The Sabres should bring back Lindy Ruff

The Sabres should bring back Lindy Ruff

Should the Sabers bring back Lindy Ruff I’m on the yes side I’ll tell you why coming up here on the locked on Sabers Podcast you’re locked on Sabers your daily podcast on the Buffalo Sabers part of the locked on podcast Network your team every Day and thanks for making locked on Sabers your first listen every day we are free and available wherever you get your podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day today’s episode is presented by FanDuel Sportsbook make every moment more right now new customers get $200 in bonus Bets

With any winning $5 bets 200 bucks if your bet wins visit fanduel.com loock on to get started sney Joe dbsi here coming to you on also on YouTube if you want to check out our show on YouTube you can do it there and uh be sure to head us up on

Our text line you can do that if you’re not signed up already go to join sub text.com loock on Sabers the topic of today’s show already going back and forth with some of our listeners on our text line I got some text to read a little bit later on in today’s show

Lindy Ruff all right I’m ready to talk Lindy Ruff as his former team the team that he was coaching earlier in the season is in town to play the savers on Friday night Sabers and devils coming your way on Friday before Sabres and leafs on Saturday we’ll talk about those

Two games a little bit later on in today’s show if you want to follow me on Twitter at sneaky Joe sports to do that or you can follow the podcast account at locked ons saers as well we’ll get Jordan Greenway in the lineup after some question of whether or not he would play

On Friday and otherwise the lineups pretty much chalk slight change to some of the lines we’ll have that for you a little bit later on in today’s show uh we’ll start right away with the coach staff it is the topic that is front of my mind right now because I am thinking

A lot about Lindy Ruff as of late and I’ll get to Lindy coming up in the second segment of today’s show I really like the idea of bringing him back and I’m kind of putting aside the fact that we love him the fact that he is the all-time winningest coach in saber

History the fact that he’s the last coach that found any success with this team I’m ready to put all that aside for other reasons why I think Lindy actually makes sense to replace Don Granado but to get to Lindy Ruff you have to first see a coach change from the sabes in the

First place and that is where we get right now as we approach the end of the season with Don Granado I threw out there on our last show is there a result down the stretch of the Season that could be so poor that it would get

Granado fired is his job on the line a little bit at the end here whereas if they had an embarrassing end of the season could that cause them to make a change at head coach well what you’ve heard a lot of and I’ve been one that’s

Thought this too is I don’t see the Sabers making a coaching change I don’t believe that they want to pay Granado but extension that he hasn’t even coached a single game in yet I don’t think that they want to lose a guy that has the ability to you know help recruit

Players here because he’s beloved amongst players around the league uh at least on this team and he’s respected amongst players around the league I I think there are reasons there are good things he’s done turning Tage Thompson around right putting him at Center in the first place no other coach in the

League probably would have done that getting Jeff Skinner back to being a reliable goal scorer in the NHL after two seasons of nothingness after he had signed that contract getting Rasmus Dalene to be a Norris Trophy level defenseman for at least some time and then the other times he’s a very good

Number one defenseman he got Dalene back on track how about others on the team Alex tuck had career highs Dylan cousins became a great player under Don Granado Casey midd stat will get paid by the Colorado Avalanche because of what Don Granado did for him he was on the taxi

Squad Ralph Krueger’s taxi Squad he wasn’t even on the real team team when Granado took over as head coach so you’ve got a lot of success stories individual success stories but you do not have the overall team success and Granado of all coaches all time that have coached the most games without ever

Making the playoffs he’s on that list he’s very high on that list so it’s time it’s time to do something and you’ve got a narrative starting to shift you have got local media talking about the idea of Granado being moved on from by the sabes and now you have got the national

Media taking their cues a little bit on this topic the TSN insider trading guys last night Thursday night talked about Granado and his current job security with the Sabers and if you look at exactly what they said they basically said that it would they don’t see Granado getting fired right now but of

Course that can always change you got to soften the blow a little bit right that report isn’t GNA come right out and say oh they’re gonna fire Don Granado so they did say don’t see Granado being fired and then there was a butt and then there were some more talking that eventually led

To the top this would be tough a tough decision to get rid of Don Granado but the Sabers know they ha they cannot they have to be a team that’s not afraid of tough decisions that line of thinking starting to get thrown out there a

