80 replies to this topic

[Stormin Norman]

Thought I would start a post about my appreciation and thanks to Lindy Ruff.  While I lament -- as much for him as for me and Sabres fans everywhere -- that he didn't get Buffalo to a Cup, it is undeniable that he bleeds Sabres blue and was always the consistent, competitive soldier we needed through all kinds of tumult and uncertainty.  This list is very incomplete, so please help build the content of this "Thank You, Lindy" card.  I hope he reads it someday.

Thank you, Lindy, for:

- Loudly proclaiming, "No Goal!" with conviction and an unshakable resolve to be back to the FInals
- Going toe to toe (verbally) with Ken Hitchcock when we wanted you to pound him
- Being a rock through the dark Regis/NHL ownership transition
- Being so accessible to fans and the media during good and bad times
- Consistently being such a positive advocate for the City of Buffalo, the region, and our Fans
- Matching the competitive spirit of Sabres fans everywhere
- Being a worthy successor Captain to Gilbert Perreault

I wish you nothing but happiness and success going forward. As a true Sabres fan, I fully expect you to win Cups in every other city you decide to coach in!

Edited by Stormin Norman, 20 February 2013 - 07:41 PM.

[Grumpy]

Most of what you said was true. It was time.  He made a lot of money and raised his family in one town. A very lucky coach in any pro sport, at any level

[TheChimp]

I hope Lindy gets another coaching job in the NHL and wins a Cup the year after the Sabres win one.

[d4rksabre]

I really appreciate the time Lindy put in here. It can't have been easy trying to work though so many ups and downs. I hope he takes some time off and then comes back refreshed. Best of luck.

[bunomatic]

I appreciate Lindy and what he has done for this organization but make no mistake, It was time. Lindy was one of my childhood idols so there's never been any malice in my desire for change nor do I wish lindy any ill will. I wish him the best and I'm sure he'll find success elsewhere. I really hope he does. Now I'm excited to look forward as I'm sure he is.

[SabresBaltimore]

My favorite moment was after the Ottawa brawl when he got up on the boards to yell at Bryan Murray.

[MichFan]

Most definitely ... thank you Lindy.

[ThirtyEight]

I will miss the guy. It was his coaching that ultimately made me a sabres fan. So thank you Lindy. I hope he goes on to have a great career

[sabre snipe]

It is a testament to Lindy that you see all the fans that were calling for his head, are now wishing him the best with no hard feelings, myself included.  The fans still have respect for the guy, which is rare to see in the sports world after a coach gets fired.  Nothing other than his time to go; a change had to be made, and I know he understands that as well.

Here's to Lindy!!   Thanks for the memories...I wouldnt be the sabres fan I am today without you, and it will be so strange to see someone else coaching behind the bench.  

Best of luck to you, hope you can win a cup somewhere, and hope Buffalo will always remain dear to you in your heart

[North Buffalo]

Thank You Lindy for all your effort, that was never lacking.  Great Respect and you will be missed.  Take a break and then come back and go dive on a goalie....  

[IKnowPhysics]

I hope I run across his path someday after he's completed a long, successful career.  I'd like to have a beer with him and reminisce about the good times.  The man's got stories to tell.

"Cheers to Laviolette and Hitchcock being enormous pricks."

Edited by IKnowPhysics, 20 February 2013 - 09:11 PM.

[bills_fan_in_raleigh]

When the sabres did these road crew things lindy was always willing to,talk to the fans in raleigh.   He seemed to like coming here and hearing us out shout canes fans.   He was always approachable and easy to talk to.  I liked the guy but felt this team needed a new direction and a coaching change was easier than changing out all the players.   Not saying it will work but always felt his teams started to tune him out.

[wonderbread]

Cue the we should hire Lindy in 3..2..1.

In all seriousness I wish him nothing but the best. I heard that he has been involved in 54% of all Sabres games. That's a testament to his legacy.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

i've never confused the person with the coach. He has a few major weaknesses as coach, but always a rye, stand up guy off the ice.

I hope he takes a year or two off and enjoys his family. He has had 2 major life events that would knock the crap out of anyone. Take a breather....then see what you want to do long term.

[I am Marcellus]

He'll never have to buy a drink in this town again, seriously, I hope.

