Lindy Ruff may be getting roughed up

Remember when Lindy Ruff took over for Ted Nolan in 1997? I was as shocked as anyone that Nolan was sent his walking papers. To be honest, I wasn’t that angry about it because I really didn’t think Nolan was anything more then a good motivator with a brilliant goaltender.

I had no clue who this guy Ruff was, because I was to young to remember him play. I just thought he looked like a walrus or a distant cousin of Mike Holmgren.

12 years later, Ruff is still the top fish at the HSBC Arena. He’s arguably the biggest and most popular active sports figure in Buffalo. He has either won with playing a defense style or a shoot em’ up type offense. Ruff’s been untouchable.

When the Sabres went from Stanley Cup finalists to an 8th seed, no one blamed Ruff. When they went 3 straight years earlier this decade without making the playoffs, everyone blamed John Rigas. When the Sabres lost Chris Drury and Daniel Briere making them go from President’s Trophy to 10th seed, everyone blamed management.

But how long can Mr. Teflon get a pass for the Sabres short comings? Can you remember a time when Ruff was under this much pressure? And to be honest, it really isn’t that much. Ruff has never been under any scrutiny from the fans or even the media to perform. Ruff is good with a quote, which the media loves him for. His time with the Sabres as a player, and his no non-sense approach as a coach has kind of made him a hero amongst the fans. The room is at room temperature for Ruff, but another non-playoff season and hawks will be out.

Another factor is this is Ruff’s contract year with the Sabres. I had written earlier that I didn’t understand why Ruff always wanted to stay in Buffalo. He could of went anywhere else with a bigger pay roll and market. Lets not forget, when he signed his 3-year extension it was just prior to the Briere/Drury debacle. After the c0-captains departure from Buffalo, Ruff was asked if he regretted signing the extension knowing the Sabres would be far less competitive, “hindsight is 20/20,” Ruff said. Not exactly a glowing ring. Ruff maybe getting sick of the Sabres way of doing business.

If there is any knock I have on Ruff is his constant juggling of lines, I believe chemistry is very important in hockey and just throwing player’s names in a hat and see what you pull out, just doesn’t work. And Ruff should thank his lucky stars that some of the players who he’d driven out of town haven’t exactly blossomed.

Look, I do like Ruff as a coach but if the Sabres are going to keep using the catch phrase “accountability,” shouldn’t Ruff be under the same phrase?

The biggest thing is how long can you have the same coach year in and year out? Al Davis theory on coaches is once they’ve been at a place for over 10 years as a coach, it’s time for them to move on because their message has become stale and teams have caught up to their schemes. Ruff is in year 13, will it be an unlikely 13 for Mr. Teflon?

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Lindy Ruff may be getting roughed up

Alan Draper

Alan Draper

Alan Draper