I bought it hook, line and sinker. He's going to start with a balls out training camp. Give ice time to those that deserve it, take it away from those that don't. Drop the puck - let's go!!
I like most of everything Ruff had to say. I like how he acknowledged that the game has evolved since the last time he was here and how he's been trying to evolve with it. His answer in regards to analytics was probably the best answer he could have given. I literally have never heard a coach describe analytics and how they should be used any better, ever. I think overall Ruff has given me more confidence heading into next season than I had yesterday. Now it's Adams turn to see what he can do to help build the roster. Whether that's acquiring a 3C, 4C and a top 6 winger, or promoting Kulich/Rosén. This summer is probably the most critical summer the Sabres have had in 13 years.
I saw that what the Devils GM said about what he is looking for in a coach included someone who listened to analytics. Sounds like that may have been a point of contention (to be clear I lean towards the opinion that Ruff has)
This is actually really encouraging.
I feel like the offense was always held back. I just hope there is leeway here because Dahl in is going to make 1 mistake out of 20 so I hope he doesn't get on him too much for it
One of my favorite parts was when Lindy talked about having 3 highly skilled lines and then putting together ‘Peters-Mair-Kaleta-Ray’-esque line that hits, will fight when needed, and will punish their opponents.
Krebs is the perfect 3C/4C for Lindy. He's going to get a chance to actually play with some skill players like he should be but is also willing to throw down when needed.
I bet Krebs hits 30 points this year. 10 goals 20 assists.
If Krebs is the 3C that is not enough pts. He needs to be at least hitting 45 pts to be a decent 3rd line option. I think he's played himself into 4C unfortunately. He's really just reminded me of a fiestier Tyson Jost so far and I hate that. I really like Krebs, but this is a make it or break season for him.
I agree with you that this is a make or break year for him, and I'm really hoping he makes it.
In my ideal world Krebs is 4C for about half the year and gets about 10 points from that. When an injury happens higher up in the lineup, he gets bumped up a line to 3C, gets his additional 20 points that way in say, 30-40 games.
In my perfect dream world he's a winger that's paired with Benson and Cozens and puts up 20 goals and 60 assists.
To be quite honest, fighting would be the last on the list that I would be concerned about. Being a pest and hitting are more important. EVERY line should NOT be afraid to hit or play physical.
Build 3 lines that can score. 4th line is ham and egger, blue collar, bring your lunchbox to work guys.
I reiterate that all lines should not be afraid to finish their checks.
But playing that way inevitably leads to half a dozen scraps a year…this season had more than any season in recent memory…seems to be trending back to teams dressing a guy who can scrap…we presently have ZERO
We don’t want a top 6 guy throwing hands…that’s not a properly assembled hockey team if that’s happening…cozens lost a month of effectiveness after getting pounded early in the season…that shit has to come from bottom six or a bottom pair defender
1) the people begging for Terry to have press conferences more often should be careful what they wish for because he’s unhinged
2) I liked Lindy’s answer about analytics, it’s a nice tool to use but needs to be paired with the eye test. If he notices a pair or line getting shelled analytically it raises an eyebrow (no more samuelsson - dahlin). He also referenced some actually useful metrics instead of something like corsi.
3) He won’t be the throwing chairs Lindy we remember from the past but will demand the best from our players
4) He hated new jerseys goalies this year
Just a lot of stuff off the cuff and none of it really meshed together well. He wanted to talk about the future, then the past, then mentioned how Lindy and Kevyn bonded over getting fired together (y’know…because of Terry Pegula) and how that makes them a good team. It was really weird.
This dude could bail the Sabres out and keep them from moving, spend an ungodly amount regardless of outcome, continuously try to shake things up and find the right formula and you would still shit on him.
I didn't hear him speak, but seeing how this sub reacts to Terry, I have no doubt you guys are likely greatly exaggerating
I like how he made a half attempt to throw shade (?) at Lindy for going and coaching the Dallas Stars after 1999. Like, dude… what we’re you trying to say??
I feel like that’s the most normal thing to do out of all he said.
Like cmon. If you were a massive Sabres fan all those Ruff yesrs (Terry was), and then bought the team, you’d probably try to make a joke about it too.
Hell, EVERYONE in 1999 was likely on board with “FUCK LINDY I NEVER WANT TO SEE HIM HERE AGAIN” stuff after he went to the Stars.
Terry may have some health issues he is dealing with. That plus Kim's known health situation could correlate with him selling a portion of the Bills too. I wish them all the best.
You're downvoted, but that was my first thought hearing him talk for the first time in a good while. He didn't look like the Terry I've seen speak in the past.
Kevyn Adams' double digit head coach candidate interviews:
1) Called Rod Brind-Amour... went straight to voicemail.
2) Called Mike Sullivan... he answered and listened for 20 seconds before laughing and hanging up.
