Ruff and Regier to stay

[Miller Time]

Some in Buffalo do not agree with this. I happen to think its the right move all the way. Let Darcy finish building this team with his picks in June and use them in trading for a forward. When healthy they can beat anyone. Just look at the record when Myers and Erhoff are both healthy. I am delighted they will be back. Neither of our top defensemen would have been ready til round two so probably a blessing we did not get in. Washington sucks. I stand by that. And so does Boston right now. Ripe for the picking. The winner of the Flyers and Pens will be tough in the East. But the Rangers seem to have Philly's number? And so does Boston. I think Philly would beat Boston. I believe Rangers are more dangerous to them than Boston. Devils cant be counted out either. I still think St Louis or Vancouver will win it all. We will see.

[flyercanuck]

All I have to say is..."Hurray!"

[radoran]

Ruff isn't the problem. It's teams that allow themselves to start the coaching carousel and go with the idea that a new coach will change everything that one winds up like the Flyers in the late Clarke years. I get no sense that the players have tuned him out, which is impressive given the length of his tenure. To the contrary, they all seem to want to play for him (or they wind up elsewhere).

Both of them have the luck of the South Buffalo Irish - having lasted through, effectively, four ownership changes.

I've never particularly liked Regier's moves (trade deadline playoff push deal for... Raffi Torres!!), but he has been hampered by three of the worst owners in recent memory - Rigas, the NHL and Golisano (in that order). It wasn't Regier's decision to let Briere/Drury walk, it was "team policy" not to take advantage of the only benefit the new CBA gave - negotiating with your own players in the final years of their contracts.

With money and latitude, one hopes he can overcome overestimating players like Hecht, Leino, Connolly and Roy. Getting a 1 from Nashville for Gaustad was a good step in the right direction and if the defense he's got under contract plays healthy they can make Miller an even more potent backstop.

Some more depth up front will also hopefully allow Vanek to get more room and have to carry less weight.

[rbochan]

Ruff isn't the problem. ...

Really?

-Ruff doesn't seem to maximize the talent he has - rather he dumbs down the talent to make it fit the style he wants.

-Ruff changes the line-up every game, which means NO consistency.

-Ruff sucks at managing goalies.

-Ruff is a players coach and is too close to these players.

-Ruff plays favorites to the detriment of the team.

-Ruff misuses timeouts

-Ruff can't keep a line together to save his life.

I think it's reasonable to start seriously questioning why all this "talent" the Sabres supposedly have is never realized.

It's not a new theory - but to me, there is only more and more validity to the assumption that Lindy Ruff's 'system' smothers the natural talent of the players, dumbing them down to a mediocre, generic product of a team. There are no stand-outs (other than Miller). There must be a reason the 'system' is so hard to play for some of these players - because it's not their natural game.

[Miller Time]

Really?

-Ruff doesn't seem to maximize the talent he has - rather he dumbs down the talent to make it fit the style he wants.

-Ruff changes the line-up every game, which means NO consistency.

-Ruff sucks at managing goalies.

-Ruff is a players coach and is too close to these players.

-Ruff plays favorites to the detriment of the team.

-Ruff misuses timeouts

-Ruff can't keep a line together to save his life.

I think it's reasonable to start seriously questioning why all this "talent" the Sabres supposedly have is never realized.

It's not a new theory - but to me, there is only more and more validity to the assumption that Lindy Ruff's 'system' smothers the natural talent of the players, dumbing them down to a mediocre, generic product of a team. There are no stand-outs (other than Miller). There must be a reason the 'system' is so hard to play for some of these players - because it's not their natural game.

I am sure I have seen you on the Buffalo News? Anyway, you are dead wrong my man. Ruff knows how to shorten his bench and how to bring out the best in players. If a guy is not doing the job he is going to be in Lindy's dog house. IE a seat in the press box. One finals appearance, two Eastern conference apearances, several division titles. Lindy Ruff, you will not find a better coach. You will NOT. And you will see next year just how good he truly is. Darcy is going to cash in those number one picks and I mean for a player that we can win with now. We just missed. The injuries to Miller, Myers and Erhoff did us in. And Ennis. Huge losses. Make no mistake Darcy is building a monster. How would you like to be Toronto or Montreal right now? Or any of the other teams siitting home? Erhoff was playing great hockey and then that knee injury sealed our fate. And Myers injury too. We must now get McNabb up and Foligno of course will be a Sabre for good next year. Hodgson will pay off. Now I know you will not give in on Lindy. So I ask you another question. Do we keep Brad Boyes? Derrick Roy? I say we deal Weber if we can. If we cannot we keep him for depth and use him against teams that intend to bring the physical game. We will not be sitting home this time next year rest assured. Better days are ahead for us. Great days

[radoran]

There are legitimate criticisms of Ruff's coaching style - and they are criticisms you will hear about just about any NHL coach out there.

Ruff's "stifling of talent" has taken the team from the 47th media market in the Country to the Cup Finals once and the Conference Finals three times during his tenure and playoffs 7 of 13 seasons - with the proviso that ownership was bankrupt, changing and cheap for large stretches of the "bad times."

The "talent" that hasn't been realized has been, who exactly? Danny Briere? Chris Drury? Brian Campbell? Ryan Miller?