Little bit by people in the no the fact that it’s a realistic idea enough to talk about maybe means that we are tracking towards Don Granado getting fired I still tend to think if you were if I if I was a betting man that I am that I think Granado would be

The Sabers head coach night one next season but my doubt is starting to creep in a little bit as to whether or not he will be back and maybe Terry Pula has seen enough that hey I gave you three full seasons plus another half a season

In the covid year enough’s enough I gave you your chance I gave you your contract uh you can get paid and you can go do something else that is not crazy to me to think that Terry Pula could think I do believe and this is a question I get

Asked a lot is it more of a an Adams decision or is it more of a Don Granado decision and my belief is that while Adams has plenty of say in the matter no doubt he is in those meetings and he is an important voice in those

Meetings Terry paga has to sign off on it it’s a Terry Pula decision the owner has got to want to do it or of course I don’t think Granado is is going anywhere so that’s where I’m at with the current status of Granado but it is interesting

To me that a little by little the talk is starting to change more the wind is starting to blow away from no chance they never do it not even worth talking about now you feel that breeze that breeze is well maybe maybe they could do it it’s not impossible with that that

Gets me to thinking about the next coach if we can have that conversation and really before I move off this completely I’ll take a time out in a second here one other point on this before I move off and get to Lindy is that Don Granado getting fired is

Really the only thing the Sabres can do this Summer that is Meaningful I don’t really know what else there is to do they have not a lot of spots available they have a third line Center roll that’s probably available they have a fourth line Winger roll that’s probably available and if I’m

Giving and I have another spot that’s available probably in the third line but if I’m promising one of those to one of the three forward prospects Rosine uh Kulik and seavoy all of which could be ready for the NHL next season I got one spot for those three I I don’t

Have much else to do I’m gonna have a rookie I’m gonna have probably a new center down the middle somewhere and I’m G have a new fourth liner and I think that’s probably it you’re not getting substantial change to the roster this summer you’re not getting the GM changed

The only thing of substance of real substance I think that you could see as a big shift by the Sabers this summer kind of a someone who’s gonna fall on the sword for the season that we just had and I think ronado is the obvious answer changing the coach hey let’s give

Let’s give this roster another shot this combination of players with a with a few a few tweaks another chance with a different head coach I think that is the only thing that could happen this Summer that would be truly meaningful to the Sabers next season when we come back why

I like the idea of bringing Lindy Ruff back I’ll try to convince you if you’re not already on board when we come back here on the locked on Sabers podcast we are presented here by eBay Motors passion drive and patience what brings home the winning trophy is also what

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At 7 o’clock both games at Key Bank Center the former coach of the New Jersey Devils and of the Buffalo Sabres Lindy Ruff why I like this idea a lot and let’s start with this season by the way the devils are in town and Lindy got

Fired 12 games ago in the 12 games that the Devils have had since Lind Ru got fired six wins six losses they’ve played no better with Travis Green as the head coach then when Lindy Ruff was the head coach and that’s not surprising I sat here on this show the day Lindy was

Fired by the devils and told you it wasn’t his fault their goal tending is what sunk them last year they had good goal tending and they were a2o team this year starting goal tender VTEC vich had a really tough start to the year and then got injured and has

Been injured for most of the season and the Devils have never had the goal tending since he got injured to sustainably win they just didn’t have the saves and I’m not saying everything Lindy did was perfect I mean there are criticisms of how he handled young players how he handled lines that were

Questionable but last year he handled young players incredibly well he did great he took one the second youngest team in the league in New Jersey to the postseason to the second round of the postseason to a 112o regular season Lindy Ruff has done this everywhere he’s gone he has had

Three stints as a head coach in the NHL of course the sabes was the really really long one over a decade everywhere he’s gone he has got to the playoffs now listen he doesn’t have a cup he has not won the Stanley Cup but the sabes don’t

Have the right at this moment to worry about the Stanley Cup that’s down the road that’s another step forward right now it’s about ending this freaking 13-year playoff drought that is got to be goal one and then we’ll worry about the second one which is getting forward

Into the playoffs and getting to Stanley Cup contention you got to get to the playoffs first you got to get back to credibility you got to get back to being a real team in the NHL and this is how you do it you make the postseason Lindy

