Who will be the next Head Coach of the Buffalo Sabres?

[SDS]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

There is no perfect candidate. Any name brought up can easily be torn down by someone who doesn’t care for them.

Gallant: doesn’t play a structured system. Rangers players asked for a change to a more structured coach. Known as a players coach

Berube: only win a Cup because Bennington stood on his head.

Boudreau: not a hard ass, flames out in the playoffs

Woodcroft: couldn’t get his team to buy in defensively, Knoblouch took over and did

McLellan: has flamed out numerous places. Turned down an opportunity here

Quenneville: not allowed to coach by the league for. obvious reasons

Lindy: NJ was only good because of another coach

Babcock: Yikes

etc etc

going just by Adams words you would think Lindy and Berube would be the coaches of interest.

another name of interest to me is Guy Boucher who has done a great job on the bench with the Leafs, especially the PP.

Everyone today would take Rick Tocchet in a heartbeat. But look at his coaching record before this season. Only made the playoffs once and was ousted in the first round.

It is almost as if the players on the ice is the most important thing in hockey.

[Ross Rhea]

IMO there is no way it's going to be Ruff. Adams is lucky he wasn't also shown the door with Granato and his crew. Ruff isn't the answer anymore and there are much better options currently. Ruff is nothing but nostelgia wants if he were selected, and I can't see Adams hitching his wagon to that when superior options are out there, that would be a piss poor decision on Adams behalf, he's got to do better than Ruff, has to.

[dudacek]

2 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

All this and the fact his goaltenders could not stop a beach ball 

 

I would add Mike Sullivan onto the list of possibilities if he gets fired. 
 

Has a relationship with Jason Karmanos and Sam Ventura.  His 3 year contract extension starts next season with a 5.5 million dollar AAV. The Sabres and Penguins could split that 50/50 while the Sabres give him a 3 year deal.

Good call. He's not available today, but he could be very soon.

 

1 minute ago, WhenWillItEnd66 said:

Because here in the NJ market, it has been said that the winning system was Brunette's system. As you see, he took it to the Preds and it is working wonders.

Let me get this straight: Lindy Ruff was a hands-off figurehead leader content to run his assistant's system?

Not the Lindy I remember.

[SDS]

22 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Just read Fariburn's rundown of the candidates and walked away almost certain it's going to be Lindy.

Adams had a plan in place and 4 watchwords: experienced, structured, accountable, immediately available.

Of the candidates he listed: Woodcraft and Evason aren't that experienced, Boudreau and Gallant aren't that structured, Brind'Amour and Quenville (probably, for well-known reasons) aren't immediately available.

That leaves Ruff and Berube.

I don't know of any connection between Kevyn and Berube, or anything to feed the sense that he's a target Kevyn feels he can speak about with the kind of directness and certainty that Kevyn used yesterday.

Lindy, on the other hand, is someone he knows well and has worked together with.

Lindy is also someone who can not only fire up the players, he can fire up a moribund fan base.

He's also won with youngsters and plays the uptempo style Adams prefers.

What has Kevyn preached from day one? Passion for the jersey and for the city, people who want to be here and to win for the people of Buffalo.

Nobody epitomizes the Adams checklist like Lindy Ruff, it's not even close.

It's coming.

I hate you with every bone in my body for this.

[Flashsabre]

2 hours ago, RochesterExpat said:

The failure to promote Peca internally is one of the biggest “little” failures of this organization recently.

For what it’s worth, Gallant was my choice for coach when DG was hired as the full-time HC. He is still my choice today. I’m not against Lindy and I don’t see Rod “the Bod” Brind-mi-amor as available.

Gallant and Peca behind the bench would be my dream scenario. Gallant gets his run and then the reigns get passed to Peca eventually once Gallant leaves.

The Peca situation is a head scratcher. You mean you really needed Ellis on the bench that badly? Christie was a Granato guy but Ellis should have been shuffled elsewhere.

