MarkAF43 Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 Missed the joke, huh Mark? :thumbsup: eh, i'm a little slow,what can i say? :ph34r:
Patty16 Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 right. Fire Ruff bc we got smoked by a team with better talent.....
Realist Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 right. Fire Ruff bc we got smoked by a team with better talent..... No, Ruff needs to be fired because he cannot get this team motivated to play hard for big games, they can't score for anything, and once again we are going to miss the playoffs. Ruff's time has run out here.
Stoner Posted March 11, 2009 Author Report Posted March 11, 2009 A reminder that I'm not talking about just Vanek's minutes last night. Look at the minutes the last two years. Ruff is not only shortchanging one of the most offensively gifted players in the league, he's trying to turn him into a mucker and grinder. Just like he took a roster of guys who scored goals in bunches and told them those days are over... goals will be hard to come by, and they have to be ugly. Terrible use of the talent he has. That's what good coaches do. Work with what they have. Lindy is so damn negative. Way worse than anyone on this board. I bet his players despise him by now.
Bmwolf21 Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 eh, i'm a little slow,what can i say? :ph34r: Tell me something I didn't know. ;)
Kristian Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 A reminder that I'm not talking about just Vanek's minutes last night. Look at the minutes the last two years. Ruff is not only shortchanging one of the most offensively gifted players in the league, he's trying to turn him into a mucker and grinder. Just like he took a roster of guys who scored goals in bunches and told them those days are over... goals will be hard to come by, and they have to be ugly. Terrible use of the talent he has. That's what good coaches do. Work with what they have. Lindy is so damn negative. Way worse than anyone on this board. I bet his players despise him by now. Well, if nothing else, it certainly appears they've quit on him. But that's how it looked for years before the lockout, you gotta wonder if 05-06 and 06-07 was a case of the players getting a year off? I dunno, I've said this before but I'm still not sure - Maybe the "New NHL" was the worst thing that could've happened to this team? It seems to have led a bunch of youngsters to believe they're way better than they actually are, it seems to have turned Lindy into an old grumpy man who pouts and holds grudges towards his players when things don't go his way, and it seems to have confirmed Darcy in his beliefs that smallish finesse forwards paired with a soft defense has a chance of succeeding in a league with an 82 game minimum schedule. Further, I think it's worth noting that to me, the loss last night doesn't sting in any way, cause it's not a team we're "supposed" to beat. I hate losing to the Cryers, but what REALLY gets me is how the #%^$#! they go an drop easy points down Ottawa's chimney every #%^$#!ING time we play them, and other bottom feeders!?? Those are the points that are causing us to miss the postseason. This, by any team struggling to make the postseason standards, should've been a 3-1 stretch. Instead it's a 2-2 stretch, with two L's straight, and no urgency whatsoever. However, every other team close to us in the standings seem quite capable of turning their game up a notch when called upon. Nice.
nfreeman Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 And you still missed the "of," in addition to the joke... Anyway, onto the Vanek situation: I'm not that upset that he's out of condition; he couldn't get proper nutrition for a while, and then, he couldn't skate for a while. He also came back just about as early into his workout period as he could have (or is that "could of" :)), so I'm willing to cut him some slack. (No, that doesn't mean he was rushed back. It means he came back asap, without conditioning first.) As for Ruff: He's been a great coach for this team for a long time. Put it this way: the iPod wasn't even a gleam in Steve Jobs's eye when Ruff became HC. During Ruff's tenure, we've seen three US presidents, the birth of eBay, four Sabres trips to the conference finals, evolution of fish to humans (sorry, Clobber!), a uniform change, a stock boom and a depression, countless new U2 albums, a new Canadian territory, Taro T's first and second trips to the moon, and just about everything else besides an amendment to the Constitution. Maybe the team is done listening to him. Perhaps it's time. (I mean for a coach, not a Constitutional amendment.) Or perhaps not. No coach I've seen during that time (is it an epoch?) has done more with less than Ruff has. Frankly, I haven't seen too many GMs work out four trips to the conference finals on Regier's budget, either. Last year sucked. This year isn't looking good. And the only two pieces of team hardware during the Ruff-Regier partnership are a Wales trophy and a Presidents' trophy (the latter of which, I think, is too easily discounted among hockey fans). But this year, unlike last, the Sabres have the Miller injury. (And last year, unlike this, the Sabres had to deal with the loss of on-ice leaders.) Given the track record of R&R (I'm hesitant to use that abbreviation, because it will fuel the cynics, but what the hell), and given that they're crippled by this ball-and-chain that we know as Larry Quinn, maybe we should give them one more season. It really isn't every coach or GM that gets a team--a small market team, at that--into the "final four" one-third of the time. We could do a lot, lot worse; ask fans of "big market" teams like Chicago, NY, NY, LA, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, etc., how many times they've been in the conference finals or even the SC finals, during the R&R period in Buffalo, and how they feel about it. (Yeah, I know the other side of that argument, involving teams from Detroit and New Jersey.) If it were up to me, I'd give Ruff and Regier another season (and I'd can Quinn). If for some reason Ruff were to go, well, there's a thread below this one, concerning a certain former Canadiens coach, that should give the Sabres a hint where to go next. Good post.
MarkAF43 Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 Tell me something I didn't know. ;) and if i could only manage to eat cake and not look like the picture of Hunter..... :blush:
Knightrider Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 I doubt it, but who's fault would that be? The guy that forced him to take his nourishment through a straw for a few weeks. Someone said at the time of his injury, that even when TV got back on the ice, he would be out of shape...
