life's not fair, especially for a stand-up guy like lindy ruff

"Life's not fair"

no, it is not...especially in the world or professional sports

since the end of the 2006/7 season, the buffalo sabres have had turnover with regards to players...during the last 3+ seasons, these are the players who have remained from that team and where they are placed on the depth-chart:

derek roy--#1 center

tim connolly--#2 center

thomas vanek--#1 lw

jason pomminville--#1 rw

jochen hecht--#2 lw

drew stafford--#2 rw

paul gaustad--#4 center
andrej sekera--#5/6 defenseman

ryan miller--#1 goalie

that core of nine "untouchable" players consists of the sabres "top-six" forwards, one bottom-six forward, a bottom-pairing defenseman and a #1 goalie....

that is "the core" that head coach lindy ruff has had to work with over the past 3+ seasons...

--THAT IS THE CORE THAT WAS TO LEAD THIS TEAM

--THAT IS THE CORE THAT WAS TO COME THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH

--THAT IS THE CORE THAT WAS TO TEACH THE YOUNGSTERS

*********AND*********

--THAT IS THE CORE THAT IS SAID TO HAVE "TUNED HIM OUT"

--THAT IS THE CORE THAT PLAYS LIKE THEY WANT HEAD COACH LINDY RUFF FIRED

--THAT IS THE CORE THAT HAS LEAD THIS EDITION OF THE BUFFALO SABRES TO A 3-8-2 RECORD, GOOD FOR DEAD-LAST IN THE NHL

life's not fair...

it's a shame that lindy ruff is not recognized for his coaching abilities...his ability to take the players that are given him and mold them into a team...a team that will play a certain style based upon their strengths and weaknesses, and, because of the changes that the league went through, based upon what was afforded by the league:

• he inherited a team that featured a hall-of-fame goaltender...his skaters included one goal scorer and a bunch of muckers and grinders, and had it not been for "no goal," that edition of the sabres would have been in a game 7 where anything could've happened, especially with a hall-of-fame goaltender...that team, btw, finished 4th in the n.e div. with a 37-28-17 record, good for 91 points...
• between that season and the 05/6 "new-nhl" season, the roster endured a complete overhaul...there was still grit, but this team was fast and skilled...ruff did not reign in the horses, he let them open-up to the point where they were tied for 6th most goal-for in the league...were it not for a rash of injuries on the back-end, the sabres would have made it past the carolina hurricanes in the ecf and went into the finals as a favorite
• the 06/7 team that was given him was even more talented and skilled, but lost alot of the grit and heart of the previous season...what did he do?...opened it up even more...the "run 'n gun" team of that season scored 308 goals, by far the most in the league...unfortunately, mid-way through that season, the league said good-bye to the "new-nhl" leaving speed and skill to be bludgeoned by physicality and the reintroduction of "clutching and grabbing" and outright thuggery...that edition of the buffalo sabres succumbed to a bigger, stronger ottawa senators in the ecf, a team that got beat-down by the stanley cup champion anaheim ducks

what was given to lindy ruff following that season was "la core," a team that was devoid of grit yet lacked the scoring prowess of the previous season...a classic middle-of-the-road team that didn't have the talent to "run 'n gun," didn't have the defensive acumen's to handle a bigger, stronger nhl and didn't have the leadership to guide them through the treacherous waters of the tougher, grittier nhl...the results are obvious...

throughout this transitional period, ruff had tried to get these player to play as a team, tried to instill in them a concept that "the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts"...tried to get them to concentrate on the back-end and score off of the transition game...tried to get them to play a style that worked, regardless of the style of nhl that was in vogue...

the results?...when this team adhered to this philosophy they were successful as, proven by their playoff appearance last season...when they didn't play this, and reverted to an individual game?...they failed...and that's where this team is now....

why did the core "tune him out?"...because it's a group that knows they are secure and they've gotten to the point where they'll either play their preferred style or not play at all...there's not a true professional in the entire lot, save for ryan miller

the core, and the person that brought them together and made them "untouchable" over the past 3+ seasons--gm darcy regier-- are responsible for this debacle...unfortunately, it's the coach who will get the ax because of it...

this is not to say that ruff is infallible, he's had his coaching blunders, but on the whole he's done an excellent job coaching the players he's been given...this is not to anoint ruff as a saint or martyr either...simply put, ruff is a damn good coach and is standing alone on the gallows for his general manager and his players...he won't be the first, nor will he be the last...

life's not fair...

good luck, lindy...you're a stand-up guy...hopefully fate smiles upon you