Lindy Ruff RELIEVED Of duties, Green Temp Coach

[DevilMinder]

If there isn't a coach change tomorrow I doubt anything happens this season.

[MadDog2020]

6 minutes ago, DevilMinder said:

If there isn't a coach change tomorrow I doubt anything happens this season.

💯

[jagknife]

2 hours ago, Devilsfan118 said:

Listen I'm not a hockey coach, I'm not an expert on structure or schemes or anything like that. But it's clear that whatever Ruff is trying to do here isn't working.

 

He doesn’t have buy in from everyone, because some players do not trust him. Don’t blame them.

Rick Bowness was on 32 Thoughts podcast and gave great insight to what is helping Winnipeg do very well, and didn’t attribute it to dominating the PLD trade.

Bones talked about taking the time to get to know his guys, how they played like sh!t before cause they had the old system engrained that when things got hard the fell back on it. Talked about how he has had to adjust his approach when even talking to the guys cause the game has changed so much and so have the way guys learned.

it was VERY insightful.

Meanwhile stubborn jackass things his way or the highway approach works in 2024.

The interview made me hate Lindy even more, and I was having a fantastic run, too

[LIDevsFan1]

Yeah looking at it from Fitz’ perspective now that he has an extension (more time) I think he will sit tight at the deadline and deal with Lindy and everything else after the season.  Lindy may be a problem but a lot has gone wrong beyond that and there is no business reason for him to turn over the apple cart.  We have our pick and either Jack etc will squeak us into third or we will miss and hope for more ping pong ball luck.  we’re not at an inflection point and unlike some other teams (caps, pens) with closing windows we have the benefit of being able to let this season slip by.  He will have more choices for coaches goalies etc if he waits. I’m going against the grain here but frankly it’s the right thing IMO

[jagknife]

1 minute ago, LIDevsFan1 said:

Yeah looking at it from Fitz’ perspective now that he has an extension (more time) I think he will sit tight at the deadline and deal with Lindy and everything else after the season.  Lindy may be a problem but a lot has gone wrong beyond that and there is no business reason for him to turn over the apple cart.  We have our pick and either Jack etc will squeak us into third or we will miss and hope for more ping pong ball luck.  we’re not at an inflection point and unlike some other teams (caps, pens) with closing windows we have the benefit of being able to let this season slip by.  He will have more choices for coaches goalies etc if he waits. I’m going against the grain here but frankly it’s the right thing IMO

I don’t think they SHOULD get a new coach of the future in season. I will absolutely agree with you on that point.

but the sooner we get the archaic dinosaur away from Holtz, we’ll have a chance to let him develop properly with linemates who will actually complement his skill set.

As of last week, Holtz’ goal production at 5 on 5 was on par with Draisaitl, Nylander and I can’t remember who the other player was named. And that was with trash minutes on a trash line. Lindy is stifling his growth to send him a message to play Lindy’s way. What way that is no one fvcking knows anymore. His treatment of Holtz is fireable in its own right.

we all are very frustrated with Meier this year and rightfully so. But how many times has the guy ACTUALLY played in his normal position of right wing? Maybe a handful of games, tops. He’s constantly deployed on the off wing. You don’t force your highest paid player to do what YOU think he should do, you use him as a weapon.

its disgraceful how much ruff mismanages players and their skillsets. They don’t even attack the net anymore. It’s like he’s begging for Jack to come down the tunnel, WWE style to a rousing ovation and save the day.

[LIDevsFan1]

6 minutes ago, jagknife said:

I don’t think they SHOULD get a new coach of the future in season. I will absolutely agree with you on that point.

but the sooner we get the archaic dinosaur away from Holtz, we’ll have a chance to let him develop properly with linemates who will actually complement his skill set.

As of last week, Holtz’ goal production at 5 on 5 was on par with Draisaitl, Nylander and I can’t remember who the other player was named. And that was with trash minutes on a trash line. Lindy is stifling his growth to send him a message to play Lindy’s way. What way that is no one fvcking knows anymore. His treatment of Holtz is fireable in its own right.

we all are very frustrated with Meier this year and rightfully so. But how many times has the guy ACTUALLY played in his normal position of right wing? Maybe a handful of games, tops. He’s constantly deployed on the off wing. You don’t force your highest paid player to do what YOU think he should do, you use him as a weapon.

its disgraceful how much ruff mismanages players and their skillsets. They don’t even attack the net anymore. It’s like he’s begging for Jack to come down the tunnel, WWE style to a rousing ovation and save the day.