[Ross Rhea]

Just now, Flashsabre said:

The Peca situation is a head scratcher. You mean you really needed Ellis on the bench that badly? Christie was a Granato guy but Ellis should have been shuffled elsewhere.

How tight are Peca and Ellis?

 

Maybe Adams has already talked to and selected his guy and that guy wanted to keep Ellis.

[...]

1 minute ago, Flashsabre said:

The Peca situation is a head scratcher. You mean you really needed Ellis on the bench that badly? Christie was a Granato guy but Ellis should have been shuffled elsewhere.

At least we now know who it is holding the pictures.

[WhenWillItEnd66]

8 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Good call. He's not available today, but he could be very soon.

 

Let me get this straight: Lindy Ruff was a hands-off figurehead leader content to run his assistant's system?

Not the Lindy I remember.

Thats is what the talking heads in market are saying... Truth? Who knows...

[...]

12 minutes ago, SDS said:

I hate you with every bone in my body for this.

Let's add to the calculus:

Perhaps the only way Pegula would sign-off on dumping Meatballs and paying off the contract is if Adams hired Ruff back.

[HumanSlinky39]

My take on the names out there...

Lindy - Would be great for nostalgia, but I'm not sure he's the guy to take this team where we all want it to go. My biggest concerns are that in the last 8 seasons he's coached, his teams missed the playoffs 5 times. Then there's the Devils totally falling off a cliff this season after Brunette left. He also hasn't advanced past the 2nd round of the playoffs since 2007.

Gallant - He's great at the quick turnaround. He took an awful Florida franchise to the brink of the playoffs in year one then made it year two (Florida was a black hole before him). He took VGK to the Cup Finals as an expansion team. Took the Rags to the Conference Finals in year one. Downside is he has never lasted long anywhere. I think for quick results, he's the guy. Just might want to have a good succession plan in place because chances are he isn't here more than 2-3 years.

Berube - Stanley Cup pedigree and a strong reputation for structure and accountability, something we sorely lack right now. Their Cup run in 2019 was a thing of beauty and wasn't solely because of Binnington as some say. He flamed out there because the roster crumbled around him. I think he could spark a fast turnaround.

Brind'Amour - Would love to have him, but he's literally not available right now and Adams' timeline desires seem to take him out of consideration even if he were to become available.

Evason - Another guy who I think is a solid coach who could win here, but his playoff record is DREADFUL.

Boudreau - If the goals is simply "Playoffs!", he's a good choice. If you want to actually win a round, nope. Age is a concern here, as well.

McLellan - I don't see his defensive-minded system as a good fit here at all.

Quenneville - For strictly hockey reasons, he's at the top of the list. All the baggage is a non-starter.

Woodcroft - Not as experienced as some others, but he took over a broken Oilers team in 2022, totally turned them around then ran to the conference finals. Won three playoff rounds in two years in EDM, losing to the eventual champ both years. Prior to an ill-advised philosophical change in EDM this season, he ran a strong 200-ft system that I think would excel here. I consider EDM my second favorite team and follow them closely, Woodcroft is a good coach, just made an awful mistake early this season that cost him. Wouldn't be one of my top couple of choices, but honestly wouldn't hate this at all.

Babcock - LOL

Appert - Adams' comments yesterday seem to take him out of consideration.

Edited April 17 by HumanSlinky39

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Why does everyone point to Brunette as the main reason for the rise and fall of the Devils?

Didn’t exchanging 3 veteran defencemen (Hamilton, Graves, Severson) for 3 rookies (Hughes, Nemec Bahl) in their starting 6 play a huge role?

I mean, those are talented kids but we know 1st-hand about having too many young D. The vets were +66, the kids -31.

 

Agree. And as I mentioned in a different post, having a choice of goalies including Schmid, Allen, Vanecek, and Daws.  All 4 of them with a save percentage below .900 and GAA above 3.00 this year.