[Meathead]

for as many times as i made fun of ppl who were saying 'lindy has lost this team' i think this season he really did. most of the season and especially the last few games they have been coasting around like zombies most of the time. last night was just brutally bad, like they were drugged or something. if they were trying to look like they wanted to get him fired they couldnt have done a better job. it was like dead hockey team walking

i didnt want to see him go but it was time

thanks for your time here lindy. frankly i hope you just retire and dont go someplace else. but if you do, good luck when its not against the sabres. cool dude

[sizzlemeister]

I would have loved to have watched Ruff lift up the Cup as Sabres Head Coach. I think to a lot of us around here, that would have been storybook. I was there for the no-goal rally, and anyone who was there will tell you Ruff had the entire fanbase wrapped around his finger.

Frankly, it irks me greatly that this team got Ruff fired, and Regier walks away unscathed.

Anyway, thanks Lindy...wish one of those teams could have got it done for you.  If anyone is a Sabre-For-Life, it's Lindy Ruff.

[novascotiaguy]

I find my self holding back tears today I have watched almost every buffalo game since 97 and Ruff was always the face of the team. It was time for him to go but so on fair he deserved to hold the cup for this team someday and now that will never happen just wish I could feel better about this.

[buftex]

Meathead, on 20 February 2013 - 11:08 PM, said:

for as many times as i made fun of ppl who were saying 'lindy has lost this team' i think this season he really did. most of the season and especially the last few games they have been coasting around like zombies most of the time. last night was just brutally bad, like they were drugged or something. if they were trying to look like they wanted to get him fired they couldnt have done a better job. it was like dead hockey team walking

i didnt want to see him go but it was time

thanks for your time here lindy. frankly i hope you just retire and dont go someplace else. but if you do, good luck when its not against the sabres. cool dude

Love Ruff, the first 10 years he was in Buffalo, as head coach, were pretty terrific.  I wish him all the best.

As to your point about Lindy losing the team, Ryan Miller, as always, had some pretty telling things to say about Ruff's firing.  Ryan was saying, essentially, what all of us are saying...love the guy, but a change is probably best for both parties.  Miller said (paraphrasing) "I would feel different if we were playing well, but were just getting bad breaks and losing games....but we have not been playing well, but that hasn't been the case..."  Miller, and Darcy, from what I heard, both sounded pretty sad.

I am kind of surprised the Sabres didn't offer him a job in the organ-i-zation...at least for the rest of the season...you see that all the time in the NHL.  Or, maybe Lindy made it clear he planned on coaching again, as soon as possible?  I wouldn't think he would run to the first job that opens up, but maybe.  I have little doubt he will be coaching again, soon.

Edited by buftex, 20 February 2013 - 11:25 PM.

[Formerly Allan in MD]

Lindy deserves the best but it was time.

[Bmwolf21]

Lindy's a class act, and a true Buffalonian.  I hope that he takes a step back, enjoys his family and life, and then returns to finds more success - like The Chimp says, wins a Cup the year after we do - but hopefully somewhere not named Toronto, Philly, Carolina, Ottawa....

[Cereal]

SabresBaltimore, on 20 February 2013 - 08:38 PM, said:

My favorite moment was after the Ottawa brawl when he got up on the boards to yell at Bryan Murray.

This will be the most vivid lasting image of Coach Lindy in my mind.  That moment made me so proud!

[Eleven]

Stormin Norman, on 20 February 2013 - 07:41 PM, said:

Thought I would start a post about my appreciation and thanks to Lindy Ruff.  While I lament -- as much for him as for me and Sabres fans everywhere -- that he didn't get Buffalo to a Cup, it is undeniable that he bleeds Sabres blue and was always the consistent, competitive soldier we needed through all kinds of tumult and uncertainty.  This list is very incomplete, so please help build the content of this "Thank You, Lindy" card.  I hope he reads it someday.

Thank you, Lindy, for:

- Loudly proclaiming, "No Goal!" with conviction and an unshakable resolve to be back to the FInals
- Going toe to toe (verbally) with Ken Hitchcock when we wanted you to pound him
- Being a rock through the dark Regis/NHL ownership transition
- Being so accessible to fans and the media during good and bad times
- Consistently being such a positive advocate for the City of Buffalo, the region, and our Fans
- Matching the competitive spirit of Sabres fans everywhere
- Being a worthy successor Captain to Gilbert Perreault

I wish you nothing but happiness and success going forward. As a true Sabres fan, I fully expect you to win Cups in every other city you decide to coach in!

