Paul McCann: Two Coach Stories - Firing and Challenges

Paul, you aren't here in Buffalo. You don't understand, it had to happen. It was a PR nightmare for the Sabres. You literally couldn't escape the conversation about Lindy Ruff needing to go in this town for the last 3 years. I'm talking year round, at the bank, at dinner, on the street, at the Arena, the supermarket, on the radio, on the internet. It just grew louder and louder along with the booing in the arena on a nightly basis. It was stifling peoples belief in the new owners promise of being truly commited to doing anything it takes to win the cup. And he had 16 years, its not like we cut him short of any real opportunity.

(all of this of course about Lindy Ruff)

I agree that I hate to see a good man (Lindy Ruff) get the boot. What is the old saying, "money talks and bull#%&# walks". Well the new ownership group in Buffalo is talking.
I agree with you Paul on the "challege flag" in hockey. After the Preds got totally screwed in CO. something needs to happen. In this shortened season every point is critical. I disagree that it will slow down the game. I see it as each team gets 1 challege per game. You use it and you lose the challenge then you lose your one timeout. If the timeout has already been used then the team gets a 2 minute penalty for delay of game. I actually doubt many coaches would truly use this as the consequences could be great if you are wrong.

Really simple. 16 years and no cup. We get new faces over the years but the results have been the same year after year. Some would argue that the real problem is Dary Regeir and that he has not provided Ruff with the right players for his system.

but… were things that bad in Buffalo?

Simple answer. Yes

Paul, you aren't here in Buffalo. You don't understand, it had to happen. It was a PR nightmare for the Sabres. You literally couldn't escape the conversation about Lindy Ruff needing to go in this town for the last 3 years. I'm talking year round, at the bank, at dinner, on the street, at the Arena, the supermarket, on the radio, on the internet. It just grew louder and louder along with the booing in the arena on a nightly basis. It was stifling peoples belief in the new owners promise of being truly commited to doing anything it takes to win the cup. And he had 16 years, its not like we cut him short of any real opportunity.

(all of this of course about Lindy Ruff)
- Buffalo--Sabres

It really is tough to judge a situation when you're not sitting right in the middle of it. If it was that bad in Buffalo then a change should have happened a long time ago.

Personally, I'm glad we still have Trotz. I have issues with how he runs the team sometimes (putting certain players in the doghouse while letting others get away with tons of the exact same crap), but in general, he is still very much respected by the team and the community. I'd love to see the Preds win the Cup, but more than that, I'd love for Trotz to be the coach when that happens. As a matter of fact, I can't imagine Trotz and the fans here having the same dynamic as you described between Ruff and the Sabres fans. Three years and constant booing? Seriously, I can't imagine that in our arena. Then again, we've never been to the Stanley Cup Finals. I'm sure expectations completely changed after that series.

D

It really is tough to judge a situation when you're not sitting right in the middle of it. If it was that bad in Buffalo then a change should have happened a long time ago.
- Predaceous

WE KNOW

It really is tough to judge a situation when you're not sitting right in the middle of it. If it was that bad in Buffalo then a change should have happened a long time ago.

Personally, I'm glad we still have Trotz. I have issues with how he runs the team sometimes (putting certain players in the doghouse while letting others get away with tons of the exact same crap), but in general, he is still very much respected by the team and the community. I'd love to see the Preds win the Cup, but more than that, I'd love for Trotz to be the coach when that happens. As a matter of fact, I can't imagine Trotz and the fans here having the same dynamic as you described between Ruff and the Sabres fans. Three years and constant booing? Seriously, I can't imagine that in our arena. Then again, we've never been to the Stanley Cup Finals. I'm sure expectations completely changed after that series.

D
- Predaceous

It wasn't three years of non stop booing. But in the last 3 seasons we had extended stretches of horrible hockey. Not a couple weeks, but closer to half seasons. Some of the worst hockey played since Buffalo's introductory seasons '70-'71, '71-'72. And during those stretches, a lot of questions were raised and a lot of boos rained down. But the fans never stopped comming. They made it clear, were not going anywhere for the time being, don't push us to our last resort of not coming here anymore. And he was fired.

