Speculation: The Coaching Search (Friedman: Ruff to be next HC)

[Doug Prishpreed]

Bring in Chris Taylor and leave Seth in Roch.

Doesn't he already have that job? Are you allowed to take him away if it's not a promotion? Otherwise, that would be ideal imo.

 

[Mattilaus]

There are plenty of Blues fans who think the stanley cup win was more a result of Yeo's work with the team that year than it was Berube's.

I just love how everyone's an expert on coaching, which most people don't have any insight into.


Why doesn't he fit, specifically?

He is a .436 in the playoffs for his coaching career and has never made a deep run. That just doesn't fit my definition of pedigree. You are free to disagree, but I want a coach with success in high pressure situations.

As for the "expert" comment. I guess we should all just stop speculating about anything since none of us are experts then. Might make for a really dead message board however.

 

[RefsIdeas]

I’d agree with most other comments that Brind’Amour would be the ideal target.

But there’s something that doesn’t sit right with my 17 year old self that the Sabres could potentially have a member of the 05-06 Hurricanes as both our head coach and GM. Hell, I didn’t even like driving by Carolina Furniture after we lost.

 

[Mattilaus]

I’d agree with most other comments that Brind’Amour would be the ideal target.

But there’s something that doesn’t sit right with my 17 year old self that the Sabres could potentially have a member of the 05-06 Hurricanes as both our head coach and GM. Hell, I didn’t even like driving by Carolina Furniture after we lost.

No worse than Ruff ending up in Dallas after he left Buffalo IMO. That felt more weird to me.

 

[Vito_81]

Maybe not the best choice. But I hope its Lindy coming back for some unfinished business.

 

[Jim Bob]

He is a .436 in the playoffs for his coaching career and has never made a deep run. That just doesn't fit my definition of pedigree. You are free to disagree, but I want a coach with success in high pressure situations.

As for the "expert" comment. I guess we should all just stop speculating about anything since none of us are experts then. Might make for a really dead message board however.

Playoff winning% for some of the guys that have been mentioned:

Ruff .538
Gallant .517
Brind'Amour .508
Boudreau .478
Berube .466
Yeo .436

Personally, I do not place a lot of value in the playoff winning percentage of these candidates when discussing who is likely to be the best fit. This team needs a coach that gets them into the playoffs before we start talking about whether the coach can get them deep into the playoffs, IMO.

 

[Mattilaus]

Playoff winning% for some of the guys that have been mentioned:

Ruff .538
Gallant .517
Brind'Amour .508
Boudreau .478
Berube .466
Yeo .436

Personally, I do not place a lot of value in the playoff winning percentage of these candidates when discussing who is likely to be the best fit. This team needs a coach that gets them into the playoffs before we start talking about whether the coach can get them deep into the playoffs, IMO.

I am not talking about going deep when it comes to the Sabres. I am just using deep runs as an indicator that a coach has a proven ability to perform under pressure. Yeo hasn't shown enough for me to make the conclusion he can deal with pressure adequately. Coaches who have a lot of playoff success or deep runs (again, to me) show that they can handle the weight of expectations.

At this point I don't believe there will be more pressure on any team in the NHL, to have regular season success, than the Sabres will have. I want a coach who can handle it is all and I don't like Yeo for this.

 

[Dubi Doo]

I don't know jack shit about Yeo besides his record with the Wild and what the Blues fans said about him, so I have no opinion. Was just wondering how everyone became such experts.

But yeah, the fact that he has a job that may not end for months is a good sign he's not in the mix.

I dont think anyone is claiming to be an expert. Most of us probably have a decent bit of knowledge on a lot of these guys. It's interesting to discuss, and I dont see an issue in people discussing coaches even if their knowledge of the coaches is a bit limited. It's not like we're giving out in-depth medical advice to someone!

 

[Jim Bob]

I am not talking about going deep when it comes to the Sabres. I am just using deep runs as an indicator that a coach has a proven ability to perform under pressure. Yeo hasn't shown enough for me to make the conclusion he can deal with pressure adequately. Coaches who have a lot of playoff success or deep runs (again, to me) show that they can handle the weight of expectations.

