Ted Black on WGR this morning...

[TheChimp]

I have to agree. But I do believe Lindy has been and can be a good coach again. Just not with these players. They've been together for too long. He's had this core plus a handful of the others long enough to watch them grow up. His message is stale and he's run out of answers for what ails them. Time to move on. Same goes for Regier. How many more kicks at the can does this guy get?

I love Lindy Ruff. I don't care how my rants about his coaching have been interpreted by internet people, I truly will shed a tear if and when he leaves. But he simply doesn't have what it takes to deal with these primadonnas that have become the norn in today's professional sports, I just really believe that. Heck, I'd fail miserably if I even had a zillionth of Lindy's qualifications to be considered to begin with. I'm not saying this makes Lindy bad, just not cut out for today's atmosphere in the big leagues. OPINION. Remember this.

 

I think he MIGHT do well in the NHL, provided his GM is someone who gets players who for some miracle are not anything like 90% of the uber-talented athletes we see nowadays and are, again miraculously, humble and willing to be ground into dust by their coach in order to be reborn in his system's image.

 

I think Lindy would do well to grab himself a head coaching job in the AHL, where he can easily break this current 14-year tenure with ease, and can actually sleep at night. (after winning lots of trophies)

 

And I don't think Darcy is a weasel, just a scared, timid man who could walk into a casino with found money and still not place a single bet.

[deluca67]

Negativity bubble my ass.

 

If Lindy starts coaching another team I'm jumping ship. Yeah I said it.

 

With the right players he wins. Leino and Ehrhoff will be part of that. With TPegs it won't take 15 years to get the prize.

 

Sans DR.

By "right players" you mean a goaltender that stands on his head night after night stealing wins and points that the team didn't deserve? That is what the largest portion of Lindy's success is based on.

 

You are right about one thing, what ever happens over the next 5 1/2 seasons Lieno will be a part of it. Simply because there is no way in hell the Sabres are dumping that ridiculous contract.

[nfreeman]

I thought he sounded more urgent 3 weeks ago on Tux+Pux night when the season was supposedly "at a crossroads". Well....here we are 3 weeks to the day and nothing at all has changed other than the Sabres could be 1 point out of dead last by the end of the night.

 

I thought the urgency level was the same the other day as it was in the New Year's Eve interview. However, I thought there was going to be some action shortly after New Year's and obviously that didn't happen.

 

There are minute rumblings that Ruff could step down on his own. I could see Darcy salivating over that as he has shown to be a patient weasel of a survivor. It saves him from firing Ruff and it lets Pegula save face. For as much as I can rip into Ruff's coaching philosophy, I respect him as a man. He didn't sign that Golden Parachute last year as the team was ready to be sold.....Darcy did. I think Ruff is honorable enough and smart enough to know what the best play is right now. The All-Star break can provide cover for him, and may be the best way to get a great job in the process as everyone is together and the entire league would be able to use that week to bid up his services. Ruff can walk out looking honorable, smart, and rich.

 

 

Ruff needs to recharge a bit in my opinion.

 

I will have many fond memories of him over the years. He is a Sabre through and through. I respect him. He has had to deal with a lot of heavy personal things in his life over the years that are not easy. Maybe a little TO to appreciate what he is blessed with can recharge him like he was recharged coaching at the Olympics.

I won't quote your reckoning, GoDD, it's all above if people want to read it. I've heard Hamilton's various musings over the matter, and his observation this morning that Lindy didn't retire to an office or some other room after the interviews the other day, but instead walked down the hall and simply leaned against a wall.

 

I had forgotten about his refusal to sign a new contract prior to TPegs buying the team, while Darcy did. Your characterization of all of that is is very apt. I agree that Lindy is an honorable man, and that Darcy is, ultimately, a weasel. I also agree that it's likely Lindy will walk away long before Darcy would ever consider it, and not because Lindy is a quitter, but because he is honorable.

 

Your scenario is, I'm afraid, very likely. What bothers me about it is that Lindy should be a victim in all of this, and Darcy should be the target, not the other way around. Smart people will see that's the case, but I think the subtleties of the whole thing would be lost on a lot of people. Darcy should be the one who is fired outright. Lindy, well, I agree Lindy needs his batteries recharged. No one can go through a dark valley like this and come out feeling fresh.

Well said. I hope Lindy does as you suggest and simply walks away. This is killing him inside. Take a year off, recharge your batteries, and take your pick of the jobs available when you come back. He'll be making a living at hockey long after these wimps he has for players hang up their skates.

 

GO SABRES!!!

 

It pains me to say it, but Lindy does indeed look and sound like hell. This is definitely eating him up inside. He can coach my team as long as he wants, and I'd MUCH rather unload 5-6 guys from this team at the deadline and rebuild the roster, but it's certainly a reasonable position to say that it isn't working and he needs a break.

 

As for him being honorable but DR being a weasel -- I don't agree. When I listen to DR's interviews, I hear a good, honorable guy. Frankly this impression is one of the reasons I've been hesitant to call for his head. And let's be clear: none of us has any idea about the circumstances surrounding his contract extension. It's quite possible (and I would guess likely) that the contract was approved by TP before DR signed it -- I don't think TG had any desire whatsoever to risk the sale of the team by sticking TP with a GM he didn't want.

 

Negativity bubble my ass.

 

If Lindy starts coaching another team I'm jumping ship. Yeah I said it.

 

With the right players he wins. Leino and Ehrhoff will be part of that. With TPegs it won't take 15 years to get the prize.

 

Sans DR.

 

Just when I am starting to despair -- the young one brings me back from the brink!

 

Thank you.

 

There's no way in hell he didn't have a say in who his players were this year. He's been the coach since 1997. He has as much say in roster moves as Regier.

 

If he has a roster that he absolutely, positively cannot coach, he has himself to blame.

 

This is a little bit true, but well overstated IMHO. Having input is not the same as having the call on constructing the roster. And let's remember that most of the long-term, underperforming mediocrities on this team were put in place by decisions made by prior ownership.

[spndnchz]

 

This is a little bit true, but well overstated IMHO. Having input is not the same as having the call on constructing the roster. And let's remember that most of the long-term, underperforming mediocrities on this team were put in place by decisions made by prior ownership.

 

Good words.

 

Now we have this:

SGUMM's.