I've been hearing the "It's only 8 games" comment regarding Viktor Fasth all over the HF boards but I'm surprised to hear it from you, Paul.
Viktor has been playing amazing hockey in the Swedish Elite League for a while now and he came to the NHL and he's barely missed a beat. He deserved the extension for what he has done for his entire career, not just for 8 games.

Ryan Miller seems to be ok with it.

Good Morning Gentlemen (and assorted Ladies)…. Long time lurker, first time poster here. I had hoped that my first post would be something in support of Paul’s opinion, seeing as that I have known him for many years, but alas, that’s not going to happen.

Growing up in Tennessee my sports of choice included baseball, football, wiffleball, parking lot basketball and a game called “German Spotlight” (were we the only neighborhood to play that?). Where are you going with this, you ask? All of these sports had something in common; there was a certain flow to the game. We didn’t have TV timeouts, there were no instant replays, and any animals (tossed or otherwise) on the field could be considered an additional player. In contrast to the other professional sports, one of the things that I have learned to love about hockey is the continuous action, with a minimal amount of stoppages. I certainly understand that the NHL is the big leagues and grown men getting paid to play a… well, a grown man’s game. Thus the need for referees, umpires and even a war room in Toronto.

Over the course of a period, a game, a season the human mistakes even out. The flow of a game can be disrupted more by the deliberate stoppage to review, than by the actual mistake being questioned. I can just see Trotz pulling the red hanky from his pocket, while the fans are yelling “throw it” and the media team is furiously trying to put the potential violation onto the Megatron. I vote we keep the coach’s challenge where it belongs… in the post-game press conference.

Good Morning Gentlemen (and assorted Ladies)…. Long time lurker, first time poster here. I had hoped that my first post would be something in support of Paul’s opinion, seeing as that I have known him for many years, but alas, that’s not going to happen.

Growing up in Tennessee my sports of choice included baseball, football, wiffleball, parking lot basketball and a game called “German Spotlight” (were we the only neighborhood to play that?). Where are you going with this, you ask? All of these sports had something in common; there was a certain flow to the game. We didn’t have TV timeouts, there were no instant replays, and any animals (tossed or otherwise) on the field could be considered an additional player. In contrast to the other professional sports, one of the things that I have learned to love about hockey is the continuous action, with a minimal amount of stoppages. I certainly understand that the NHL is the big leagues and grown men getting paid to play a… well, a grown man’s game. Thus the need for referees, umpires and even a war room in Toronto.

Over the course of a period, a game, a season the human mistakes even out. The flow of a game can be disrupted more by the deliberate stoppage to review, than by the actual mistake being questioned. I can just see Trotz pulling the red hanky from his pocket, while the fans are yelling “throw it” and the media team is furiously trying to put the potential violation onto the Megatron. I vote we keep the coach’s challenge where it belongs… in the post-game press conference.
- LGP_65

Or you know.. limit the challenges only to situations that result in a goal. Such as Duchenes offside, or goaltender interference that wasn't called which resulted in a goal. The plays stopped after the puck ends up in the net anyways.

- It will slow down the game – This one is easy… you simply limit the number of challenges to one per game. Simple.

I think it should be three a game, which would work out to one a period. You don't want coaches challenging every call but if the refs are having a bad night I could easily see two or three big time mistakes being made.

As far as slowing the game down that argument is bs. Refs already spend more time dealing with complaining coaches than they would checking a replay.

Or you know.. limit the challenges only to situations that result in a goal. Such as Duchenes offside, or goaltender interference that wasn't called which resulted in a goal. The plays stopped after the puck ends up in the net anyways.
- Kuzark96

I disagree, the important thing is to get it right and non goal scoring bad calls can be just as costly as scoring ones.