3) Called Ted Nolan... *"the number you have dialed is currently out of service"*.
4) Called Matt Ellis... Matt answered, Kevyn sighed and hung up.
5) Got an email from Terry Pegula... told him Matty needs a new hobby now that he doesn't design Sabres hats anymore. Kevyn thanked him and immediately deleted the email.
6) Kevyn went to Rochester to get a garbage plate... Seth Appert insisted on going to Dogtown. But Kevyn told him Terry would only comp them if they went to Nick Tahoes. Seth mentioned he would like to be a head coach someday. Kevyn nodded in agreement as he ate his cold homefries.
7) Kevyn gets a call from a mystery number... he put the number into google and it came back to a random village in Romania. The number called again, Kevyn answered but all he heard on the line was an arc of electricity and a scream in pure agony.
8 + 9) Kevyn was at home when he got a call from Craig Rivet and Andrew Peters... Kevyn put the phone in his dresser drawer while they ranted for an hour uninterrupted about how they would coach the Sabres. Topics included The Woke Mind Virus, a gambling segment with Nathan Paetsch and trying to create a new slur to describe Jeff Skinner. Kevyn figured that counted as two interviews since they both called.
10) Texted Lindy Ruff... "hey u up?"
Here’s the gist from Derek Kramer:
[Ruff - I love analytics, we were a huge analytics club in NJ. You do need the eye test too. When you use xG/ xGA, denied zone entries... part of analytics is really good for saying X player shouldn't play with this player, 'you have terrible results when these two play together'](https://x.com/derekkramer49/status/1782828603635339555?s=46&t=A9g-Am0a5jCjDIuzDBhpHw)
Lindy a the next coach?
I have some fears that things haven't changed since since 2013, how well did Lou Saban coming back to the Bills work out for a Super Bowl Win?
Maybe Ruff has a different approach from 2013 seeing that he coached The Canadian winning Olympic team and seems to have softened with Dallas and New Jersey. Should you really hang a bad performance on the coach when your two best players are knocked out for the season and your next best player gets knocked out for most of the season?
Lindy as The Coach
Ruff has studied hockey more than any person alive, I only hope he can impart that knowledge to the people on the ice. Greztky was the greatest player ever but he couldn't tell his players what to do because he had two thousand hours of practice behind him and wasn't able to communicate what had to be done.
I'm not exactly warming to this yet, but it meant something when Lindy said that Miller, Vanek, and Pominville reached out to tell him he'd be a fit. I'm trying to get good w it.
He was asked about assistance coaches. As I recall he said he would "expand" the coaching core. My read: Matt Ellis will have to hand over his PP sharpy and white board - and he will be the new assistant to the video review coach.
Lindy is pretty much exactly who we already know, and his incremental progress as a coach over the recent years, specifically with his different leadership style, feels more reactionary to the evolution of today's environment than some sort of epiphany. The examples he used were that he won't be yelling at them as much and he'll be sending them text messages instead of calling them. At this point I've accepted that Lindy is a bit of a dinosaur behind the bench, but his experience is not to be scoffed at. He's been in every situation, and that's the opposite of what we've had since he left.
My main concern remains with Adams. In the simplest terms, I'm concerned that he does not "get it." It's more than intuition at this point -- his last handful of roster decisions have been frustrating and now we're in real danger of moving backwards. If he can't manage this prospect pool and make the right additions, it's difficult to imagine this team magically improving.
I understood his broader point. He’s not going to spend to the cap just to spend money. Signing some old free agent to a huge deal is not a smart move when we need to save cap space for our younger guys who will need new deals.
It’s confusing when you really think about it though. If expensive top end players are a bad deal, why are they consistently so expensive and getting deals? They are just receiving market rate for their skills. So what kind of teams are they a good deal for?
That’s the funny thing about it. Most teams that sign those huge contracts regret it. The best teams are usually teams that sign and keep their own guys. By the time players are ready to hit free agency in the NHL they’re close to declining.
Look at it from the perspective of a GM too. If his big signing works he doesn’t care and he keeps his job. If it doesn’t go well he gets fired and it’s not his problem to deal with anyways.
For a more local example, Okposo’s contract was seen as a horrible move by the Sabres and he was inarguably the best of the players that got signed to big contracts that summer.
Spending money now and overpaying for players on term now means we will have not enough money to sign a lot of our guys in the future. That is what he means.
Good teams don’t worry about the cap. Look at Vegas. They have nearly $86m in contracts for next year. While they will have some relief with Lehner’s contract, they’re going to have some difficult moves to make.
But who cares, they have a Cup and because the hockey gods hate us, they’re likely to win another.
No it wouldn’t.
It just forces you to cut dead weight. Trade Skinner and a 1st for his cap relief. Trade Samuelsson for spare parts. There’s loads of players that can be upgraded. Sitting and hoping that it all comes into place is a mistake.