At this point I don't believe there will be more pressure on any team in the NHL, to have regular season success, than the Sabres will have. I want a coach who can handle it is all.

I don't think playoff success or lack of it really tells us much about whether a coaching candidate has what the Sabres need at this point in time.

I wouldn't be shocked if Yeo weren't the best fit and it has nothing to do with a lack of deep playoff runs on his coaching resume. One thing that I wonder about is what has he learned as an assistant in Vancouver the past two seasons. That might have given him some stuff that would be what the Sabres need now.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

He is a .436 in the playoffs for his coaching career and has never made a deep run. That just doesn't fit my definition of pedigree. You are free to disagree, but I want a coach with success in high pressure situations.

As for the "expert" comment. I guess we should all just stop speculating about anything since none of us are experts then. Might make for a really dead message board however.

Looking only at playoffs win percentage just seems like a very shallow and lazy way to assess such a complicated job. You don't have to be an expert to take a deeper look than that before making proclamations that you'd never watch the team again, like some are doing.

Anyway, I'm impressed that he made it to the playoffs so often wit the Wild, with such an unimpressive roster, year after year. And he's had a big role with Vancouver this year, and look how much they've improved. He also coached the Blues team for most of the year that they won a cup. A lot of people attributed their success to him at the time.

 

[jBuds]

For some unknown reason....maybe it's just a mistaken perception.... I can not see gallant and Adams striking a cordial relationship.

Gerard seems to be a my way or the highway type of guy....

Wondering how much of that is because of the significant amount of delegating he does to his staff. Think that was a big complaint towards the end of his NYR tenure, that he was only there in word and not deed.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

I dont think anyone is claiming to be an expert. Most of us probably have a decent bit of knowledge on a lot of these guys. It's interesting to discuss, and I dont see an issue in people discussing coaches even if their knowledge of the coaches is a bit limited. It's not like we're giving out in-depth medical advice to someone!

Look how many people who said they'd totally give up on the team if Yeo is hired -- I'd assume you have to be an expert to have such a confident appraisal.

 

[Mattilaus]

Looking only at playoffs win percentage just seems like a very shallow and lazy way to assess such a complicated job. You don't have to be an expert to take a deeper look than that before making proclamations that you'd never watch the team again, like some are doing.

Anyway, I'm impressed that he made it to the playoffs so often wit the Wild, with such an unimpressive roster, year after year. And he's had a big role with Vancouver this year, and look how much they've improved. He also coached the Blues team for most of the year that they won a cup. A lot of people attributed their success to him at the time.

Hey I never said I was an expert or that I wouldn't watch if they hired him. I just said in my opinion he isn't what they are looking for and that I wouldn't be excited if they did hire him.

I don't think playoff success is any less of a shallow or lazy indicator of quality than just taking the opinions of a couple people on his impact with the blues in a year where he was fired. But I'll leave it here because I dislike the snarky "you aren't an expert" and "your opinions are lazy and shallow" comments and I don't feel like being mad today.

 

[Dingo44]

If you look up "retread" in the NHL dictionary it has Mike Yeo's bald head in the picture.

He's fine as an assistant but please no.

Too bad there isn't a Cassidy or Mongomery floating around.

Honestly, the best candidate on paper is Q but no way with that baggage. It's the fact he wrote a letter of recommendation for Brad Aldrich after he got let go by the Blackhawks for the abuse of Kris Beech and that led to him being able to abuse more kids at his new job that really finalizes it for me.

 

[WiHockeyGuy]

I'd be fine with Yeo as an assistant, not as the head coach of this particular team.

If you look up "retread" in the NHL dictionary it has Mike Yeo's bald head in the picture.

He's fine as an assistant but please no.

Too bad there isn't a Cassidy or Mongomery floating around.

Honestly, the best candidate on paper is Q but no way with that baggage. It's the fact he wrote a letter of recommendation for Brad Aldrich after he got let go by the Blackhawks for the abuse of Kris Beech and that led to him being able to abuse more kids at his new job that really finalizes it for me.

I agree. Coach Q, in a vacuum, would be an excellent choice. But in reality, you can't hire the man. He failed at the bare minimum of not letting his players be abused.