Oh, and your top D-man and your top 3 forwards all missing significant time with injuries this  year. 

Everyone wants to say he's bad because the team did bad this year without Brunette. To me...No Brunette on one hand...or the other hand being your top D-man missing almost the entire year, Jack Hughes missing 20 games, and Timo Meier and Hischier missing time also, PLUS no decent goatending.  

Edited April 17 by mjd1001

[rickshaw]

Not Ruff, please not Ruff.

Imagine how bad the PR will be when he isn’t the answer and they have to move on from him a year or two later.

It’s Berube or Gallant.

[OverPowerYou]

Seems like Sabres land is split 50/50 on Ruff. I would be for it as long as it means we don’t have a rookie coach or someone with inexperience 

Edited April 17 by OverPowerYou

[pi2000]

I vote NO on Ruff.

My short list...

• Berube
• Todd Nelson
• Karl Taylor
• D. Sutter
• Vigneault
• McLellan

[Buffalonill]

3 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

I vote NO on Ruff.

My short list...

• Berube
• Todd Nelson
• Karl Taylor
• D. Sutter
• Vigneault
• McLellan

Please god no 

 

[#freejame]

I really don’t think Lindy was ever a great coach. I understand he won a Jack Adams, but at no point in time, in my memory at least, was he considered a top-5 coach in any respect. I also don’t think he ever elevated a roster. He’s arguably coming in to equalish talent to his last playoff team here. I don’t think he was good enough in those years, and I don’t think he will be now.

I get it. We all love Lindy. But can we not admit that his win total comes from the fact he coached an organization that was under incredible turmoil and then a penny pincher. He was here because nobody wanted more. It’s long been a problem with the organization. 

I know I’ll take a lot of heat for this but this board incredible overrates Ruff. 

[zow2]

No to Ruff.  You don't go backwards,  forge ahead with someone from outside the organization.

[Buffalonill]

1 minute ago, #freejame said:

I really don’t think Lindy was ever a great coach. I understand he won a Jack Adams, but at no point in time, in my memory at least, was he considered a top-5 coach in any respect. I also don’t think he ever elevated a roster. He’s arguably coming in to equalish talent to his last playoff team here. I don’t think he was good enough in those years, and I don’t think he will be now.

I get it. We all love Lindy. But can we not admit that his win total comes from the fact he coached an organization that was under incredible turmoil and then a penny pincher. He was here because nobody wanted more. It’s long been a problem with the organization. 

I know I’ll take a lot of heat for this but this board incredible overrates Ruff. 

How can you say he's not a good coach when the owner wouldn't give him any help financially.

I would like to see how many other coaches would have the success he had with extreme budgets

[Flashsabre]

12 minutes ago, #freejame said:

I really don’t think Lindy was ever a great coach. I understand he won a Jack Adams, but at no point in time, in my memory at least, was he considered a top-5 coach in any respect. I also don’t think he ever elevated a roster. He’s arguably coming in to equalish talent to his last playoff team here. I don’t think he was good enough in those years, and I don’t think he will be now.

I get it. We all love Lindy. But can we not admit that his win total comes from the fact he coached an organization that was under incredible turmoil and then a penny pincher. He was here because nobody wanted more. It’s long been a problem with the organization. 

I know I’ll take a lot of heat for this but this board incredible overrates Ruff. 

I don’t even know where to begin. He took rosters that should have been nowhere near contenders and went to ECFs and a Stanley Cup Final.

He could adapt to the roster he had. He was a tremendous coach. 
 

I don’t think he is the answer now

[LTS]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

Why does everyone point to Brunette as the main reason for the rise and fall of the Devils?

Didn’t exchanging 3 veteran defencemen (Hamilton, Graves, Severson) for 3 rookies (Hughes, Nemec Bahl) in their starting 6 play a huge role?

I mean, those are talented kids but we know 1st-hand about having too many young D. The vets were +66, the kids -31.

