already lived through this. It was recognized that Ruff wasn't a good enough coach to ever win a championship (which has since been proven correct) and the Sabres never finished poorly enough to draft a super star center. So we moved on from Ruff and started a tank. It's crazy that we have legit come full circle. Everything has gone so unbelievably badly that we have totally forgotten about winning a cup and are back to just wanting playoffs. Ruff will get playoffs. A monkey with lipstick could get playoffs the past 3 years if Adams would have just gotten a goalie. Ruff is not getting a cup though. He gets embarrassed by other coaches in the playoffs when teams actually have time to game plan. My memory is faded but I think the Sabres chased Cam Ward in 2 or 3 games in the 06-07 series and ended up losing all of them. I remember missing the playoffs one year by a point when the Sabres lost to the last place thrashers, at home, in a 3rd period collapse. I remember the year the Sabres missed the playoffs with Andreychuk only getting 4th line minutes and benched half the games, then he won a cup the next year with Tampa Bay, as their captain. Afinogenov had a career year the year after the Sabres missed the playoffs with him on the bench all year. That was Ruff. Just a long line of boneheaded, stubborn, underachieving blunders that got him fired in Buffalo. I'm the only one that remembers any of this? What about Lucic concussing Miller? Or Gomez breaking his ankle? Nobody else?
Click to expand...

1.) We had a goalie this year and still missed the playoffs. Largely thanks to craptastic coaching
2.) If you think that losing to Carolina in the ECF is on Ruff.....then you've totally lost the plot. I'm sure it had nothing to do with us playing Rochester's spare defensemen in Game 7.
3.) It took 2 years in Tampa for Dave to win a Cup. And that season Dave played 4th line minutes and PP minutes.

Ruff can coach. He's a good coach. No, he hasn't won a Cup. Maybe he doesn't win a Cup here. But if he gets us to the playoffs and instills some defensive acumen and team play.....that's what we need more than anything else now.
 
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I don't get the vitriol in some of these posts.

Is Ruff the best coach in the NHL? No.

Is he an improvement over the Housley, Krueger, Granato coaches we've had? Absolutely.

My opinion? It's a step in the right direction for this franchise. He's a legitimate NHL coach, so lets see what happens. Adams does need to fill some roster holes on this team. His summer is going to be more important to how the next 2 or 3 seasons plays out.
 
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I wish they would've conducted an actual search, if only to glean insights/ideas from other coaches, but it seems like Adams and Pegula had their minds made up pretty early on. I'm mildly hopeful but also concerned, but any other coach would've come with their own warts, too. I do think Lindy's background with so many different teams/rosters/skillsets and being more adaptable than most coaches they've had behind the bench...well, since he was last here :laugh: should help. I'm super curious to see how he works with the younger guys, as well as Skinner (assuming he isn't bought out).
 
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Zman5778 said:
1.) We had a goalie this year and still missed the playoffs. Largely thanks to craptastic coaching
2.) If you think that losing to Carolina in the ECF is on Ruff.....then you've totally lost the plot. I'm sure it had nothing to do with us playing Rochester's spare defensemen in Game 7.
3.) It took 2 years in Tampa for Dave to win a Cup. And that season Dave played 4th line minutes and PP minutes.

Ruff can coach. He's a good coach. No, he hasn't won a Cup. Maybe he doesn't win a Cup here. But if he gets us to the playoffs and instills some defensive acumen and team play.....that's what we need more than anything else now.
Click to expand...
1.) They didn't have a goalie this year. They had a young goalie come on late who was very inconsistent and got lit up in all of the make or break games (all completely predictable for a young developing goalie, which is why good teams don't pin their playoff hopes on them.) If you think Ruff, or any coach, takes this years Sabres team to the playoff with 2-8 Eric Comrie and the fetuses Buffalo had in net this year you are living in lala land. I've already seen multiple people in this same thread use Jersey's goaltending as Ruff's excuse for this year.

2.) Imagine having a Stanley cup winning Captain sitting on your bench and only using him on the 4th line and to stand in front of the net on the PP while missing the playoffs. Most guys that would be the end of their career but old boys network. I thought it was the next year but regardless, it's not like Andreychuk got better as he got older. Ruff didn't play Andrechuk because Ruff plays favorites. And he did it over and over in Buffalo, at the cost of the team
 
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TheDawnOfANewTage said:
Hey, so- I quit. I can’t be a Sabres fan anymore. Sorry y’all, you’re great, but Pegula makes the worst f***ing decisions and there is no hope.

