Confirmed with Link: Head Coach Vacancy Pt IV — Rangers get permission to speak to Ruff

[jacko23]

I'd like to see Eakins get a shot. Fresh blood.

i first read this as "I'd like to see Eakins get shot. Fresh blood." dark humor, but it fit....

sorry i cant bring anything useful to this conversation. you guys are far more in the know as far as coaches go. Im on the fence about AV and id like Tippett if he can be pried away from PHX and a big NO to Mess.

 

[KreiMeARiver*]

Drury, Tallinder, Briere all in a few years. NJ lost one forward who wasn;t even their best one, and didn't make the playoffs. Nashville lost their #2D, same thing. (injuries probably had something to do with it though) I don't think Ruff is to blame here, he had a few good runs.

I'm pretty sure he said "good" players, not "the crappiest players on Earth".

 

[Tawnos]

He's connected to the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise. Toronto is all about hype. No way a guy like Eakins could handle New York. Not as his first NHL gig.

I'm fairly certain that the hockey media in Toronto is harder to deal with, even as the AHL coach, than the hockey media in NYC would be as an NHL coach.

 

[NYR Viper]

When the majority of the league make the playoffs, not really. The Devils lost a lot of top players a long the way.

I mean if you look around the league at the top players they lost:

Campbell
Briere
Drury
Dumont
Grier
Afinogenov
Lydman
Tallinder



I mean they have always had skilled player, but for the longest time, they just couldn't afford to pay them.

 

[silverfish]

Wonder if Lindy would bring James Patrick with him. Both Lindy and James have ties to the Rangers previously. I think Lindy is getting a bum rep in this thread.

Fact is, the Rangers are in a position to make a push right now. Bringing in a more experienced coach, in my opinion, is the correct move.

Ruff was able to take the Sabres to two straight ECFs because he was able to get the most out of his star players through the season and in the post-season. Drury, Briere, Afinogenov, Vanek, Pominville, and Derek Roy all excelled under Ruff. Vanek as a 21/22 yr old those years (05-06, 06-07). He's coached Pyatt before (who knows if Taylor will be here next season though). He coached a guy like Pat Kaleta Pat's entire career. And sure, Kaleta was still a ******, but Ruff got a lot out of him and knew his purpose on the ice; that will do wonders for Dorsett, or a guy like Haley to get a real shot here.

And both of those seasons, the Sabres pushed through the playoffs with overly mediocre goalie Ryan Miller.

I for one, would welcome Lindy coming to town. I'd love to see what he could get out of our forwards, I'd love to see what he can do with a goalie like Lundqvist, and a budding defense like the Rangers have.

I'd be okay with Eakins, but like I said, I'm hesitant in bringing in a fresh coach like Eakins or especially Messier, with a team that is so ready to make a push. If the Rangers were in "rebuild" mode, I'd be all for a guy like Eakins or Mess. Let the coach grow with the team. For now, while we're still "in it to win it" let's get a guy with a pedigree, with the experience, and with the knowledge.

Sign me up for Ruff.

Ruff '13

 

[Tawnos]

Ruff's teams always were successful, when they were successful, through overachieving.

 

[RangerBoy]

Craig Custance spoke to Gordie Clark about Messier as a possible coach. Clark said Messier talks a lot about the Oilers glory days whenever they talk hockey. Clark thinks Messier is smart enough to adapt his coaching methods to his roster. What are his coaching methods? Clark said Messier really like Moore and Brassard. Custance also spoke with Don Maloney who said Tippett needs more time to make his decision. Its an ESPN Insider article.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

At first I was dead against AV.

1 cup run, great regular season, and a lot of post season meltdowns. So I'm like, what's so spectacular about that? Right?

But then I got thinking.

This year and last year, would we have even beaten the West Conference teams if we did get to the SCF? The Devils beat us pretty good and LA plastered them; and this year The Caps beat themselves and Boston pimp slapped us.

Other than Tippet, AV does have the edge in knowledge of beating those teams if we can get that far. And Gorton & Clarke seem to be drafting us to resemble Boston and those West teams...Big, Fast, Agile, & Character.

I mean. The SC playoffs are a crap shoot no matter what when it comes to our Conference, but facing the ultimate road to a Cup win pretty much goes through Chi, Det, LA, or SJ and those teams have creamed us the past couple years we matched up against them in the regular season and their systems are top notch and executed very well by the personel.

give him Lundqvist and hes prob got multiple cups along with 2 presidential trophies

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

I mean if you look around the league at the top players they lost:

Campbell
Briere
Drury
Dumont
Grier
Afinogenov
Lydman
Tallinder



I mean they have always had skilled player, but for the longest time, they just couldn't afford to pay them.