 

[My Cozen Dylan]

Doesn't he already have that job? Are you allowed to take him away if it's not a promotion? Otherwise, that would be ideal imo.

I’m assuming the next coach brings in his own guys.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Look how many people who said they'd totally give up on the team if Yeo is hired -- I'd assume you have to be an expert to have such a confident appraisal.

There's probably some hyperbole in those statements even if they are speaking from the heart. I feel like a bigger portion of my posts over the past 5 months have been full of hyperbole, haha.

Even if those posters did quit on the team, what are the ramifications if they're wrong? The Sabres become good and they're back on the bandwagon again. It doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

I'm of the opinion coaches can look mediocre with one franchise but also look great with another franchise. There are just so many variables involved (on ice product, GM's philosophy, the coach growing from their mistakes, etc...). That being said, I wouldn't be thrilled with Yeo, but I'd love to be proven wrong if he's hired.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

There's probably some hyperbole in those statements even if they are speaking from the heart. I feel like a bigger portion of my posts over the past 5 months have been full of hyperbole, haha.

Even if those posters did quit on the team, what are the ramifications if they're wrong? The Sabres become good and they're back on the bandwagon again. It doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

I'm of the opinion coaches can look mediocre with one franchise but also look great with another franchise. There are just so many variables involved (on ice product, GM's philosophy, the coach growing from their mistakes, etc...). That being said, I wouldn't be thrilled with Yeo, but I'd love to be proven wrong if he's hired.

I wouldn’t be thrilled with him either and would find him very hard to get excited about.

If you look up "retread" in the NHL dictionary it has Mike Yeo's bald head in the picture.

He's fine as an assistant but please no.

Too bad there isn't a Cassidy or Mongomery floating around.

Honestly, the best candidate on paper is Q but no way with that baggage. It's the fact he wrote a letter of recommendation for Brad Aldrich after he got let go by the Blackhawks for the abuse of Kris Beech and that led to him being able to abuse more kids at his new job that really finalizes it for me.

Same with Lindy and Berube. Adams is basically looking for a retread.

 

[Push Dr Tracksuit]

I just love how everyone's an expert on coaching, which most people don't have any insight into.

could just read "love how everyones an expert, which most people aren't"

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

could just read "love how everyones an expert, which most people aren't"

Not really, since I'm talking about coaching specifically.

With players, at least we can see the people who play hockey. You can't see 95% of what a coach does unless you're there in the building at practices, during video sessions, and in meetings with his GM and assistants.

 

[Fjordy]

RBA (dream)

Ruff. Berube or BB

 

[Der Jaeger]

Remember, coaches sometimes turn down offers. Lindy's 64, and maybe he wants to step away from the pressure of coaching.

Just to add that perspective to things.

I can guarantee that Adams and Lindy are talking already. So if Adams goes in a different direction, it'll be because Lindy doesn't want the position.

 

[rams]

So if Adams goes in a different direction, it'll be because Lindy doesn't want the position.

Maybe. Or maybe there are better options out there. Eg. Gallant

 

[Der Jaeger]

Maybe. Or maybe there are better options out there. Eg. Gallant

That could also be true. But let's say it is Mike Yeo, as is on reddit. We might not know it if Lindy said no, Gallant said no, etc. We'll just be pissed and crap on Adams.

 

[Chainshot]

Whoever it is has to be able to instill structure, accountability and try to leverage what they have. One of the things with Tocchet having success in Vancouver is the players have all bought in on what he is asking. They forecheck and reload in waves, it makes it hard to move without having someone in a player’s face, contesting the puck. That wasn’t what was happening with Bruce.

Yeo is part of that as one of Rick’s assistants. That said, he has some middling history that would make it a harder sell to a lot of fans who are going to look at his HC history and wonder what it is that he does to improve the team his history with some average teams. His work as an assistant seems top notch.

Digging more around about Gallant, the lax practices and such don’t seem like a fit. Him being fiery is I am sure the appeal. But how did he run things in NY and in Vegas or in Florida? That requires more digging, honesty. I know Vegas fans thought he got a raw deal when he was dismissed. I don’t know that he has any ties to Adams ever.