Sabres fire Don Granato, hire Lindy Ruff as head coach

[Iwishihadaspacebar]

I really hope the Sabres can be a playoff side soon, their fans deserve it after pain.

After getting a better coach, the priorities should be:

Get a RHD
Get a vet 3C
Get a good vet backup goalie
Get a 4th line with some size

They have the elite talent there but you can't rely on young guys to become leaders immediately.

 

[FlameChampion]

Tmac and/or Berube would probably get this team into the playoffs. Too bad they’re not great with young players. Bit of a conundrum.

 

[FlameChampion]

Curious as to what Oilers fans think how the match would be. We definitely need a coach with a bit more bite. Granato's downfall I think was his tactics and inability to have players ready to go. He was more of a friend than their coach.

As an Oilers fan, its hard to know how decisions are made. Sometimes it feels like upper management and players have a say in how things go.

The thing I don’t like about Woodcroft is that when things go bad, he doesn’t have a ton of answers. Its a lot of positivity, we need to take care of our day etc.

I personally don’t think he would be a good fit for you guys.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I guess Garden Gloves was so bad that everyone just blocked him from memory entirely.

Him and Nolan were the tank days! No one was competing with that roster

 

[Bounces R Way]

Yeah that tracks.

Sabres need a coach that can establish a high standard and is able to enforce it for a whole season. They need somebody to mold these talented players into winners.

 

[BB79]

Capitals is about to make PO with -38.

The Sabres don't benefit from playing in the weak ass metro division, unfortunately.

 

[eojsmada]

Ken Dryden, but that was a million years ago.

And another bajillion hall of famers. Not that he wasn't good, but he self-admits that he was carried his first year and a bit.

 

[CowbellConray]

Tmac and/or Berube would probably get this team into the playoffs. Too bad they’re not great with young players. Bit of a conundrum.

Adams said he does not want to hear that the team is "young" anymore. Feels it's an excuse. Maybe he believes the team can handle a coach like Berube?

 

[BB79]

I'd love to see Berube. Question is, does any legitimate NHL quality coach want to work for Pegula and Co.? It seems like they have an awful reputation around the league at this point

 

[sxvnert]

Adams forces Levi onto the roster for 20GP then fires the coach when it doesn't work out. Both should be fired.

 

[Mattilaus]

Adams forces Levi onto the roster for 20GP then fires the coach when it doesn't work out. Both should be fired.

I think this will be the last time I try to get this point across in this thread.

Levi wasn't why we missed
Levi wasn't why we missed
Levi wasn't why we missed

 

[93LEAFS]

I'd love to see Berube. Question is, does any legitimate NHL quality coach want to work for Pegula and Co.? It seems like they have an awful reputation around the league at this point

It seems like a career graveyard for coaches and management. Most coaches have big enough egos they overlook this stuff though. No one Pegula has hired has become a head coach or GM again, and Kruger and Tim Murray haven't done anything since. The others are either assistant coaches in the NHL or a head coach in the AHL, and Botterill is an AGM.

 

[Deevo]

I'd love to see Berube. Question is, does any legitimate NHL quality coach want to work for Pegula and Co.? It seems like they have an awful reputation around the league at this point

Lindy will.

 

[rams]

It seems like a career graveyard for coaches and management. Most coaches have big enough egos they overlook this stuff though. No one Pegula has hired has become a head coach or GM again, and Kruger and Tim Murray haven't done anything since. The others are either assistant coaches in the NHL or a head coach in the AHL, and Botterill is an AGM.

7 coaches in 27 years.

 

[Panthaz89]

Several posts indicating Granato was the six highest tenured coach in the league when let go. What does that suggest? Imo The club has issues in its core players. They need core guys who enjoy playing winning hockey.

Like Reinhart, ROR, and Eichel they won nothing with the Sabres on and they were on the team together for years..... you can't just whine about the core players you have to get some actual capable vets at forward and on the backend instead of getting mostly guys nobody wants that are 4th line or 3rd pairing players most teams that are successful have actually acquired vets who are big contributors to the team while the Sabres have sat with one of the lowest salary team of young players for a while now.

So stop repeating yourself about core players when management needs to bring in more than just hoping the youth turns out the way they want.

 

[93LEAFS]

7 coaches in 27 years.

More than half of that is made up by Ruff, who is the only one who has gotten a job ass an NHL head coach since. He also wasn't hired by Pegula.

 

[Panthaz89]

Unfair comment that he doesn't make trades.

He did trade away our best center three times over in exchange for futures. Eichel, Reinhart and Mittelstadt.

Calling Mitts our best center when Cozens and Thompson have had much better peaks than him is kind of ridiculous and Cozens is only 23.

 

[HisIceness]

Sabres fans, I will do it. I will coach your team. I once coached the Detroit Lions to a Super Bowl appearance in a video game, which is one more Super Bowl appearance than they have in real life, how hard can this job possibly be?

 

[Xirik]

Lindy Ruff come on down!

 

[Petey O]

Bruce, there it is!

 

[Fatass]

The problem is we can't just instantly fire and replace the team. So what would you suggest we do? Stick with the bad coach just because there have been coaches before him?

Change coaches and a couple key core players. Out with guys who don’t enjoy playing the way needed to win and in with guys who do enjoy that style of play.

 

[Mattilaus]

Change coaches and a couple key core players. Out with guys who don’t enjoy playing the way needed to win and in with guys who do enjoy that style of play.

I would argue those core guys who don't enjoy playing the way needed to win might just not know how to play that way due to bad coaching. A lot of these guys haven't played under many coaches aside from Ganato. If we are talking Skinner here, I think every single poster on the Sabres board would love to jettison him but the reality is he has a full NMC.

 

[markpenske]

How the f*** is Matt Ellis that cockroach still a part of this bench team?

Never underestimate the power of the iWatch

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

Granato did a good job developing and getting more out of a lot of players, but they seem ready to turn the corner now and he showed this season he didn't have the ability to go from mentor and development focused coach to one focused on winning games and holding guys accountable.

 

[CanadienShark]

f***, I really thought that video coordinator was making an impact.