Made the postseason with the sabes in year one Lindy made the postseason with the Dallas Stars in year two the Devils it took a little bit actually excuse me the the Stars he made the playoffs in year one also year one with the Sabres year one with the with the Stars it took

Till year three with the Devils so that one it did take him a little bit longer although that first year with New Jersey was shortened due to co although I don’t think they were going to make it anyway um so he’s he’s got playoff success everywhere and this is why I truly like

Lindy for the Sabers job it has not not everything to do with the fact the heart the heart part of it right the the emotional ties the the fact that everyone loves Lindy and Lindy loves this team Lindy loves this city every chance Lindy gets he will tell you his

Biggest regret of his NHL life that dates back to 1979 the man has been in hockey for in the NHL for 45 years and he will always tell you his biggest regret is that he didn’t win a cup for Buffalo but that’s not even that’s not the

Reason why I want Lindy back is you know proven winner veteran experienced coach that you know you could get I Gerard Galant I don’t really think fits and also I don’t know that you could just get Gerard Galant I don’t know that you could just get Bruce budro to come out

Of retirement to coach you I mean I’m assuming you could get a guy like that if you really want to but you know that Lindy would do it you know you could get Lindy to do it the real core reasons why I want to see Lindy Ru back as the Sabers head

Coach everywhere he goes every type of Team he has he identifies what that team is good at who its best players are and he morphs his style around that and that is especially valuable in my eyes after seeing the sabes go through a season that I would label as

Confused from night one this team has been confused last year they were the third highest scoring team in the league Run and Gun outscore your mistakes we are going to score score score we’ll allow some odd man rushes and then the season ended one point out as good as

They had been during this drought then the summer happens and what really should have been we don’t change anything except we just get a few more saves we get more saves we improve the goal tending and boom we’re in instead an overhaul maybe not an overhaul may be a little bit strong but

A change a change to more defensively responsible more of a focus on playing your own end fewer chances fewer risk and what has happened is they’ve been confused they’ve kind of seemingly been going back and forth to we want to play a little bit more responsible to we want

To open things up I say they’ve been confused all season long that’s how they’ve sounded whenever Don Granado or Kevin Adams has been asked about this it’s never really the clearest answer Lindy never is confused look at the teams he’s coached well do start with just the Sabers teams all the way back

He shows up as Sabers head coach in 1997 and who’s their best player Dominic hashek by a mile by a country mile he is their best player What type of game did those Savers teams play lock down let’s shut everything down we’re going to try to win two to one our

Best forward is a selky trophy winner in Michael Pekka we’ve got good defenseman we’re gonna build around hasik and you could argue maybe that was the wrong thing to do roster wise you wanted to score too but Lindy knew what he had and he knew the only way to win was to to

Emphasize hasik then few years go by out of the lockout the the rules have changed there’s more power plays there’s more open Ice it’s more conformed now to skill and speed and Lindy looks at his team and says all right well my best players are Danny Brier and Chris Drury

And I’ve got Thomas vanck coming through the door here I’ve got my boy fanof you’ve got Roy pville emerging from Rochester he looks around at a speed skilled team and says you know what let’s go be the highest scoring team in the league and that’s what they did in ‘

07 at least I know 06 they were high-scoring team maybe not number one but 07 they were number one in the league in scoring they built their team they played to their strengths which was speed skill and offense then Brier and Drury leave and now Lindy’s back to looking at his team

And saying my best player is my goenda Miller is their best player what do they do they go back they go back to being I mean how did they win the division in 2010 they win the division yeah on the heels of a vzna trophy level season I

Mean not level he won the vzna and Ryan Miller but that team didn’t take a lot of chances that team was defensively responsible that was the style they played he leaves and I’ll go right to New Jersey for last year what hases he got in New Jersey last year in New

Jersey that’s a young team that’s the second youngest team in the league Jack Hughes Nico heer look at all the skill look at all the talent that that Devil’s team had and yeah they had some good goal t for VC V but the Sabres were third in the league in scoring last year

Guess where the Devils were fourth the Devils were fourth in the NHL in goal scoring Lindy will conform his style to the type of Team he has and I think he would get here he would look at what he’s got he would identify what they’re good at and they that’s the way they