 

Devils fans chant "Fire Lindy" - November 13, 2022
Sabres fans change "Fire Donnie" - December 23, 2023

Why do I bring this up?  Everyone keeps looking at only last year to this year for Ruff.  But people seem to ignore that the Devils sucked the year before their great year last year. 

Lindy Ruff - year over year with NJ

2020-2021 - 19-30-7
2021-2022 - 27-46-9
2022-2023 - 55-22-8
2023-2024 - 30-27-4

He had ONE good year. There's nothing here that says he's going to perform better with the Sabres.  Do the Sabres have Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Graves, Damon Severson?  Nope.  So if Ruff's success is because of the players then why do you expect he'll have success with this roster?

Brunette took over in Florida and had a 51-18-6 record.  Florida last year?  42-32-8.  Nashville this year 47-30-5.  The man coaches winning teams.

When Brunette came to NJD he ran the power play, that improved from 28th the year before to 13th.  That NJD last year also boasts the largest single season turnaround in NHL history.  It's not all Brunette, but it's also an outlier at this point. 

There's just not much to give Ruff all the credit here.  And if people point to the roster for the reasons of his success then you have to account the Sabres roster and ask if that roster will give him success.. because either he's a coach that wins because of the roster or he's a coach that can make the roster win.

The difference is important.

[LabattBlue]

I don’t want him as HC, but IMO Ruff is going to be hired.  Pegula and Adams know the fanbase is fed up, and Ruff is a name that most would get behind(and hopefully renew their season tix).  
 

Biggest problem regardless of who is hired, I am still not sold that Adams is capable of putting together a roster that can not only make it to the playoffs, but win in the playoffs. 
 

 

[Brawndo]

2 hours ago, SDS said:

I hate you with every bone in my body for this.

I’m already picturing the Home Opener with the team wearing the goatheads coming out to a new video montage with Better Days playing in the background 

[Weave]

18 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

I’m already picturing the Home Opener with the team wearing the goatheads coming out to a new video montage with Better Days playing in the background 

[#freejame]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

I don’t even know where to begin. He took rosters that should have been nowhere near contenders and went to ECFs and a Stanley Cup Final.

He could adapt to the roster he had. He was a tremendous coach. 
 

I don’t think he is the answer now

What? He had Dominik Hasek. Ted Nolan had success with Hasek, is he a good coach?

What group of players do you think he got more out of than another coach could have? Was his Hasek teams markedly better than Nolan’s? 

 

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

How can you say he's not a good coach when the owner wouldn't give him any help financially.

I would like to see how many other coaches would have the success he had with extreme budgets

I didn’t say he wasn’t a good coach, I said at no point was he considered a top 5 coach in the league. Maybe I’m mistaken, but I don’t really think that’s a debate. Give me the belle of the ball. 

Your main point cuts both ways. Lindy was able to stick around as long as he did because of the penny pinching. His win number is inflated because of that and then people point to his win total and say SEE! I also don’t remember him being in any particular demand after he was fired. His perception in Buffalo is outsized compared to the rest of the hockey world. 

The last point, I don’t really see it being applicable. Lindy didn’t do anything special on a shoestring budget. Hasek is Hasek. He had success with Drury and Briere. So you have ‘98 loss to the Caps, ‘99 loss to the Stars, ‘06 loss to the Canes, and ‘07 loss to the Sens. There’s our successful (HA) seasons since 1998. Many coaches could have gotten those same results.

Lindy would get more out the team than DG did. There are coaches available who can get more from this team than Lindy. Give me them. 

Edited April 17 by #freejame

[CallawaySabres]

There is that accountable piece...in case this was not posted yet.

Mike Harrington

@ByMHarrington

Alex Tuch super enthused when I brought up Lindy and Gerard Gallant (“Turky”) as Granato replacements. Joked he’s seen more #Sabres games coached by Ruff than he’s played in. Loved how Gallant held him accountable during his #VGK career.