Dude has failed outta the league 2.5 times, how is that our hire? Never won shit, just crashed for the second time with the devils, a team very similar to ours-

Nah, f*** it, I’m not analyzing this shit only to find it was the cheapest option- I’m done. Peace. If I was wrong, rub it in my face.

But dude, I’m finding a squad that doesn’t shoot itself in the foot first step outta the hospital.



Because ruff is a failure of a coach. I don’t care how elaborate your plans to buy a Ford Pinto, it’s a dumb idea.
Click to expand...

As they say on the Twitters... This isn't an airport...you don't have to announce your departure
 
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pigpen65 said:
1.) They didn't have a goalie this year. They had a young goalie come on late who was very inconsistent and got lit up in all of the make or break games (all completely predictable for a young developing goalie, which is why good teams don't pin their playoff hopes on them.) If you think Ruff, or any coach, takes this years Sabres team to the playoff with 2-8 Eric Comrie and the fetuses Buffalo had in net this year you are living in lala land. I've already seen multiple people in this same thread use Jersey's goaltending as Ruff's excuse for this year.

2.) Imagine having a Stanley cup winning Captain sitting on your bench and only using him on the 4th line and to stand in front of the net on the PP while missing the playoffs. Most guys that would be the end of their career but old boys network. I thought it was the next year but regardless, it's not like Andreychuk got better as he got older. Ruff didn't play Andrechuk because Ruff plays favorites. And he did it over and over in Buffalo, at the cost of the team
Click to expand...
How the f*** can you possibly post with sincerity that UPL wasn’t a good goalie this year lmao. He’s gonna get Vezina votes
 
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Not a fan of this hiring, but it is what it is. He won't be previous-coach bad, but I think we could do better. I'll give him latitude, and we'll see where the chips fall, and who he brings in as assistants.

Hoping for playoffs at least.
 
A poster on Sabrespace named BRAWNDO knows a few people in the organization and has tidbits to drop from time to time. He has this to say:

"Berube and Gallant amongst a few others did have interviews with the Sabres via zoom the past few days

It would not surprise me if Adams mentioned Ruff replacing Granato in season, but was rebuffed by Pegula

Ellis is not guaranteed a spot behind the bench

One member of the staff will be a coach in waiting as mentioned before. Appert is my guess.

If it was Peca, I doubt Lavy or the Rangers would block him from moving.


Ruff will spend a lot of time around the Amerks over the next few weeks getting know the prospects as well as Appert.


And @Thorny if this does go south, your prediction will come true next offseason. That’s a reason why Adams hired Lindy he knows they can work together. "

The last part is suggesting that if they miss this year, Adams is likely done and Lindy can assume an advisory role in picking the next GM.

IMO this hire is going to help the team one way or another. I don't really get what the angst is - the only available candidates are imperfect for a myriad of reasons, but this is one that has an opportunity to be a real layer between Terry and hockey decisions in the event that it fails - which would not be true of Gallant or Berube.
 
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TheDawnOfANewTage said:
Hey, so- I quit. I can’t be a Sabres fan anymore. Sorry y’all, you’re great, but Pegula makes the worst f***ing decisions and there is no hope.

Dude has failed outta the league 2.5 times, how is that our hire? Never won shit, just crashed for the second time with the devils, a team very similar to ours-

Nah, f*** it, I’m not analyzing this shit only to find it was the cheapest option- I’m done. Peace. If I was wrong, rub it in my face.

But dude, I’m finding a squad that doesn’t shoot itself in the foot first step outta the hospital.



Because ruff is a failure of a coach. I don’t care how elaborate your plans to buy a Ford Pinto, it’s a dumb idea.
Click to expand...
U need this:
 
I am not saying I dislike the move (would have liked an actual search), but I do remember when the board was apoplectic envisioning a nightmare scenario where it is 2024 and Lindy Ruff was still the Sabres HC.
 