We can split hairs all we want. There are always excuses or reasons why a team doesn't perform. But I think my original question remains: where is this resume of success?

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Ruff's teams always were successful, when they were successful, through overachieving.

Missing the playoffs 7 of 14 seasons is always being successful?

Look, I'm not necessarily anti-Ruff. I just wonder if his exceptionally long tenure in Buffalo is overshadowing a pretty marginal run when you look at the results.

 

[NYR Viper]

We can split hairs all we want. There are always excuses or reasons why a team doesn't perform. But I think my original question remains: where is this resume of success?

He was part of Team Canada's Olympic Gold, he took a small market team to multiple President's trophies and deep into the playoffs. He continuously has developed good, young players along the way whether the team was winning or losing.

Vigneault has the same question. So does Eakins. So does pretty much everyone else out there.

 

[Pizza]

Now that the move has been made it's pretty clear that it needed to be made. That said don't be a bit surprised if the process of finding a new coach takes longer, maybe a lot longer than was initially indicated.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Originally Posted by Blueshirt Believer

Seriously Katie? Messier? See I don't dislike Katie Strang, but every once and a while she saids something unbelievably stupid.

Posts like this are what I absolutely love about these boards. Someone trying to sound like a genius, but they wind up sounding ridiculous instead.

 

[silverfish]

Singn, it sounds like the coach you're looking for will never be available. If a guy had multiple cups, and always led his team to the playoffs, do you think he'd be available to coach?

 

[Synergy27]

Missing the playoffs 7 of 14 seasons is always being successful?

Look, I'm not necessarily anti-Ruff. I just wonder if his exceptionally long tenure in Buffalo is overshadowing a pretty marginal run when you look at the results.

I think you missed the "when they were successful" part. His point is that Ruff got a lot out of teams that weren't expected to do much. I'll admit that I am intrigued by him as a candidate, but I'd still prefer a fresh face with a more modern outlook.

 

[Tawnos]

Missing the playoffs 7 of 14 seasons is always being successful?

Look, I'm not necessarily anti-Ruff. I just wonder if his exceptionally long tenure in Buffalo is overshadowing a pretty marginal run when you look at the results.

Read it again.

 

[Tawnos]

He was part of Team Canada's Olympic Gold, he took a small market team to multiple President's trophies and deep into the playoffs. He continuously has developed good, young players along the way whether the team was winning or losing.

Vigneault has the same question. So does Eakins. So does pretty much everyone else out there.

So did Mike Keenan. So did Joel Quenneville. So did Claude Julien. So did Mike Babcock. So did Darryl Sutter.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

I think you missed the "when they were successful" part. His point is that Ruff got a lot out of teams that weren't expected to do much. I'll admit that I am intrigued by him as a candidate, but I'd still prefer a fresh face with a more modern outlook.

Read it again.

My mistake. But I think the bottom part of my post is still valid.

 

[haohmaru]

I'm glad Gretzky is out of the mix. Hire AV with Mess as an assistant and Leetch as another assistant.

 

[Tawnos]

My mistake. But I think the bottom part of my post is still valid.

It might be. The first stretch of playoff-less seasons came when Hasek left the team, which could indicate that Ruff's regular season success in making the playoffs for the 4 years before weren't really a result of his coaching. Although, by then, they had also lost Peca.

The second playoff-less stretch coincided with losing his top 2 centers simultaneously.

His roster was relatively stable in the transition to this current couple of years without the playoffs.

I honestly think, though, that Ruff's tenure, in a sense, isn't really his fault. He should've been fired long before this year, but for some reason wasn't.

 

[Vickers8]

AV was in the mix till Melrose said to hire him, now forget it

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

I still think Scott Gordon would be worth interviewing.

 

[Clown Fiesta]

Do they speak Tikanese there?

Can you imagine the pressers?

That's it, I've made my choice Tikanen for coach!

 

[Kris Chreider]

I'm pretty sure he said "good" players, not "the crappiest players on Earth".

Yes, Drury and Briere and Tallinder and Lydman and Campbell were the worst players on earth in their prime.

Your reasoning is flawless.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Do they speak Tikanese there?

Pfft, no one but Esa actually speaks it. All they need to do is have some rudimentary understanding of what he's asking them to do.