Boudreau fired/hired

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Add two more coaches to Lindy's longevity belt.

 

10 coaches who have won the Cup since Lindy was hired had been hired after Ruff was hired.

 

7 of those coaches had been FIRED from a previous job, then went on to win the Cup with a different team....all during Ruff's tenure.

 

5 coaches were FIRED AFTER winning the Cup since Ruff was hired.

 

Then there was Scotty Bowman.

 

 

But WHO WOULD YOU EVER BRING IN HERE TO REPLACE RUFF?

[nfreeman]

10 coaches who have won the Cup since Lindy was hired had been hired after Ruff was hired.

 

7 of those coaches had been FIRED from a previous job, then went on to win the Cup with a different team....all during Ruff's tenure.

 

5 coaches were FIRED AFTER winning the Cup since Ruff was hired.

 

Then there was Scotty Bowman.

 

 

But WHO WOULD YOU EVER BRING IN HERE TO REPLACE RUFF?

So...you look at this roster, or last year's, or any Sabres roster since 2006, and think "Cup winner if only Lindy wasn't holding them back?"

[X. Benedict]

Bruce Boudreau replaced by Dale Hunter in Washington. Hunter was coaching OHL London.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/7289699/washington-capitals-replace-bruce-boudreau-ohl-coach-dale-hunter

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=381460

 

The players fired Boudreau.

[wjag]

The players fired Boudreau.

 

That sounds about right... It will be interesting to see if they play better for a new coach.

[K-9]

Is Hunter the kind of coach that will let them revert to their free-wheeling, defensive zone ignoring, Euro style of hockey? If so, I see the Caps resurgence all the way to the playoffs where they'll crash and burn because they can't play playoff hockey.

 

I don't see Hunter as that kind of coach. As such, I don't see the bloom on the lily for very long. I could see them trading Semin and perhaps somebody else to make a point, but as talented as they are, if they don't buy in, it won't matter much.

 

GO SABRES!!!

[X. Benedict]

That sounds about right... It will be interesting to see if they play better for a new coach.

Hard to know. Boudreau came in with a reputation as a players coach. He basically let the talent just play for his first two years after replacing Glen Hanlon. He had success with talent but no team discipline.

 

Last year Boudreau decided to coach - and tried to bring in a defense first system. The team seemed to buy in, but struggled to beat traps. Basically boring and disciplined.

 

This year they don't have the offense or the defense or discipline.

 

I guess benching your best Russian get you fired. Ask Paul MacLean in NJ.

[deluca67]

So...you look at this roster, or last year's, or any Sabres roster since 2006, and think "Cup winner if only Lindy wasn't holding them back?"

I never thought that. I also never thought "Lindy really gets the best out of his players."

[james duncan]

Neither Ovechkin nor Semin have done anything to dispell the Don Cherry soft Euro theory. Pretty shameful display of late by both. Say what you want, but I can't recall ever seeing Lindy's stars quit on him.

[shrader]

I'd love to see Hunter bring back some of his old thuggery on his new team. Those guys need to be smacked around a bit.

[X. Benedict]

I'd love to see Hunter bring back some of his old thuggery on his new team. Those guys need to be smacked around a bit.

I still get angry even thinking about Hunter.

[Eleven]

I'd love to see Hunter bring back some of his old thuggery on his new team. Those guys need to be smacked around a bit.

 

And the Sabres are just the team to do it! Oh, wait...

[Taro T]

Neither Ovechkin nor Semin have done anything to dispell the Don Cherry soft Euro theory. Pretty shameful display of late by both. Say what you want, but I can't recall ever seeing Lindy's stars quit on him.

Cough, cough, Gilmour, cough, cough.

 

 

I still get angry even thinking about Hunter.

One of my all time least favorite players. Couldn't stand him.

[FogBat]

I'd love to see Hunter bring back some of his old thuggery on his new team. Those guys need to be smacked around a bit.

And ours don't?

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Cough, cough, Gilmour, cough, cough.

 

 

Right, probably the best combo of grit and talent on this team since Gare and a guy who made a Hall of Fame career by playing off instinct and KNOWING where to go...not needing to be told where to go.

 

Sure, he was on the decline, but Ruff telling Gilmour how to play hockey is like the winner of a 20,000 claiming race at Laurel Park telling Animal Kingdom how to run.

 

People think I pull Ruff needing control over his players out of thin air.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

So...you look at this roster, or last year's, or any Sabres roster since 2006, and think "Cup winner if only Lindy wasn't holding them back?"

 

No. I think Darcy purchases the groceries and Ruff cooks them.

 

When Lindy gets some meat, he grills it well done.

 

A great coach knows you need to go medium-rare.

 

Given the defensemen he dressed for the first 17 games and the captains he named.....Lindy seems quite comfortable serving gluten-free pasta and egg-white omelets to us all.

