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James Patrick reunited with Lindy Ruff in Dallas

July 28, 2013, 11:42 AM ET [176 Comments]
Kevin Freiheit
Buffalo Sabres Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
James Patrick was an assistant coach for Buffalo for seven seasons, but now he is headed to Dallas and will reunite with Stars head coach, Lindy Ruff.

"I went through a long list of candidates, some with head coaching experience, and I ended up going back to James, who I am very comfortable with. I like that he played defense and he’ll be working with the defense. I think he’ll be able to skate with them; he’s in that good of shape. I think from a development standpoint, he’ll be really good with our defensemen." -Lindy Ruff

Here's what Patrick had to say about the move:

"My relationship with Lindy started then because for me, it was a good fit to be a good mentor to the younger D. As far as how we worked together, it almost started there and it’s just continued. I’ve learned so much from him as far as coaching. You certainly don’t know it all when you are a player. I’ve learned so much more. He’s a great teacher. I have so much respect for him as an all-around coach." -James Patrick

A season after Ruff and Patrick have left, the Sabres have Ron Rolston as head coach. His assistants are Teppo Numminen and Joe Sacco.

This will be a year where we will really be able to tell how good the team really is. A full season with a new coach and an underdog mentality already present can allow for the Sabres to try and prove people wrong. They've been in this position before.

It's difficult to determine exactly how good or bad Buffalo was last season, being that it was shortened. I still believe they were better than the record showed, despite some horrendous periods of hockey. They did play better hockey under Rolston but.

Buffalo was 6-10-1 under Ruff to start last season, and they finished with a 15-11-5 record with Rolston as coach. That certainly is an improvement, but how much of that was actually because of the new coach. It could have simply been a slow start.

With that 15-11-5 record, the Sabres proved that they were a better than their overall record actually was. I know there's a lot of negativity for this team right now and many are hoping for a poor season to obtain a high first round pick. I don't see the Sabres being that bad of a team. Unfortunately, I see them as finishing right in the middle of the pack again, and missing out on both the playoffs and a top 5 pick.

As always, thank you for reading!

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