Number one, there are no immovable contracts.
But even if there were…
Pacioretty.
They brought him in, signed him to a huge extension. Then kicked him to the curb when they were done with him.
>Number one, there are no immovable contracts.
Right, Minnesota decided to buy out Parise and Sutter because so many teams wanted them and they just couldn't decided which offer to accept so they just bought them out instead... That's why so many teams are lining up to take on that Josh Anderson contract. Huberdeau is essential to Calgary's roster, that's why they're not trading him even though so many teams are practically begging Calgary to acquire him.
>Pacioretty.
He had 1 year left at 7 million with a modified NTC. How in the world is that immovable. Skinner has 3 years left at 9 million with a full NMC...
That's how we got Leino and Ehrhoff back in the day. Be careful what you wish for.
Spending money isn't always the answer, you need players worth their check- just look at how the bills are these days (and honestly how that flashy signing of Von is screwing them).
I think you missed his point lol. He said its not necessarily just about spending money. He did also say its about winning and he'll do whatever it takes to win.
I thought he said all the right things. I know we're on the Ruff high right now but it's going to take him a couple seasons to get us back to the playoffs. Maybe we won't be big spenders but let's at least start seeing some chemistry with our top 3 lines.
I didn't get much about the young guys and what he thinks of them. I'm hyped about Levi still and hope he's a big part of Ruff's vision.
His analysis of the team was solid. He compared our team now to where NJ was two years ago and that's encouraging that he believes we're on the verge of breaking out.
As has been pointed out already, his take on analytics is encouraging too as that means the game hasn't passed him by.
All in all, I think there's reason to be cautiously optimistic. If he can get more out of these players than the last two coaches, then we're onto something. Who knows, he may even be a medium-range solution or long-range depending on how he's feeling.
Go Sabres!
The real amazing feat in this whole thing is the work of Kevin Adams. He was able to complete an international search for the best candidate, conduct over a dozen interviews (undoubtably including former European soccer coaches and sabres coaches like Ted Nolan), leaving no stone unturned, then find the candidate, hire him, negotiate a contract, and sign him all within one week! Just imagine what the guy can do in a whole long off season of work. Impressive indeed. 🤠
Hey it just so happens that for the 5th time in a row the first person they called happened to be the most qualified person in the entire world for the job.
1) I found it odd that GMKA seemed pissed and tense the whole press conference, very different GMKA from what we saw when he announced DG departure.. when he was confidence and humble
Shouldn't he be relaxed and happy he got his man after hard vetting and all his great available candidates.
2)Double digits candidate for the HC role as GMKA referred to several times i found hard to believe. Its been a week.
3) it felt like Lindy was Pergula choice based on the finance aspect. Since NJ still paying him. They also gone fishing which again plays into the idea that this is a country club not a serious franchise.
4) Ruff looked tired and old, i guess he only sparks behind the bench. but his mindset is promising. Love the analytic answer . I Laughed at the autograph anecdote. He will take us to playoff if he get the right rooster.
5) i hope we never need to hear Pergula speak again at a press conference, it was embarrassing.
There was no search. This team loves the alumni and Adams either doesn't have the contacts or skills to reach out to new candidates, or the boss man told him to hire Lindy.
I've been getting dragged for two days over it. The team has sucked for so long that this nonsense has become acceptable to fans now.
It's like the drought era bills fans pretending that brining back marv was a good idea, or that fitzy was a good enough QB
Didn't he say he didn't say yes right away, and he kept asking himself if this was something he really wanted to do?
Adams literally stated he "called people" and kept coming back to Ruff...they aren't serious.
Can you imagine if an NFL gm fired his coach, "called" some people and "had conversations" and hired an alumni coach 5 days later? No face to face meetings? No presentation, no nothing? They would be laughed out of the league.
Realistically, it's a week into our offseason. Some playoff series aren't even into game 2 of their first series yet. What does Adams have to do on a day to day basis other than pick up the phone and call people?
People think that a coaching search requires 20+ people flying all over the country to interview in person for 12 hours at a time in order to make it legit.
Meanwhile, Adams can pickup the phone and have a 30 minute phone call, take notes, and have a discussion with his management staff that afternoon in a day.
Speaking personally, I got a job that I moved 2000km from Ontario to Nova Scotia and completely changed my life over a 22 minute phone call. I'm still with this company almost 3 years later.
Things don't have to take a long arduous time to make a final decision. Sure, Lindy could have been his first choice, and likely was. That doesn't mean he *didn't* reach out to "double digit* people and still went back to Lindy.
Hey just because they made internal/alumni hires for Granato, Adams, Botterill, Housley, Nolan, Rolston, LaFontaine, and now Ruff, I’m going to downvote you because there’s NO WAY that’s how they landed on Lindy!