If you thought that Derek Roy and Tim Connolly were going to be the next Briere and Drury, I can see where you wre disappointed. But of drafted players, you can add Gaustad (7th rounder), Pominville, Vanek, Stafford, Ennis and Myers. Throw Gerbe in there (5th). Enroth. Possibly Foligno, Adam, Weber, Gragnani.

Yes, they've missed the playoffs three of the last five years, but with a new management that's willing to spend money and get real talent instead of reasonable facsimiles he has demonstrated his ability to succeed at this level.

My point in this situation is that simply changing the coach isn't going to necessarily change everything and if you look at other teams around the league who have a parade of coaches through their benches while not achieving the success Ruff has in his tenure, you may very well be better off with the devil you know.

[Miller Time]

There are legitimate criticisms of Ruff's coaching style - and they are criticisms you will hear about just about any NHL coach out there.

Ruff's "stifling of talent" has taken the team from the 47th media market in the Country to the Cup Finals once and the Conference Finals three times during his tenure and playoffs 7 of 13 seasons - with the proviso that ownership was bankrupt, changing and cheap for large stretches of the "bad times."

The "talent" that hasn't been realized has been, who exactly? Danny Briere? Chris Drury? Brian Campbell? Ryan Miller?

If you thought that Derek Roy and Tim Connolly were going to be the next Briere and Drury, I can see where you wre disappointed. But of drafted players, you can add Gaustad (7th rounder), Pominville, Vanek, Stafford, Ennis and Myers. Throw Gerbe in there (5th). Enroth. Possibly Foligno, Adam, Weber, Gragnani.

Yes, they've missed the playoffs three of the last five years, but with a new management that's willing to spend money and get real talent instead of reasonable facsimiles he has demonstrated his ability to succeed at this level.

My point in this situation is that simply changing the coach isn't going to necessarily change everything and if you look at other teams around the league who have a parade of coaches through their benches while not achieving the success Ruff has in his tenure, you may very well be better off with the devil you know.

So are you trying to say this team has no talent? They were 30-14 when Erhoff and Myers were both in. When healthy they can beat anyone. You are going to see just how close they are this Sept. I say that they get rid of Weber and perhpas try and trade Derrick Roy? I say they will trade the two number ones they have for an established player. Maybeb lure Parise or Nash or Bergland. I want Bergland or Nash over all. They have built a good foundation. They will go into next season meaning business. Would you rather be in Toronto or Montreal:s shoes? I think not.

[Pegulaville26]

Coaching in my opinion is very overrated especially in a 82 game regular season. Maybe in the playoffs you have some coaching decisions like matchups and when to call a timeout. Honestly how many games did Ruff or any coach for that matter win/lose their team in the regular season? Is Ruff responsible for Miller standing on his head the second half of the season or is it because he was healthy? Is Ruff responsible for Leino being a 3rd line winger at best making 1st line player money? I don't care how many playoff appearances, division titles, or Finals apperances he has. Besides Barry Trotz who might get his cup this year, who else has been with one team for 14 years and has 0 championships.......? Players are getting sick of him, think about it if your Derek Roy or Thomas Vanek and this guy has pounded you into the ground for 5 or 6 years wouldn't you put the mute on too? Look at what he did to Luke Adam this year, kid was on fire with Van and Pommer and after going to the All-Star game he was sent down. He started the season playing 15+ minutes and the ended up on the 4th line by the halfway point in a impossible to produce situation playing 5 minutes. Top prospect that Ruff may not be able to get back is a common trend in Buffalo. New direction is needed and it's not because Ruff is a bad coach I just think a new voice is needed to change the culture.

[Vanflyer]

@millertime

"I say they will trade the two number ones they have for an established player. Maybeb lure Parise or Nash or Bergland."

You currently have 3 roster spots open and 6 million in cap space. How are you going to find the money to pay a parise or Nash AND fill those 3 roster spots??

[radoran]

So are you trying to say this team has no talent? They were 30-14 when Erhoff and Myers were both in. When healthy they can beat anyone. You are going to see just how close they are this Sept. I say that they get rid of Weber and perhpas try and trade Derrick Roy? I say they will trade the two number ones they have for an established player. Maybeb lure Parise or Nash or Bergland. I want Bergland or Nash over all. They have built a good foundation. They will go into next season meaning business. Would you rather be in Toronto or Montreal:s shoes? I think not.

The Sabres missed the playoffs this year. For whatever reasons. They snuck in last season and lost in the first round. They obviously don't have ENOUGH talent to make the next step. Not that they have "no talent."

Weber is pretty much a meaningless 7th defenseman. I've been very clear in several threads about advocating moving Roy and upgrading Hecht as two places where this team can immediately make the leap into the playoffs.

You seem to twist yourself into contortions to find things to argue about. In talking about the talent that Ruff has developed here as a means of saying Ruff doesn't do badly at developing talent is in no way, shape or form saying that the team has "no talent."

[flyercanuck]

So are you trying to say this team has no talent? They were 30-14 when Erhoff and Myers were both in. When healthy they can beat anyone. You are going to see just how close they are this Sept.

Lather, rinse, repeat.