Don’t disagree — just think waiting another 35 games doesn’t matter much to ownership/Fitz in the scheme of things.  Anything can happen in the playoffs but I don’t see our goaltending taking us anywhere— with any coach.  The biggest benefit to getting there will be to get the young guys experience.  

[jagknife]

9 minutes ago, LIDevsFan1 said:

Don’t disagree — just think waiting another 35 games doesn’t matter much to ownership/Fitz in the scheme of things.  Anything can happen in the playoffs but I don’t see our goaltending taking us anywhere— with any coach.  The biggest benefit to getting there will be to get the young guys experience.  

absolutely fair points.

I think with a new voice, guys will come out of their shells, and at least we’ll get a taste of what they can do (youth especially).

this dumpster fire of a so-called system helps no one and is causing more confusion than necessary. Give green 35 games, or whoever in house, and lets see what they can bring to the table and how the team responds.

we already know this team responds to Lindy in the 3rd after being on vacation for no less than 20 minutes a night.

[Nicomo]

35 minutes ago, jagknife said:

I don’t think they SHOULD get a new coach of the future in season. I will absolutely agree with you on that point.

but the sooner we get the archaic dinosaur away from Holtz, we’ll have a chance to let him develop properly with linemates who will actually complement his skill set.

As of last week, Holtz’ goal production at 5 on 5 was on par with Draisaitl, Nylander and I can’t remember who the other player was named. And that was with trash minutes on a trash line. Lindy is stifling his growth to send him a message to play Lindy’s way. What way that is no one fvcking knows anymore. His treatment of Holtz is fireable in its own right.

we all are very frustrated with Meier this year and rightfully so. But how many times has the guy ACTUALLY played in his normal position of right wing? Maybe a handful of games, tops. He’s constantly deployed on the off wing. You don’t force your highest paid player to do what YOU think he should do, you use him as a weapon.

its disgraceful how much ruff mismanages players and their skillsets. They don’t even attack the net anymore. It’s like he’s begging for Jack to come down the tunnel, WWE style to a rousing ovation and save the day.

[Lateralous]

I see both of your sides on this.  Me personally,  I’m just thankful we don’t have an ownership group that has stepped in and forced Fitz’s hand on a coaching change or crazy trade in a desperate attempt to collect a few home games worth playoff revenue.    

[LIDevsFan1]

Hey at least Dan Campbell isn’t our coach.  i’ve watch a lot of sports in my life and that was up there in terms of bad coaching jobs. 

[MadDog2020]

Just now, LIDevsFan1 said:

Hey at least Dan Campbell isn’t our coach.  i’ve watch a lot of sports in my life and that was up there in terms of bad coaching jobs. 

Not kicking that FG was beyond dumb 

[Lateralous]

That was hard to watch 

[Devilsfan118]

9 hours ago, LIDevsFan1 said:

Hey at least Dan Campbell isn’t our coach.  i’ve watch a lot of sports in my life and that was up there in terms of bad coaching jobs. 

I had no dog in the fight but was sitting there on my couch getting mad on behalf of Lions fans.

[DevilMinder]

[DevilMinder]

Then there is the other side of this, apparently Fitz is standing pat.

 

[MadDog2020]

1 hour ago, DevilMinder said:

Then there is the other side of this, apparently Fitz is standing pat.

 

Where did you hear that?

[DevilMinder]

Nothing has happened today or been reported, why would he delay anymore if a decision had been made I guess. Nothing official

 

[MadDog2020]

12 minutes ago, DevilMinder said:

Nothing has happened today or been reported, why would he delay anymore if a decision had been made I guess. Nothing official

 

I don’t think anyone expected Fitz to do anything with Lindy. He’s gonna ride or die with the guy, and he’s gonna look stupid in the end. He clearly learned nothing from Shero and Hynes. 