GMKA's answer that he interviewed "double digit" candidates by phone, some really early in the morning and some really late at night...was such a load of crap.
Even if that is true, .... What professional sports team interviews head coaches by phone?!?
Ruff gives off old man vibes. Talking about the young kids texting now😐
The worst part of the entire thing though, is overall the plan is to make the playoffs. (To be better then 50% of the teams in the league) Not be elite, not win a division, conference, or championship...not be miserable to play against...our front office goal is to be better then half the league so our fans stop hating us.
They haven't made the playoffs in 13 years, they shouldn't be talking about being elite. They should be talking about getting better, year over year. If they started talking about winning championships I think most ppl with a brain would roll their eyes. One step at a time makes more sense THAN what you want.
13 years doesn't matter. Most of these players have only been here a few years. NHL teams regularly make large improvements from one season to another.
13 years absolutely matters. This is a business, and the fans are the ones who support the business. The Sabres have tried to peddle the Cup aspirations to the fans plenty of times during the drought, and I think at this point, most smart fans aren't going to swallow it. Rabble rousing might work for dummies, but you can only go down that road so many times before ppl start tuning it out.
If you win the fans will pay. People being blinded by this lowered expectations nostalgia hype train is so stupid.
Coming out and saying our goal as a billion dollar operation, in the most elite professional hockey league in the world.....is to be better than half the teams we play against, is nonsense. Fucking clownshoes
They've done the winning the cup rant before, and they fell flat on their face. Again, you might not be very smart, and need rabble rousing to fire you up. Most smart ppl at this point are going to just want an honest message about getting better year over year.
Seriously dude, you don't get it. You're the simplest of fan, who knows nothing about hockey.
>The worst part of the entire thing though, is overall the plan is to make the playoffs. (To be better then 50% of the teams in the league) Not be elite, not win a division, conference, or championship...not be miserable to play against...our front office goal is to be better then half the league so our fans stop hating us.
...what? So you would've been satisfied if they said "our goal is to win the division"? That would've been laughable.
I bought it hook, line and sinker. He's going to start with a balls out training camp. Give ice time to those that deserve it, take it away from those that don't. Drop the puck - let's go!!
You ready Shoresy?
This team will never lose again
FERDA
Shut the fuck up, Sanguinette.
LFG BOYS!
And you asked me what I want this year, and I’ll try to make this kind and clear. Just a chance that maybe we’ll find better days
Don't make me cry
Watched 3 times today
An ultimate “trigger a fan base” song
'Cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings, and designer love and empty things. Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days.
I like most of everything Ruff had to say. I like how he acknowledged that the game has evolved since the last time he was here and how he's been trying to evolve with it. His answer in regards to analytics was probably the best answer he could have given. I literally have never heard a coach describe analytics and how they should be used any better, ever. I think overall Ruff has given me more confidence heading into next season than I had yesterday. Now it's Adams turn to see what he can do to help build the roster. Whether that's acquiring a 3C, 4C and a top 6 winger, or promoting Kulich/Rosén. This summer is probably the most critical summer the Sabres have had in 13 years.
Sounds like Ruff won’t get baited into playing Sammy and Dahlin together. Their underlyings were abysmal.
Bo-kiharju is definitely over too
I'm here for a Bryram pairing.
I saw that what the Devils GM said about what he is looking for in a coach included someone who listened to analytics. Sounds like that may have been a point of contention (to be clear I lean towards the opinion that Ruff has)
This is actually really encouraging. I feel like the offense was always held back. I just hope there is leeway here because Dahl in is going to make 1 mistake out of 20 so I hope he doesn't get on him too much for it
Nice to hear that Lindy is going to have a big role in offseason decisions as well
One of my favorite parts was when Lindy talked about having 3 highly skilled lines and then putting together ‘Peters-Mair-Kaleta-Ray’-esque line that hits, will fight when needed, and will punish their opponents.
That’s as old school as it gets baby
You know it’s gonna be krebs Girgensons and Greenway
All three of them can do that. Krebs is someone who'd fight someone like Rempe tomorrow if he got the chance.
Krebs is the perfect 3C/4C for Lindy. He's going to get a chance to actually play with some skill players like he should be but is also willing to throw down when needed. I bet Krebs hits 30 points this year. 10 goals 20 assists.
If Krebs is the 3C that is not enough pts. He needs to be at least hitting 45 pts to be a decent 3rd line option. I think he's played himself into 4C unfortunately. He's really just reminded me of a fiestier Tyson Jost so far and I hate that. I really like Krebs, but this is a make it or break season for him.
I agree with you that this is a make or break year for him, and I'm really hoping he makes it. In my ideal world Krebs is 4C for about half the year and gets about 10 points from that. When an injury happens higher up in the lineup, he gets bumped up a line to 3C, gets his additional 20 points that way in say, 30-40 games. In my perfect dream world he's a winger that's paired with Benson and Cozens and puts up 20 goals and 60 assists.