Bmwolf21 Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 and if i could only manage to eat cake and not look like the picture of Hunter..... :blush: I've seen that. It's not pretty.
apuszczalowski Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 A reminder that I'm not talking about just Vanek's minutes last night. Look at the minutes the last two years. Ruff is not only shortchanging one of the most offensively gifted players in the league, he's trying to turn him into a mucker and grinder. Just like he took a roster of guys who scored goals in bunches and told them those days are over... goals will be hard to come by, and they have to be ugly. Terrible use of the talent he has. That's what good coaches do. Work with what they have. Lindy is so damn negative. Way worse than anyone on this board. I bet his players despise him by now. Thue problem is the "Talent" that they have. Not even the best coach is going to get much more out of the guys that the Sabres have. The Sabres have always been inconsistent, especially when scoring goals, the onlydifference was there was a bit more talent on the roster that helped them get through those droughts quicker. Name me one coach thats available right now that can step in and make this current roster better?
Chief Enabler Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 wow Moore looked very mediocre tonight, not that he was ever a big named player but I think that everyone felt good about a move being made to "make a move". This team lacks testicular fortitude. It did seem like he was always out there, and had the puck. But, for 15:10, one shot and 8 draws won, 9 lost....mediocre is right! :thumbsup:
Barnabov Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 Why no mention of Miller's injury and the effect that has had on the poor play of late? Is the consensus that the games would have been lost even if he'd been playing?
jad1 Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 A reminder that I'm not talking about just Vanek's minutes last night. Look at the minutes the last two years. Ruff is not only shortchanging one of the most offensively gifted players in the league, he's trying to turn him into a mucker and grinder. Just like he took a roster of guys who scored goals in bunches and told them those days are over... goals will be hard to come by, and they have to be ugly. Terrible use of the talent he has. That's what good coaches do. Work with what they have. Lindy is so damn negative. Way worse than anyone on this board. I bet his players despise him by now. No doubt Vanek is the most talented player on the team. He's also the most expensive, and the Sabres are tied to him for 6 more years. He represents a huge investment for the team. Considering that, having Ruff turn him into a strong two-way player has immense long term benefits. I wouldn't say he's turning him into a mucker and a grinder, rather he's trying to avoid turning him into a floater, like Miro Satan. This is the mark of a good coach. Your statement about Ruff changing the style of play ignores the fact that the style that the Sabres played two years ago is easily countered by the trap. Trying up-the-middle passes against a 1-5 zone is not good coaching, it's suicide. It's a fact of today's game that teams need to win battles on the boards, cycle the puck low, and make smart plays out of their own zone. Things the talent on the current team is hesitant and unwilling to do. As for his players despising him, if it comes down to Ruff vs. his players, would you pick any player, outside of Miller or Vanek, on this team over Ruff? I'd rather package up a bunch of gutlless under-performers than send a quality coach out of town. The solution to this problem is to either bring in a true leader on the ice, a guy who will work the locker room to hold players accountable and reinforce the direction that the coaching staff is leading, or one of the young players on the roster has to grow a pair and become that leader. Until that happens, no coach will be able to take this team to the next level.
Stoner Posted March 11, 2009 Author Report Posted March 11, 2009 The guy that forced him to take his nourishment through a straw for a few weeks. Someone said at the time of his injury, that even when TV got back on the ice, he would be out of shape... Once again, and for the last time, the ice time issue is not anything new.
Grinder42 Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 Yeah, and Vanek rewarded him with no goals, 2 shots, and a -2. Vanek is not the same player he was before the injury, may not be healthy despite the jaw!
SwampD Posted March 12, 2009 Report Posted March 12, 2009 Once again, and for the last time, the ice time issue is not anything new. While I'm not averse to the idea of Ruff..."moving on"(sorry, it's just hard for me to say I want Lindy fired), I'm not sure Vanek's ice time should be the reason. While other guys are skating around the perimeter, Vanek is in a wrestling match in front of the net. I can speak from personal experience when I say that that is MUCH more exhausting than skating. So I would expect his ice time to be less than other forwards.
Stoner Posted March 12, 2009 Author Report Posted March 12, 2009 While I'm not averse to the idea of Ruff..."moving on"(sorry, it's just hard for me to say I want Lindy fired), I'm not sure Vanek's ice time should be the reason. While other guys are skating around the perimeter, Vanek is in a wrestling match in front of the net. I can speak from personal experience when I say that that is MUCH more exhausting than skating. So I would expect his ice time to be less than other forwards. When did you play in the NHL?
jimiVbaby Posted March 12, 2009 Report Posted March 12, 2009 Oh you... Ahem.. Where's Drew Stafford? He posts on here right?? :thumbsup: Too bad he wouldn't be a good guy to ask about this, except for that 2 week period in January. :death:
deluca67 Posted March 12, 2009 Report Posted March 12, 2009 Ahem.. Where's Drew Stafford? He posts on here right?? :thumbsup: Too bad he wouldn't be a good guy to ask about this, except for that 2 week period in January. :death: Didn't he go by the name of ToddKazz?
carpandean Posted March 12, 2009 Report Posted March 12, 2009 Ahem.. Where's Drew Stafford? He posts on here right?? :thumbsup: No, I ... er ... he doesn't. :unsure:
UncleWally Posted March 12, 2009 Report Posted March 12, 2009 I love the guy, but his head resembles a bag of nickels/
Eleven Posted March 13, 2009 Report Posted March 13, 2009 I love the guy, but his head resembles a bag of nickels/ I'll give you this much: no one on this site is more aptly named for this thread than you are.
Stoner Posted March 13, 2009 Author Report Posted March 13, 2009 Some interesting ice time numbers for Vanek. First 30 games: At least 18 minutes of ice time 19 times Last 29 games: 7 times First 30 games: 24 goals Last 29 games: 10 goals The turning point seems to have been a December game against NJ. I have to look into it further, but Vanek may have been benched for a good part of the third period.
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