The Upside of Nostalgia with Lindy Ruff
I knew that name sounded familiar. Lindy Ruff is a throwback in multiple senses. The era conforms with the mentality. The Buffalo Sabres have regressed as the years have advanced. There’s never been a better time to indulge in the comfort of recognition. My favorite part of any Star Wars movies since the original trilogy was the AT-ATs.
If there’s going to be a nostalgia hire, make it this one. Living in the past is fine if it means bringing back memories of the last time the Sabres made the playoffs. Ruff didn’t just engineer better records than this team’s grown accustomed to over the time since he stopped working for them: he may still possess the skills to make it happen.
I’m thrilled Devils fans made their best hope the scapegoat. Then again, I’m a Sabres fan. Newark’s franchise should’ve found a different goat to scape in their sacrifice to their mascot. The lack of defensive options would’ve doomed Toe Blake. New Jersey can’t take it back.
Blaming the coach for the Devils having NHL goalies in name only is a special way to confirm that life is unfair. Fans may as well get on Josh Allen’s case for not drafting a speedy receiver.
A good leader takes responsibility for what happens on his watch. A bad one does, too, although by imposition. New Jersey fans question whether he did enough structurally. And they dislike the Ramones because Johnny didn’t solo. Let’s emphasize what we’re good at in the sequel coach’s honor. Ruff’s focus is on getting the most out of his roster by tailoring strategy to who’s available. His system is to change his. Impugning emphasizes the point.
Ruff is apparently supposed to feel guilt based on the crime of having good players. Detractors still vainly try to tape an asterisk to his name because he’s been successful when he’s had better goalies. Coaches have some nerve using Dominik Hasek and Ryan Miller if they’re available. Casey Stengel should’ve felt bad for managing all those other people with numbers retired by the Yankees.
I’m looking for a coach who’ll yell at everyone. It will be on fans’ behalf. The cathartic wish to scold anyone paid to wear a Sabres jersey could carry the added benefit of consistently dedicated play from players who don’t want to face wrath. If there’s a roster that deserves to get berated, it’s this one.
The new old guy employs the strategy of being sick of everything going on. Ruff could be cast as police captain. He’s had enough of this.
Timing is everything, like how the Sabres forget to be good until the playoffs are out of reach. They finally got it down during the offseason by waiting for the Devils to fire Ruff before they made a canning of their own. Don Granato was once an NHL head coach. It will always technically be true thanks to a club that’s using him as their rock bottom.
Terry Pegula hiring the only option he recognizes shows how limited knowledge can pay off. It’s rather rare, as seen by the rest of his godforsaken tenure ruining a team some of us used to enjoy. But hiring one of the few NHL coaches he knows by name might work out. Ruff is sure better than every other addition Pegula’s made, even if that’s a paltry accomplishment along the lines of best season missing the playoffs.
The owner vaguely remembers once firing this guy. It was either before or after he fled to Florida. It turns out he still owns the hockey team. The canning nothing personal, which is the lone thing he knows about business. Someone’s performance can diminish over time with the same company. Meanwhile, the aspects that made him successful remain intrinsic to his personality even factoring in his initial tenure ending as the roster declined.
This remains the right time to bring back Ruff even if only to show hard feelings shouldn’t infringe on the future. Sabres fans should acquaint themselves with the Billy Martin principle regardless of whether they view the Yankees as Buffalo’s semi-hometown team or the Bronx’s Death Star.
To confirm, he’ll be behind the bench. The biggest question was if this was the job he would take. It was natural to wonder if he would’ve been hired for some sort of executive role. He could get a promotion after a couple years if he were able to get this unfortunate franchise back on the right track.
Executive Ruff would have less work to do if he moved from behind the bench around 2028. A president of hockey operations-type job would mean another salary for an owner who already doesn’t want to pay a new coach. But someone who knows what he’s doing might bring in enough revenue to justify payment. It’s never too late for Pegula to learn business.
Sabres fans are experiencing a peculiar sensation. I vaguely remember it as hope. There’s genuine excitement around a semipermanent outcast for the first time in awhile. Experiencing offseason thrills comes not just from knowing the name.
The assuagement of streaming reboots shields from the trepidation brought by the unknown. But indulging in sentimentality can be beneficial. In this case, bringing back the last good coach could lead to more than reminiscing.
