Ruff?

[deluca67]

I know Ruff gets beat about the head a lot on these boards.

 

Some friends and I were discussing Ruff during the game last night. And the point came up in how do you evaluate a good coach? Is it simply wins and losses? Is it consistency in play? Do you need steady improvement? We hit it from every angle.

 

Here's my thoughts. Ruff IS a good coach. He's not very good or great. Just good. The reason I say this is because this team has too many prolonged losing streaks. They are just as likely to lose 4 of 5 after winning 4 of 5. That IMO tells me that he has a hard time keeping this team on an even keel. After a bad lose they seem to dwell and it snowballs. I don't like the nights taken off by this team. They don't have to win every game but they need to show up. There are very few teams that can skate with the Sabres. When they don't skate they lose. Ruff needs to get it into the players heads that skating equals wins.

 

Just my opinion. :)

[Kristian]

Well, a few things I never liked about Ruff are :

 

1. His ability to motivate. This team has a history of taking nights off. Ruff's responsibility to have them show up.

 

2. Working with youngsters. I think the only player to ever develop into anything under Ruff, so far, is Kalinin and he's not excactly an all-star.

 

3. Working with veterans. Doug Gilmour on the wing, 'nuff said.

 

4. Plays mindgames with goalies.

 

5. His infamous doghouse, and how he calls some players out in public, yet others could score a hattrick in their own end and you'd never hear anything about it.

[Sabresince70]

I have said in each post that I mentioned Ruff that I think he is a good coach, but that he has run his course in Buffalo. You can't help but begin to form loyalties over a period of time (it may have been this trait that made him a captain when he played) and even if it is subconscious the "favoritism" comes through. Scotty never seemed to get to that point that I can remember - I really don't remember his days in St. Louis so....

 

If Lindy is that loyal and wants to stay with Buffalo after coaching I am sure there would be a position for him somewhere. I just think there are times to change and turning over all 23 is not an option.

 

Oh - and I don't think he handles the goalies well. A lot of that may be that for his first few years there was no thinking involved in it and , most likely, in his days of coaching before this level he didn't have 2 (or 3) goalies of nearly the same talent to decide on. I'm not sure who could manage 3 goalies well - that's why most teams don't have that situation.