Thread of the year. Awesome. We will miss him more than some realize.

buftex, on 20 February 2013 - 11:20 PM, said:

I am kind of surprised the Sabres didn't offer him a job in the organ-i-zation...at least for the rest of the season...you see that all the time in the NHL.  Or, maybe Lindy made it clear he planned on coaching again, as soon as possible?  I wouldn't think he would run to the first job that opens up, but maybe.  I have little doubt he will be coaching again, soon.

He'll get offers soon.  Whether he takes them, at his age and with his family entrenched, is a different matter.

I liked your first sentence, but I don't think Ruff is the guy who says "hey, sure, I'll be assistant director of player personnel."  Just not him.  They may have offered (doubt it) but I don't think he'd accept.

[TrueBluePhD]

I'll miss Ruff.  I actually enjoyed his pressers and loved the dry sense of humor.  I do believe the time had come here, but if he chooses to coach elsewhere, I think he'll be very successful.

[Eleven]

TrueBluePhD, on 21 February 2013 - 12:22 AM, said:

I'll miss Ruff.  I actually enjoyed his pressers and loved the dry sense of humor.  I do believe the time had come here, but if he chooses to coach elsewhere, I think he'll be very successful.

That sense of humor, when present, was awesome.  I still love the Hitchcock presser.

[Cereal]

Eleven, on 21 February 2013 - 12:41 AM, said:

That sense of humor, when present, was awesome.  I still love the Hitchcock presser.

Hahahaha.  I found it, or at least most of it.  Figured I'd just post it here:

[PASabreFan]

I'll repeat what I wrote moments after the news broke:

"I feel no joy at this. Thank you, Lindy. But it's a new era now. And that's exciting."

I also proposed sending Lindy's name into the rafters, or having a Lindy Ruff Night. That might not come until well down the road, as SDS suggested. I'm wondering if something informal might not be appropriate on Saturday night. Lindy on the Jumbotron or something... Lindy in the Zamboni entrance briefly, I dunno. Duet with Dougie? Not that you'd want to creep out Ron Rolston. But he's just the interim coach.

Lindy getting the beer in the face after Philly knocked us out in 2000 seems to stick in my mind. The guy has given this franchise everything he had. He lingered on a bit, too bad. Marv kind of had the right idea after 11 years.

[weave]

He gave everything he had on the ice.  Sometimes he gave more than he should have.  He coached the same way.  I hope he holds his head high.  He gave his best.

[dudacek]

The man loved this team as much as I do. He is a real Sabre to the core.
How many of those have we had?

[SabresFan526]

This was the right decision and probably should have been done last year. Having said that, I am totally sad by all of this. I genuinely liked Lindy Ruff and so badly wanted to see him win the Stanley Cup for Buffalo because he is the Buffalo Sabres in some respects given that he's been with the team for over 54% of their existence in some capacity. Today is not a good day even though it was the right thing to do.

Thank you, Lindy, for all that you have done as a player, as a coach, and as a person for this organization and city. I hope one day that there is some sort of ceremony honoring Lindy Ruff at First Niagara Center.

Today is going to go down as one of those days in history when people ask, "Where were you when Lindy Ruff got fired?" I was traveling to Calgary on business.

[papazoid]

it's darcy's fault.......darcy put this crap together......a small , soft team.

[Eleven]

He is the only Sabre to have been with the team for every iteration of the uniform.

[LaFontaineToMogilny]

sizzlemeister, on 20 February 2013 - 11:09 PM, said:

I would have loved to have watched Ruff lift up the Cup as Sabres Head Coach. I think to a lot of us around here, that would have been storybook. I was there for the no-goal rally, and anyone who was there will tell you Ruff had the entire fanbase wrapped around his finger.

Frankly, it irks me greatly that this team got Ruff fired, and Regier walks away unscathed.

Anyway, thanks Lindy...wish one of those teams could have got it done for you.  If anyone is a Sabre-For-Life, it's Lindy Ruff.

Thanks for heart, soul and effort put in over several decades for the Buffalo Sabres, and to the bolded: I feel exactly the same way.

[Taro T]

Eleven, on 21 February 2013 - 09:55 AM, said:

He is the only Sabre to have been with the team for every iteration of the uniform.

Not true.  He wasn't there before they wore shoulder patches on the originals.