pigpen65 said:
Has everybody's memory been erased? We've already lived through this. It was recognized that Ruff wasn't a good enough coach to ever win a championship (which has since been proven correct) and the Sabres never finished poorly enough to draft a super star center. So we moved on from Ruff and started a tank. It's crazy that we have legit come full circle. Everything has gone so unbelievably badly that we have totally forgotten about winning a cup and are back to just wanting playoffs. Ruff will get playoffs. A monkey with lipstick could get playoffs the past 3 years if Adams would have just gotten a goalie. Ruff is not getting a cup though. He gets embarrassed by other coaches in the playoffs when teams actually have time to game plan. My memory is faded but I think the Sabres chased Cam Ward in 2 or 3 games in the 06-07 series and ended up losing all of them. I remember missing the playoffs one year by a point when the Sabres lost to the last place thrashers, at home, in a 3rd period collapse. I remember the year the Sabres missed the playoffs with Andreychuk only getting 4th line minutes and benched half the games, then he won a cup the next year with Tampa Bay, as their captain. Afinogenov had a career year the year after the Sabres missed the playoffs with him on the bench all year. That was Ruff. Just a long line of boneheaded, stubborn, underachieving blunders that got him fired in Buffalo. I'm the only one that remembers any of this? What about Lucic concussing Miller? Or Gomez breaking his ankle? Nobody else?
Click to expand...

Andreychuk played 74 games here in 2000-2001…played the next two seasons in Tampa…when they won the cup in 03-04.

So yeah, I’d agree with your assessment on faded memory.
 
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TheDawnOfANewTage said:
Edit- dammit, you make a strong case. Still an awful hire, I’m out, but Tage is love. He shall wrap you in his embrace, I just hope it’s enough to shield from the suck of modern Ruff.
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Good for you. You’re a Stars fan now. They have a game tonight. Kind of weird you be in a Buffalo Sabres thread when your team is chasing the Cup. I’m sure the Stars success will mean a lot to you.

Bye.
 
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KeydGV21 said:
Andreychuk played 74 games here in 2000-2001…played the next two seasons in Tampa…when they won the cup in 03-04.

So yeah, I’d agree with your assessment on faded memory.
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Benched, as in, sat on the bench. Not scratched. Back then teams didn't roll 4 lines. They rolled 3. Some teams rolled two lines in the 3rd period. The 4th line got spot duty. Sometimes only a couple minutes per game. Check his ice time. And Andrechuk went directly from benched by Ruff to Captain of another team that won a cup. He was a Stanley cup winning Captain.
 
5 Minute Major said:
Good for you. You’re a Stars fan now. They have a game tonight. Kind of weird you be in a Buffalo Sabres thread when your team is chasing the Cup. I’m sure the Stars success will mean a lot to you.

Bye.
Click to expand...

There’s only one team that’d hire Ruff as their head coach at this point. They’d do it for one reason only- he’s a name, and he’s cheap. Nothing he has actually done inspires confidence.

You know it’s true. You know it’s not going anywhere. Sorry I’m off the ride, but I was tired of this dude in the 2000s. And now it’s the future. Sure. Cannot wait to reach the dysfunction levels of the devils, they’ve won so much and really lost a hell of a coach.
 
KeydGV21 said:
Andreychuk played 74 games here in 2000-2001…played the next two seasons in Tampa…when they won the cup in 03-04.

So yeah, I’d agree with your assessment on faded memory.
Click to expand...
www.hockey-reference.com

2000-01 Buffalo Sabres Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts | Hockey-Reference.com

Check out the latest Buffalo Sabres Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts and more on Hockey-Reference.com
www.hockey-reference.com www.hockey-reference.com
You can sort by TOI. He was 2nd last among full time forwards, ahead of only Rob Ray.
 
TheDawnOfANewTage said:
There’s only one team that’d hire Ruff as their head coach at this point. They’d do it for one reason only- he’s a name, and he’s cheap. Nothing he has actually done inspires confidence.

You know it’s true. You know it’s not going anywhere. Sorry I’m off the ride, but I was tired of this dude in the 2000s. And now it’s the future. Sure. Cannot wait to reach the dysfunction levels of the devils, they’ve won so much and really lost a hell of a coach.
Click to expand...
110 point team the year before this one. See ya.
 
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MOGlLNY said:
How the f*** can you possibly post with sincerity that UPL wasn’t a good goalie this year lmao. He’s gonna get Vezina vote
Click to expand...
I said he was young and inconsistent and got lit up in the do or die games that they would have needed to win to make the playoffs. Then I said that it's completely predictable for young goalies to be inconsistent and not be up to the big moments. Then I said that's why good teams don't pin their playoff hopes on young goalies.
 
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