Edited January 29 by MadDog2020

[NJDevils1214]

I think something will happen... Just not this season.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

7 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

I don’t think anyone expected Fitz to do anything with Lindy. He’s gonna ride or die with the guy, and he’s gonna look stupid in the end. He clearly learned nothing from Shero and Hynes. 

@Lateralous suggested that Fitz might just try to make do with Lindy and then make a change this offseason, presumably to hire someone who's REALLY going to be guy who will lead this team to becoming a legit Cup contender.  Basically we might see this season written off as a year for both Like and Nemec to get as much in-game experience as possible (as well as Holtz, when Lindy's not trying to get in his way).  Also another learning year for Bahl, who only has 113 games under his belt.  I don't think this was Plan A by any stretch, but with the goaltending struggling and the amount of man games missed to injury, yeah, I think if anything, Fitz might actually approach this year's deadline as a seller.  Which means maybe Toffoli gets moved.  Or if Smith comes back, maybe he gets moved too.  But obviously gotta see if the Devils have truly fallen out of the WC race by then.  The Metro seems to be weakening by the day...Flyers and Caps are falling, and the Isles and Penguins can't quite seem to get on a run (like the Devils).  

Am I fan of potentially punting this season in the slightest?  Hell no.  Unless we get news that Jack's suffered some setbacks and is due to miss several more weeks, I don't like the idea of "Maybe Next Year" ever becoming some kind of default fallback.  Jack and Nico are guys who, as much as I like them both, probably aren't going to be logging 70-80 games each season...sure, they might some years, but I'm not banking on that being an annual thing.  Devils will have to work around injuries in any given season.

I'm not going to be pretend that watching The Fossil on the bench won't be infuriating.  This guy should 100% be toast at this point, and I have no doubts that some other teams in this situation absolutely would've pulled the damned trigger by now.  It sucks seeing this franchise appear to be so damned passive right now.  Especially when the GM has been plenty lauded for being bold and aggressive with personnel moves...well, as far the offseason and deadline moves go, anyway.

[NJDfan1711]

2 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

@Lateralous Am I a fan of potentially punting this season in the slightest?  Hell no.  Unless we get news that Jack's suffered some setbacks and is due to miss several more weeks, I don't like the idea of "Maybe Next Year" ever becoming some kind of default fallback.  Jack and Nico are guys who, as much as I like them both, probably aren't going to be logging 70-80 games each season...sure, they might some years, but I'm not banking on that being an annual thing.  Devils will have to work around injuries in any given season.

 

That to me is completely unacceptable. These guys are all paid a handsome penny to be available and to play in games. If you can't stay healthy and be on the ice, you're no good to the team whatsoever. Missing games due to injury is as big of an indictment on a player as any. Even more so than a " guy just isn't that skilled" designation. Because a guy who's a third or fourth one player still serves a purpose and is valuable to a team, even if he's not a first or second line guy like Jack and Nico are. But if the ladder can't stay healthy, they're less valuable than the lesser skilled guys. 

And obviously I'm not talking about freak accidents and things like that - those can and do happen to everyone. I'm talking about things that become a pattern and seem to happen consistently, where it's usually clear that it's just due to a players poor or weak physical condition. I think it's completely on the player to train and condition themselves so that they can in fact stay healthy, and are performing at their peak. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

29 minutes ago, NJDfan1711 said:

That to me is completely unacceptable. These guys are all paid a handsome penny to be available and to play in games. If you can't stay healthy and be on the ice, you're no good to the team whatsoever. Missing games due to injury is as big of an indictment on a player as any. Even more so than a " guy just isn't that skilled" designation. Because a guy who's a third or fourth one player still serves a purpose and is valuable to a team, even if he's not a first or second line guy like Jack and Nico are. But if the ladder can't stay healthy, they're less valuable than the lesser skilled guys. 

And obviously I'm not talking about freak accidents and things like that - those can and do happen to everyone. I'm talking about things that become a pattern and seem to happen consistently, where it's usually clear that it's just due to a players poor or weak physical condition. I think it's completely on the player to train and condition themselves so that they can in fact stay healthy, and are performing at their peak. 

Do Jack and Nico strike you as players who don’t want to be out there, or don’t take care of themselves from a conditioning standpoint?  C’mon.  Those guys care plenty and want to be playing.