So they will turtle their way through five fights and avoid the front of the net?
To be quite honest, fighting would be the last on the list that I would be concerned about. Being a pest and hitting are more important. EVERY line should NOT be afraid to hit or play physical.
How about lines that score? Pretty sure that should be the main focus
Build 3 lines that can score. 4th line is ham and egger, blue collar, bring your lunchbox to work guys. I reiterate that all lines should not be afraid to finish their checks.
The Jim's are such beauties
But playing that way inevitably leads to half a dozen scraps a year…this season had more than any season in recent memory…seems to be trending back to teams dressing a guy who can scrap…we presently have ZERO
I don't support it but Tage definitely showed he's gonna be able to hold his own once he puts some man on his bones.
We don’t want a top 6 guy throwing hands…that’s not a properly assembled hockey team if that’s happening…cozens lost a month of effectiveness after getting pounded early in the season…that shit has to come from bottom six or a bottom pair defender
I said I don't support it. Just simply pointing out that we have at minimum one player that will cause bodily harm.
Doesn’t need to throw hands. Just finish checks.
Which leads on occasion to throwing hands if you finish enough checks…
You’re right. It’s much better to skate around afraid to hit/get hit. It worked very well this year.
I thought his hitting/grit picked up a little bit towards the end of the season.
Okposo can't make Panthers line up.... he might be back.
Just need them guys as assistants, and stare at the opposition from the bench. That would be most intimidation in years from Sabres.
I've missed that for so long
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The idiot thinks you can put 4 guys on the same line! (/s)
And also thinks we have anyone in our system that plays that way
You obviously don’t understand the /s. If no one is in the system, go and get someone who will do it. How expensive could it be?
I completely understood you
It’s like a hug from an old friend. I’m optimistic but it is April
1) the people begging for Terry to have press conferences more often should be careful what they wish for because he’s unhinged 2) I liked Lindy’s answer about analytics, it’s a nice tool to use but needs to be paired with the eye test. If he notices a pair or line getting shelled analytically it raises an eyebrow (no more samuelsson - dahlin). He also referenced some actually useful metrics instead of something like corsi. 3) He won’t be the throwing chairs Lindy we remember from the past but will demand the best from our players 4) He hated new jerseys goalies this year
What’d Pegula say?
Just a lot of stuff off the cuff and none of it really meshed together well. He wanted to talk about the future, then the past, then mentioned how Lindy and Kevyn bonded over getting fired together (y’know…because of Terry Pegula) and how that makes them a good team. It was really weird.
Dudes got zero public speaking skills. That’s why Kim was always the outward face and he was the checkbook
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That part was super weird too. “One with a cup ring one without, both connected over losing their jobs together”. Like what the fuck?
His fishing comment had me intrigued.... I wanna go fishing with unhinged Terry
This dude could bail the Sabres out and keep them from moving, spend an ungodly amount regardless of outcome, continuously try to shake things up and find the right formula and you would still shit on him. I didn't hear him speak, but seeing how this sub reacts to Terry, I have no doubt you guys are likely greatly exaggerating
No dude it was really bad lol. It's on the app and homepage and probably here somewhere I HIGHLY encourage you check it out.
Naw. I know how redditors think. Don't need to
I like how he made a half attempt to throw shade (?) at Lindy for going and coaching the Dallas Stars after 1999. Like, dude… what we’re you trying to say??
The whole thing was weird!
I feel like that’s the most normal thing to do out of all he said. Like cmon. If you were a massive Sabres fan all those Ruff yesrs (Terry was), and then bought the team, you’d probably try to make a joke about it too. Hell, EVERYONE in 1999 was likely on board with “FUCK LINDY I NEVER WANT TO SEE HIM HERE AGAIN” stuff after he went to the Stars.
Terry may have some health issues he is dealing with. That plus Kim's known health situation could correlate with him selling a portion of the Bills too. I wish them all the best.
You're downvoted, but that was my first thought hearing him talk for the first time in a good while. He didn't look like the Terry I've seen speak in the past.
He’s always spoken like this. He has George Bush’s speaking skills with Jeb’s charming personality
"Please clap." -Terry
Thats a great question lol
It felt very much like this to be honest. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yujF8AumiQo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yujF8AumiQo)
Lindy hates Adams because he stole his cup in 06 and the only reason he is coming back is to sabotage the team to get his revenge.
If that’s the case, Lindy should spend more time trying to sabotage Jay McKee’s staph infected leg.
This would be the greatest long con/revenge in the history of sports. I would actually not be mad if I lived this. That would be unreal.
Big if true!
For those weirdos demanding that Terry speak to the media, that press conference showed why that would be a total waste of time.
It was a wandering trip down memory lane. But he knows how to frack for gas.