 

Lindy would make a great head of development for the Canadian Juniors team. There is a place for him to max his talents. I don't think NHL coach is it.

[SwampD]

Cough, cough, Gilmour, cough, cough.

 

Right, probably the best combo of grit and talent on this team since Gare and a guy who made a Hall of Fame career by playing off instinct and KNOWING where to go...not needing to be told where to go.

 

Sure, he was on the decline, but Ruff telling Gilmour how to play hockey is like the winner of a 20,000 claiming race at Laurel Park telling Animal Kingdom how to run.

 

People think I pull Ruff needing control over his players out of thin air.

Don't they just remove stars from Ruff's teams?

[X. Benedict]

Right, probably the best combo of grit and talent on this team since Gare and a guy who made a Hall of Fame career by playing off instinct and KNOWING where to go...not needing to be told where to go.

 

Sure, he was on the decline, but Ruff telling Gilmour how to play hockey is like the winner of a 20,000 claiming race at Laurel Park telling Animal Kingdom how to run.

 

Recognizing Gilmour coudnt cover the middle is all it was IMO.

And Ruff was right. What was Gilmour then late 30's. It showed.

[james duncan]

Cough, cough, Gilmour, cough, cough.

 

One of my all time least favorite players. Couldn't stand him.

 

You mean the 37 year old "throw-in" in the Dumont trade who had scored ten goals in his Sabre career? I'll admit it was rocky at the end, but that is a huge reach in my book. And I don't recall him tanking it on the ice.

[Marvelo]

I still get angry even thinking about Hunter.

 

That hit on Turgeon (even though he was on the Islanders at the time) I thought deserved a very harsh penalty. Not sure what the penalty was but it couldn't be strict enough. Check the response here...no shrinking violets on the Islanders. Even Hogue got into it.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xte-Vtxg-m8

[Taro T]

You mean the 37 year old "throw-in" in the Dumont trade who had scored ten goals in his Sabre career? I'll admit it was rocky at the end, but that is a huge reach in my book. And I don't recall him tanking it on the ice.

Maybe he just completely ran out of gas by the time they hit OT in game 7, but it sure looked like he was mailing it in.

 

That 'throw-in' pretty much singlehandedly got the Sabres into the playoffs in 2000 when he scored 17 points in only 11 games after getting picked up at the deadline.

[nfreeman]

No. I think Darcy purchases the groceries and Ruff cooks them.

 

When Lindy gets some meat, he grills it well done.

 

A great coach knows you need to go medium-rare.

 

Given the defensemen he dressed for the first 17 games and the captains he named.....Lindy seems quite comfortable serving gluten-free pasta and egg-white omelets to us all.

 

Lindy would make a great head of development for the Canadian Juniors team. There is a place for him to max his talents. I don't think NHL coach is it.

Well, of the coaches who've won Cups since the lockout, I don't think Babcock, Julien, Quenneville or Laviolette would qualify as "medium rare" guys. Those are guys who grill their steak the way they like it, not the way the players like it.

 

Perhaps a great coach is one who gets chuck steak from his shopper but is still able to make it taste like sirloin. Maybe it's not fair to expect him to get it all the way to ribeye.

[james duncan]

Maybe he just completely ran out of gas by the time they hit OT in game 7, but it sure looked like he was mailing it in.

 

That 'throw-in' pretty much singlehandedly got the Sabres into the playoffs in 2000 when he scored 17 points in only 11 games after getting picked up at the deadline.

The throw-in reference was made tongue-in-cheek since it was widely thought Dumont was the throw in in the deal.

The fact that you have to go back over a decade to find the single possibility of a player quiting on Ruff speaks pretty well for him I'd say.

[LabattBlue]

The throw-in reference was made tongue-in-cheek since it was widely thought Dumont was the throw in in the deal.

The fact that you have to go back over a decade to find the single possibility of a player quiting on Ruff speaks pretty well for him I'd say.

I wouldn't say that players are quitting on Ruff(like Ovi did to Boudreau), but I do look at inconsistent play(1 good game, 5 so-so games without any repercussions) when I say that players may be tuning him out.

[james duncan]

I wouldn't say that players are quitting on Ruff(like Ovi did to Boudreau), but I do look at inconsistent play(1 good game, 5 so-so games without any repercussions) when I say that players may be tuning him out.

The inconsistency is mind-boggling, no question. I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt to a bunch of new players trying to get acclimated. I am interested to see how this team is playing in January and February. I also cannot imagine no trades being made by the deadline date for a host of reasons. Should be a fun and interesting ride.

[X. Benedict]

Ruff has never been afraid to bench or limit ice time.

Players all want more ice time.

 

Sure there are times when it doesn't look right, but often it is the result of the extra pass or a bad decision on the ice. Trying the wrong thing - not not trying.