Some guys look like Phil Kessel and somehow rarely get hurt.  Some guys keep themselves in great shape but are just more prone to injury than others.  It looks like both Jack and Nico are going to deal with injuries more than some other players from time to time…hopefully not.

I mean, if it was easy to avoid injuries as you’re making it sound, then we’d see a lot less injured players.  But we see our fair share of them every season (regardless of what they’re making), and not just on the Devils of course.

[NJDevils1214]

44 minutes ago, NJDfan1711 said:

That to me is completely unacceptable. These guys are all paid a handsome penny to be available and to play in games. If you can't stay healthy and be on the ice, you're no good to the team whatsoever. Missing games due to injury is as big of an indictment on a player as any. Even more so than a " guy just isn't that skilled" designation. Because a guy who's a third or fourth one player still serves a purpose and is valuable to a team, even if he's not a first or second line guy like Jack and Nico are. But if the ladder can't stay healthy, they're less valuable than the lesser skilled guys. 

And obviously I'm not talking about freak accidents and things like that - those can and do happen to everyone. I'm talking about things that become a pattern and seem to happen consistently, where it's usually clear that it's just due to a players poor or weak physical condition. I think it's completely on the player to train and condition themselves so that they can in fact stay healthy, and are performing at their peak. 

I agree that players ability, or rather tendency, to stay healthy and in the lineup does provide additional value but I don't think it is an indictment or, at the very least, indictment is a very strong word to use there. You never know how it is going to go for some guys and that isn't their fault. Bad luck, bad genes, whatever... sometimes it just doesn't work out. Idk if Zach Werenski has ever played an entire season before, Chytil is now on his 4th concussion or something, Nolan Patrick didn't even get his wheels off the ground before he had to hang his skates up. Those guys are less valuable because of the injuries, but I don't think it is an indictment against the player.

[nessus]

I think one of the problems from the management side is evaluating how much of the team's lack of success is due to poor goaltending and injuries? It's no secret that the goaltending has been responsible for many losses this season. And sure, they're only 2 players, but Dougie and Jack were 2 of the team's top 3 producers last season. Then you have McLeod being away from the team, who was looking to be a potential core player moving forward. All of that is not insignificant at all. And I think for these reasons, Fitz has a dilemma when it comes to evaluating what he should do. 

But, I think the counter argument is even more convincing here. Good teams should be able to compete, even when players are injured. Tampa was able to make the playoffs with their star #86 out for an entire season. Boston lost its two top centers and is still a top team in the league. A good team, particularly a team that just finished 3rd in the league, should still be able to look competitive on a consistent basis. They should not be automatically giving up the first goal in the overwhelming majority of games. They should look like they have a system or an identity. It should not be a group that adds a star player who looks like just another guy out there. Dependable players from last season seem to have forgotten how to play hockey. How can you just watch this season get wasted away when despite the injuries, you still have the personnel to be a good team?

[NJDevils1214]

53 minutes ago, nessus said:

I think one of the problems from the management side is evaluating how much of the team's lack of success is due to poor goaltending and injuries? It's no secret that the goaltending has been responsible for many losses this season. And sure, they're only 2 players, but Dougie and Jack were 2 of the team's top 3 producers last season. Then you have McLeod being away from the team, who was looking to be a potential core player moving forward. All of that is not insignificant at all. And I think for these reasons, Fitz has a dilemma when it comes to evaluating what he should do. 

But, I think the counter argument is even more convincing here. Good teams should be able to compete, even when players are injured. Tampa was able to make the playoffs with their star #86 out for an entire season. Boston lost its two top centers and is still a top team in the league. A good team, particularly a team that just finished 3rd in the league, should still be able to look competitive on a consistent basis. They should not be automatically giving up the first goal in the overwhelming majority of games. They should look like they have a system or an identity. It should not be a group that adds a star player who looks like just another guy out there. Dependable players from last season seem to have forgotten how to play hockey. How can you just watch this season get wasted away when despite the injuries, you still have the personnel to be a good team?

This and also worth note that they've invested a lot in Timo and it's not working. The dude is MIA. How long do you let that fester before you gotta do something to get him going? However Ruff is using him isn't it.