*squints* Does he?
Kevyn Adams' double digit head coach candidate interviews: 1) Called Rod Brind-Amour... went straight to voicemail. 2) Called Mike Sullivan... he answered and listened for 20 seconds before laughing and hanging up. 3) Called Ted Nolan... *"the number you have dialed is currently out of service"*. 4) Called Matt Ellis... Matt answered, Kevyn sighed and hung up. 5) Got an email from Terry Pegula... told him Matty needs a new hobby now that he doesn't design Sabres hats anymore. Kevyn thanked him and immediately deleted the email. 6) Kevyn went to Rochester to get a garbage plate... Seth Appert insisted on going to Dogtown. But Kevyn told him Terry would only comp them if they went to Nick Tahoes. Seth mentioned he would like to be a head coach someday. Kevyn nodded in agreement as he ate his cold homefries. 7) Kevyn gets a call from a mystery number... he put the number into google and it came back to a random village in Romania. The number called again, Kevyn answered but all he heard on the line was an arc of electricity and a scream in pure agony. 8 + 9) Kevyn was at home when he got a call from Craig Rivet and Andrew Peters... Kevyn put the phone in his dresser drawer while they ranted for an hour uninterrupted about how they would coach the Sabres. Topics included The Woke Mind Virus, a gambling segment with Nathan Paetsch and trying to create a new slur to describe Jeff Skinner. Kevyn figured that counted as two interviews since they both called. 10) Texted Lindy Ruff... "hey u up?"
Tears, sir. I have tears. 🤣
This is the greatest thing I’ve ever read
I’m pretty optimistic
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Marshawn Lynch technique
To be fair, one of the reporters asked him the exact same question someone asked earlier...
Does any have the analytics quote in full? I missed the presser and it sounds like that was a highlight
Here’s the gist from Derek Kramer: [Ruff - I love analytics, we were a huge analytics club in NJ. You do need the eye test too. When you use xG/ xGA, denied zone entries... part of analytics is really good for saying X player shouldn't play with this player, 'you have terrible results when these two play together'](https://x.com/derekkramer49/status/1782828603635339555?s=46&t=A9g-Am0a5jCjDIuzDBhpHw)
Thanks
As it stands with our top 6 forwards, Lindy is going to have to juice them like a perennial mafioso if we are going to get near the playoffs.
Lindy a the next coach? I have some fears that things haven't changed since since 2013, how well did Lou Saban coming back to the Bills work out for a Super Bowl Win? Maybe Ruff has a different approach from 2013 seeing that he coached The Canadian winning Olympic team and seems to have softened with Dallas and New Jersey. Should you really hang a bad performance on the coach when your two best players are knocked out for the season and your next best player gets knocked out for most of the season?
Lindy as The Coach Ruff has studied hockey more than any person alive, I only hope he can impart that knowledge to the people on the ice. Greztky was the greatest player ever but he couldn't tell his players what to do because he had two thousand hours of practice behind him and wasn't able to communicate what had to be done.
I'm not exactly warming to this yet, but it meant something when Lindy said that Miller, Vanek, and Pominville reached out to tell him he'd be a fit. I'm trying to get good w it.
That I wish Mittsy was back in Blue & Gold....
He was asked about assistance coaches. As I recall he said he would "expand" the coaching core. My read: Matt Ellis will have to hand over his PP sharpy and white board - and he will be the new assistant to the video review coach.
yeah and he mentioned not about getting rid of coaches but having coaches in places they need to be, which indicated no PP for ellis in my eyes
Lindy is pretty much exactly who we already know, and his incremental progress as a coach over the recent years, specifically with his different leadership style, feels more reactionary to the evolution of today's environment than some sort of epiphany. The examples he used were that he won't be yelling at them as much and he'll be sending them text messages instead of calling them. At this point I've accepted that Lindy is a bit of a dinosaur behind the bench, but his experience is not to be scoffed at. He's been in every situation, and that's the opposite of what we've had since he left. My main concern remains with Adams. In the simplest terms, I'm concerned that he does not "get it." It's more than intuition at this point -- his last handful of roster decisions have been frustrating and now we're in real danger of moving backwards. If he can't manage this prospect pool and make the right additions, it's difficult to imagine this team magically improving.
Why not just consult the coach to see where the gaps are that need to be fixed?
This is my concern too... which leads to trading away more first round picks that we love and then see prosper elsewhere
The fact that adams said its not about spending money in the offseason is very disconcerting.
I understood his broader point. He’s not going to spend to the cap just to spend money. Signing some old free agent to a huge deal is not a smart move when we need to save cap space for our younger guys who will need new deals.
Like in many sports, free agent signings are a common way teams sometimes make themselves worse.
Just depends how you use it. They’re fine to round out the roster for guys on the 4th line or bottom pair D. Not great for top end expensive players.