[Sabres Fan In NS]

As I said when the news first broke ... it's a sad day in Sabre Land.

Lindy gave his all, but sometimes that isn't enough and the GM can't fire all, or at least most, of the players.

Thank you Mr. Ruff.  You will always be a Buffalo Sabre.

You are a great coach, but more importantly, you are a good man.

Spend some quality time with your family.  You have earned it.

[Peppy22]

I will miss Lindy because I always thought he loved the team as much as I do. Being the coach of the Buffalo Sabres wasn't just a job for him.

[LabattBlue]

sizzlemeister, on 20 February 2013 - 11:09 PM, said:

I would have loved to have watched Ruff lift up the Cup as Sabres Head Coach. I think to a lot of us around here, that would have been storybook. I was there for the no-goal rally, and anyone who was there will tell you Ruff had the entire fanbase wrapped around his finger.

While it would have been nice to see Ruff win a Cup here in Buffalo, I'll be selfish, and say that I just want to see a Stanley Cup parade in my lifetime, and I don't care who the players or coaches are when it finally happens.

The same could be said(wanting to see them hoist a Cup in Buffalo) for Perreault, Hasek, LaFontaine, Foligno, Punch, Schoenfeld, Ramsay, Ramsey, etc..

We can only hope that Pegs finally has this organization heading in the right direction.

Edited by LabattBlue, 21 February 2013 - 10:34 AM.

[nfreeman]

novascotiaguy, on 20 February 2013 - 11:14 PM, said:

I find my self holding back tears today I have watched almost every buffalo game since 97 and Ruff was always the face of the team. It was time for him to go but so on fair he deserved to hold the cup for this team someday and now that will never happen just wish I could feel better about this.

Me too.

Eleven, on 21 February 2013 - 12:20 AM, said:

Thread of the year. Awesome. We will miss him more than some realize.

Yes on all of  this.

There were those who were very excited about Marv being replaced by Gregg Williams.

dudacek, on 21 February 2013 - 01:35 AM, said:

The man loved this team as much as I do. He is a real Sabre to the core.

Beautiful.

papazoid, on 21 February 2013 - 01:51 AM, said:

it's darcy's fault.......darcy put this crap together......a small , soft team.

There are plenty of other threads for this.

Separately:  I've been thinking a bit about why this matters to me.  I think when you get a bit older, and maybe have a family, job, house, etc. to worry about, you gain some perspective, so that your team's wins and losses don't matter quite as much to you as they did when you were younger (when they meant really far too much).

But on the other hand, we all need someone to lean on.  We all need someone to be our rock -- to be there, thick and thin, sure and solid and reliable and unflustered.  Your parents start to age and it's possible that you don't live near them.  Your wife is there for you, to be sure, but she and your kids are depending on you more than you're depending on them.  You have your old friends, but they have their own families, jobs, lives, etc. to deal with.  You might be religious, and find comfort in faith, but it's more likely you're skeptical/uncertain about these matters and need something more tangible.

So what's left?  Here's what's left:  getting home from work, spending some time with your kids before they go to bed and then retiring to your man-cave to watch the Sabres, coached by their former captain from when you were a kid.  He brings you back to when it was all much simpler.  You can close your eyes and remember going to the Aud with your dad on a cold, slushy night and watching Gilbert flying up the ice, hair blown back, sliding it to Rico for the booming slapper and the resulting roar of the crowd.  Schoeny.  Gare.  Luce.  Rammer.  King Kong Korab.  Playfair crushing everyone.

And Lindy playing forward or defense, scoring, passing, hitting, fighting, doing whatever was needed, playing the game hard, leading the team.  And then returning as coach, getting more out of a one-player team than anyone could've expected, staying on when his team was ripped apart by ownership on two separate occasions, through the ups and downs.  Working the game, patrolling the bench, winning a ton of games, telling the truth afterwards regardless of the result.  He didn't quit.  He got knocked down and he got up again.  How often does a franchise reach back and try to recapture its glory years and have it actually work?  Almost never.

One of my rocks is gone.

Thanks for the memories Lindy.

Edited by nfreeman, 21 February 2013 - 10:30 AM.

[Heimdall]

He had hart for the team, and 15yrs with one team, in the premier league they give you a statue as coach

Edited by Heimdall, 21 February 2013 - 10:36 AM.

[nobody]

Happy belated 53rd birthday (2.17), Lindy.

I wish you all the best in the future.