Sabres hire Lindy Ruff

[rataylor22]

Buffalo Sabres @BuffaloSabres

A DONE DEAL ⚔️

We have hired Lindy Ruff as our head coach!

http://bufsabres.co/3w6gHTA | #LetsGoBuffalo

I think this is a bad move FWIW. Sabres already did the "all offense coach for young players" thing with Granato. Eventually you need to take the next step, not the same steps in different shoes.

Also. This could be great for guys like Benson, Quinn, Peterka, Savoie, etc. or it could be awful for them, and it will likely be a case by case basis with zero predictability.

[dejeanneret]

Hmm. Guess they're hoping Ruff can rekindle what he did with the Sabres in the late 90s and early 2000s. Hard to believe he was the coach the last time the club made the playoffs. But alas, here we are.

[blayze]

So ****ing laughable… this guy is a dinosaur

NHL always light years behind in their thinking. They’re going to be recycling these guys till they’re all in wheelchairs.

[pmorrow]

At least they conducted a thorough search

[finnys_fanatsy]

Unreal. Rinse repeat.

[butch]

I thought Berube could have been a contender

[hockeyrobot]

Wow. Surprised by this one.

[Bubba55]

It's Deja Vu all over again and again and again.............................

[RizzeeDizzee]

Number of players on the current Sabres roster who were alive when Ruff was first named Sabres coach on July 21, 1997 = eight. Number who weren't alive = 15. Yikes.....

[Princeton]

Not an exciting move if your a Sabres fan.

[2014olympicgold]

Weird choice doing this now when you have a few coaches in the playoffs right now that will be fired if they lose too soon.

However, it might be they know they aren't a desired destination and the pay they know they are offering isn't enough, so they just jumped at a name that is recognizable and is willing to sign with them.

[rataylor22]

Weird choice doing this now when you have a few coaches in the playoffs right now that will be fired if they lose too soon.

However, it might be they know they aren't a desired destination and the pay they know they are offering isn't enough, so they just jumped at a name that is recognizable and is willing to sign with them.

If they were going to cheap out I would still rather do it on an unknown than a guy we already know doesn't have it.

[2014olympicgold]

If they were going to cheap out I would still rather do it on an unknown than a guy we already know doesn't have it.

There's a reason why the Sabres are where they are constantly lol.

Funny enough Ruff was the last head coach to coach the Sabres in the playoffs (2010-11) which was the year the Pegula's bought the team.

[dejeanneret]

So the more I think about this, the better I like it.

The thing is, whatever they've been doing since Ruff was with the team a decade+ ago hasn't worked. They've made changes; probably too many. They've chased higher profile coaches (e.g., Babcock, which everyone lauded Toronto for winning at the time and we see where that got them). They brought in Cup winners (e.g., Bylsma). They brought in lesser known or more unconventional hires (e.g., Granato, Krueger). They brought in a legendary former player, and once hyped up and comer in the coaching ranks (e.g., Housley). None of it worked.

I don't understand the conclusion that Ruff "doesn't have it." Does that mean, he hasn't won a Cup? A lot of coaches -- most, in fact -- haven't. Anecdotal for sure, but I found this to be interesting.

Stanley Cup winning coaches from 2000-2022:

cup-winning-coaches-since-2000.png

https://novacapsfans.com/2023/03/08/...ning-pedigree/

And in 2023, we can add Bruce Cassidy to the first timers list too.

Regardless, the fact is what the Sabres need most ... like now ... critical for next season ... is regular season success and a playoff birth. Ruff has had that consistently wherever he's been (and some post-season success too with the Sabres). He's been saddled with subpar goaltending for stretches in New Jersey, and in his time with Dallas.

So while it may seem foolish to many that regular season success is the primary objective right now, for the Sabres it is. The playoff drought is 13 years and counting. That's where the organization is right now. I'd say Ruff has just a good a shot at getting them over that hump as anyone. Sure, it's possible that Berube or someone else could get better results. But it's also possible they wouldn't. We'll never know. So the organization going out and getting a guy they think can help make them a playoff team rather than hoping they win the dog and pony show with whomever the franchise saving coach du jour is (and scrambling to find a suitable person if they don't) doesn't disappoint me.

[rataylor22]

I don't understand the conclusion that Ruff "doesn't have it."

The conclusion is simple.

In Dallas, over 328 games, Lindy Ruff had a 56.6 points percentage and won 2 more games than he lost. Good for 92.8 points in an 82 game season and distinctly not a playoff team.
In New Jersey, over 281 games, Lindy Ruff had a 50.5 points percentage and lost 25 more games than he won. Good for 82.9 points in an game season and distinctly not a playoff team.

Over his last 609 (!!) games, Lindy Ruff has a 53.8 points percentage and has lost 23 (!!) more games than he was won. Good for 88.2 points in an 82 game season and....distinctly not a playoff team.

Over 600+ games, any excuse you make is simply that, an excuse, and at best, wishcasting. Lindy Ruff is bad at player development (outside of the few favorites he picks out), has terrible defensive systems and strategy, and routinely gets outcoached by his counterparts even when he does make the playoffs. The most likely conclusion as to why Ruff seems to be regularly saddled with bad goaltending is not the goaltending, but Ruff's coaching, and furthermore lets not pretend like Buffalo has some Vezina winner in net.

Lindy Ruff demonstrably, inarguably, does not have it. Anything he might have had over a decade ago in Buffalo has long since passed him by.