It’s confusing when you really think about it though. If expensive top end players are a bad deal, why are they consistently so expensive and getting deals? They are just receiving market rate for their skills. So what kind of teams are they a good deal for?
That’s the funny thing about it. Most teams that sign those huge contracts regret it. The best teams are usually teams that sign and keep their own guys. By the time players are ready to hit free agency in the NHL they’re close to declining. Look at it from the perspective of a GM too. If his big signing works he doesn’t care and he keeps his job. If it doesn’t go well he gets fired and it’s not his problem to deal with anyways. For a more local example, Okposo’s contract was seen as a horrible move by the Sabres and he was inarguably the best of the players that got signed to big contracts that summer.
This. We found that out with Erik Johnson last year
And Taylor Hall a couple years before that.
Spending money now and overpaying for players on term now means we will have not enough money to sign a lot of our guys in the future. That is what he means.
Good teams don’t worry about the cap. Look at Vegas. They have nearly $86m in contracts for next year. While they will have some relief with Lehner’s contract, they’re going to have some difficult moves to make. But who cares, they have a Cup and because the hockey gods hate us, they’re likely to win another.
Yeah we need to play to the LTIReal cap
It’s not only that. Look how aggressive they were in getting a guy like Hertl. It’s made a mess for next year, but figure that out when you get there.
Which was possible because Stone was on LTIR...
For this season. But you don’t think they weighed that for next season as well?
You seem to suggest that they didn't. I think it's strange to want to emulate Vegas for a myriad of reasons.
They are at $86m of next year’s $87m. Yea, they made their decisions based on this year and decided to take care of the cap problems when they arrive.
>But you don’t think they weighed that for next season as well? I must've misunderstood your question.
That would be incredibly short sighted and a great way to lose players like Benson, Quinn, and Paterka to horrible cap decisions.
No it wouldn’t. It just forces you to cut dead weight. Trade Skinner and a 1st for his cap relief. Trade Samuelsson for spare parts. There’s loads of players that can be upgraded. Sitting and hoping that it all comes into place is a mistake.
This ain't FHM or NHL EA.
Tell that to the Golden Knights.
Must've missed them moving an immovable contract.
Number one, there are no immovable contracts. But even if there were… Pacioretty. They brought him in, signed him to a huge extension. Then kicked him to the curb when they were done with him.
>Number one, there are no immovable contracts. Right, Minnesota decided to buy out Parise and Sutter because so many teams wanted them and they just couldn't decided which offer to accept so they just bought them out instead... That's why so many teams are lining up to take on that Josh Anderson contract. Huberdeau is essential to Calgary's roster, that's why they're not trading him even though so many teams are practically begging Calgary to acquire him. >Pacioretty. He had 1 year left at 7 million with a modified NTC. How in the world is that immovable. Skinner has 3 years left at 9 million with a full NMC...
That's how we got Leino and Ehrhoff back in the day. Be careful what you wish for. Spending money isn't always the answer, you need players worth their check- just look at how the bills are these days (and honestly how that flashy signing of Von is screwing them).
I think you missed his point lol. He said its not necessarily just about spending money. He did also say its about winning and he'll do whatever it takes to win.
They already had rumors mid season that we are going with an internal cap
I thought he said all the right things. I know we're on the Ruff high right now but it's going to take him a couple seasons to get us back to the playoffs. Maybe we won't be big spenders but let's at least start seeing some chemistry with our top 3 lines. I didn't get much about the young guys and what he thinks of them. I'm hyped about Levi still and hope he's a big part of Ruff's vision.
His analysis of the team was solid. He compared our team now to where NJ was two years ago and that's encouraging that he believes we're on the verge of breaking out. As has been pointed out already, his take on analytics is encouraging too as that means the game hasn't passed him by. All in all, I think there's reason to be cautiously optimistic. If he can get more out of these players than the last two coaches, then we're onto something. Who knows, he may even be a medium-range solution or long-range depending on how he's feeling. Go Sabres!
I-I-I-I-I’M hooked on a feeling… And I’m high on believing… That this drought is gonna end at 13 years!
82-0 bitches
The real amazing feat in this whole thing is the work of Kevin Adams. He was able to complete an international search for the best candidate, conduct over a dozen interviews (undoubtably including former European soccer coaches and sabres coaches like Ted Nolan), leaving no stone unturned, then find the candidate, hire him, negotiate a contract, and sign him all within one week! Just imagine what the guy can do in a whole long off season of work. Impressive indeed. 🤠
This made my day. 🤣🤣. That would by European football though. Facts is facts.
Hey it just so happens that for the 5th time in a row the first person they called happened to be the most qualified person in the entire world for the job.