Would play and the the confusion that you have seen this year would no longer exist that’s why I really truly like the idea of Lindy Ruff coming back as the Sabers head coach I trust that he would get that right and because of what he’s done with the devils in recent like not

This isn’t 10 years ago he did this in New Jersey last year he had 112 Point Season with the second youngest team in the league I trust that Lindy can can do it with young players you know I could be wrong on that I know there were some

Complaints about him on that front in New Jersey but I look at Lindy and say Yes it doesn’t matter if your guys are young he will get the most out of them he will maybe you know Jack Hughes attributes Jack Hughes called Lindy like a father figure to him and Hughes said

He would not have been as good of a two-way player at this point in his career he entered as an offensive only player onedimensional and Lindy has he has credited Lindy with helping him transform into an allaround number one Center I want to see Lindy behind the

Bench for the Sabers and we’d all love it imagine night one of next season player introductions and then they go to the coaching staff imagine the roar even just in that moment of how Juiced up fans will be to see Lindy back behind the bench and again you could have a

Disney level story if things go really well and they complete the story and someday before Lindy is done they have won a Stanley Cup and he has achieved his dream of winning the cup for Buffalo uh I don’t think it’s all that likely that they would win the cup with him as

The coach but one can dream right time out here when we come back my parlay of the day Sabers and devils and then also Sabers and leafs on Saturday we’ll talk about it coming up here on lockdown Sabers back here in the lock down Sabers podcast we’ve got Sabers and Devils

Coming your way 7:00 on Friday night at KeyBank Center it cannot go worse than it did Wednesday against Ottawa I think line combinations for this game Jordan Greenway will be in the lineup there was some question of that he left the ice on Tuesday with an

Apparent injury but he is going to be on the ice and he’ll be out a line with pton Krebs and Jeff Skinner I uh I kind of like the idea of putting some size on this line maybe open up some space for Krebs and Skinner I am running out of

Real estate though for pton preps I was a truther I defended that guy I thought that he had some ability off defensively and I’m not out on him completely but I’m very discouraged by what I’ve seen and this is a different combination for him Skinner and green white but above

Him the top six in this game Thompson tuck and PKA PKA will stay up there with Thompson and Tuck and cousins will be between Jack Quinn and Zack Benson new a little bit different you know petka I guess didn’t play with Quinn and cousins in that last game uh I

Could even pay attention because they were down they were getting rocked so early by Ottawa but we’ll see how Benson looks on that line I bet though if you don’t if gonado doesn’t like the combo you’re going to see PKA get moved back with cousins Quinn at some point in this

Game Blue Line looks the same as it has and just want to double check this because it was the case when I started the show and yes Devon Levi is expected to be between the pipes for the Sabers uh got a lot of action against Ottawa on

Wednesday he’s going to be back in this game and maybe get sent down after this spe Chester we’ll see I hope not I hope he plays more games down the course of the Season Levi is a reason why in our parlay of the day I am taking under

Under six and a half goals for Sabers and Devils I am GNA take the Devils on the money line though at minus 134 I just cannot trust the Sabers the way they have looked recently they’re so inconsistent they so je and high just never ever ever know what you’re going

To get on a game to game basis you know exactly what you’re going to get on a three game five game sample size but one game who knows and finally I’m going to go Jack Quinn to record three plus shots on gold um I think Quinn is the shooter

Of that line I think without PKA on it Benson is a playmaker a pass first type of guy cousins is a center and a playmaker in his own right I think Quinn without PKA becomes the shooter becomes the sniper of that line and I think that

He’ll you’ll see him get three or more shots goal in this one all that together plus 998 10 to win 99 or 100 to win 999 all right that’s going to do it for us today here on lockdown Sabers enjoy Sabers and Devils as best you can and if

You’re going to Sabers and leaf it’s gonna be the best atmosphere maybe left of the Season we shall see a lot of leaf fans that’s going to do it for us thanks for listening here on lock on Sabers po lock on saers podcast part of the locked

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The winds on Don Granato’s job security may be starting to shift a little bit, pointing more towards the possibility of his being fired this offseason. If that were to happen, Sneaky Joe makes the case that the Sabres should bring back Lindy Ruff as the team’s head coach.

Would Lindy be a stunt? Or is he the most credible coach the Sabres could get their hands on? Joe believes Ruff has proven multiple times that he can fix the Sabres style.

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