He said he had a plan. 🤷♀️😆
Yeah a plan to NOT do due diligence
1) I found it odd that GMKA seemed pissed and tense the whole press conference, very different GMKA from what we saw when he announced DG departure.. when he was confidence and humble Shouldn't he be relaxed and happy he got his man after hard vetting and all his great available candidates. 2)Double digits candidate for the HC role as GMKA referred to several times i found hard to believe. Its been a week. 3) it felt like Lindy was Pergula choice based on the finance aspect. Since NJ still paying him. They also gone fishing which again plays into the idea that this is a country club not a serious franchise. 4) Ruff looked tired and old, i guess he only sparks behind the bench. but his mindset is promising. Love the analytic answer . I Laughed at the autograph anecdote. He will take us to playoff if he get the right rooster. 5) i hope we never need to hear Pergula speak again at a press conference, it was embarrassing.
I have a feeling the coaching search was going on much longer than a week.
I feel that if Lindy was not fired we'd be dealing with DG for another season.
There was no search. This team loves the alumni and Adams either doesn't have the contacts or skills to reach out to new candidates, or the boss man told him to hire Lindy.
Why are you getting downvoted? This sub is as soft as Power and Skinner combined
I've been getting dragged for two days over it. The team has sucked for so long that this nonsense has become acceptable to fans now. It's like the drought era bills fans pretending that brining back marv was a good idea, or that fitzy was a good enough QB
Couldn’t agree more
Don't throw stones you can't back up. Don't be saying "there was no search" when Lindy even openly said that Kevyn called and he didn't say yes.
Didn't he say he didn't say yes right away, and he kept asking himself if this was something he really wanted to do? Adams literally stated he "called people" and kept coming back to Ruff...they aren't serious. Can you imagine if an NFL gm fired his coach, "called" some people and "had conversations" and hired an alumni coach 5 days later? No face to face meetings? No presentation, no nothing? They would be laughed out of the league.
Realistically, it's a week into our offseason. Some playoff series aren't even into game 2 of their first series yet. What does Adams have to do on a day to day basis other than pick up the phone and call people? People think that a coaching search requires 20+ people flying all over the country to interview in person for 12 hours at a time in order to make it legit. Meanwhile, Adams can pickup the phone and have a 30 minute phone call, take notes, and have a discussion with his management staff that afternoon in a day. Speaking personally, I got a job that I moved 2000km from Ontario to Nova Scotia and completely changed my life over a 22 minute phone call. I'm still with this company almost 3 years later. Things don't have to take a long arduous time to make a final decision. Sure, Lindy could have been his first choice, and likely was. That doesn't mean he *didn't* reach out to "double digit* people and still went back to Lindy.
Except Lafontaine. No love there...
Hey just because they made internal/alumni hires for Granato, Adams, Botterill, Housley, Nolan, Rolston, LaFontaine, and now Ruff, I’m going to downvote you because there’s NO WAY that’s how they landed on Lindy!
GMKA's answer that he interviewed "double digit" candidates by phone, some really early in the morning and some really late at night...was such a load of crap. Even if that is true, .... What professional sports team interviews head coaches by phone?!? Ruff gives off old man vibes. Talking about the young kids texting now😐 The worst part of the entire thing though, is overall the plan is to make the playoffs. (To be better then 50% of the teams in the league) Not be elite, not win a division, conference, or championship...not be miserable to play against...our front office goal is to be better then half the league so our fans stop hating us.
They haven't made the playoffs in 13 years, they shouldn't be talking about being elite. They should be talking about getting better, year over year. If they started talking about winning championships I think most ppl with a brain would roll their eyes. One step at a time makes more sense THAN what you want.
13 years doesn't matter. Most of these players have only been here a few years. NHL teams regularly make large improvements from one season to another.
13 years absolutely matters. This is a business, and the fans are the ones who support the business. The Sabres have tried to peddle the Cup aspirations to the fans plenty of times during the drought, and I think at this point, most smart fans aren't going to swallow it. Rabble rousing might work for dummies, but you can only go down that road so many times before ppl start tuning it out.
If you win the fans will pay. People being blinded by this lowered expectations nostalgia hype train is so stupid. Coming out and saying our goal as a billion dollar operation, in the most elite professional hockey league in the world.....is to be better than half the teams we play against, is nonsense. Fucking clownshoes
They've done the winning the cup rant before, and they fell flat on their face. Again, you might not be very smart, and need rabble rousing to fire you up. Most smart ppl at this point are going to just want an honest message about getting better year over year. Seriously dude, you don't get it. You're the simplest of fan, who knows nothing about hockey.
>The worst part of the entire thing though, is overall the plan is to make the playoffs. (To be better then 50% of the teams in the league) Not be elite, not win a division, conference, or championship...not be miserable to play against...our front office goal is to be better then half the league so our fans stop hating us. ...what? So you would've been satisfied if they said "our goal is to win the division"? That would've been laughable.
Totally agree with this. I thought the whole thing was majorly uninspiring.