Early in the season one of the blues got called for a phantom headshot in the 3rd period. Even though no goal was scored on the play that bad call directly led to the Wings scoring a goal on the ensuing powerplay and lost the blues the game (or at least a point). A five second review of the play would have clearly shown there was no headshot. Everyone watching the replay knew it wasn't a headshot (probably even the refs) but there was no way to fix it without a coaches challenge.

Ryan Miller seems to be ok with it.
- LeftCoaster

Tomas Vanek, too.

I disagree, the important thing is to get it right and non goal scoring bad calls can be just as costly as scoring ones.

Early in the season one of the blues got called for a phantom headshot in the 3rd period. Even though no goal was scored on the play that bad call directly led to the Wings scoring a goal on the ensuing powerplay and lost the blues the game (or at least a point). A five second review of the play would have clearly shown there was no headshot. Everyone watching the replay knew it wasn't a headshot (probably even the refs) but there was no way to fix it without a coaches challenge.
- noffsin6

When did any video review ever take 5 seconds? Never happened, never will happen, everyone involved has to talk it over. The point of my recommendation was to not slow down the games pace too much, while still maintaining a level if stability when it comes bad calls or non-calls. How does a powerplay that has nothing to do with the bad call your talking about lose your team the game? Even though a bad call in regards to penalties can change to momentum of the game, there's still a chance the victimized team can kill it off. If coaches were able to challenge every call on the ice hockeys pace would slow down way too much.

Good Morning Gentlemen (and assorted Ladies)…. Long time lurker, first time poster here. I had hoped that my first post would be something in support of Paul’s opinion, seeing as that I have known him for many years, but alas, that’s not going to happen.

Growing up in Tennessee my sports of choice included baseball, football, wiffleball, parking lot basketball and a game called “German Spotlight” (were we the only neighborhood to play that?). Where are you going with this, you ask? All of these sports had something in common; there was a certain flow to the game. We didn’t have TV timeouts, there were no instant replays, and any animals (tossed or otherwise) on the field could be considered an additional player. In contrast to the other professional sports, one of the things that I have learned to love about hockey is the continuous action, with a minimal amount of stoppages. I certainly understand that the NHL is the big leagues and grown men getting paid to play a… well, a grown man’s game. Thus the need for referees, umpires and even a war room in Toronto.

Over the course of a period, a game, a season the human mistakes even out. The flow of a game can be disrupted more by the deliberate stoppage to review, than by the actual mistake being questioned. I can just see Trotz pulling the red hanky from his pocket, while the fans are yelling “throw it” and the media team is furiously trying to put the potential violation onto the Megatron. I vote we keep the coach’s challenge where it belongs… in the post-game press conference.
- LGP_65

I agree with this. The league already has a backup review system in place by sending them to Toronto. The flag will just be a disrpution to the flow of the game.

I disagree, the important thing is to get it right and non goal scoring bad calls can be just as costly as scoring ones.

Early in the season one of the blues got called for a phantom headshot in the 3rd period. Even though no goal was scored on the play that bad call directly led to the Wings scoring a goal on the ensuing powerplay and lost the blues the game (or at least a point). A five second review of the play would have clearly shown there was no headshot. Everyone watching the replay knew it wasn't a headshot (probably even the refs) but there was no way to fix it without a coaches challenge.
- noffsin6

Paul Gaustad was called for an infraction that was misinterpreted by the officials, and should never have been called. That lead to a MN goal in overtime, and a rewrite of the rule by the NHL. So yeah, another costly mistake by the refs at a critical time that eventually lead to a score and ended the game.

When did any video review ever take 5 seconds? Never happened, never will happen, everyone involved has to talk it over. The point of my recommendation was to not slow down the games pace too much, while still maintaining a level if stability when it comes bad calls or non-calls. How does a powerplay that has nothing to do with the bad call your talking about lose your team the game? Even though a bad call in regards to penalties can change to momentum of the game, there's still a chance the victimized team can kill it off. If coaches were able to challenge every call on the ice hockeys pace would slow down way too much.
- Kuzark96

the bad call gave the wings the powerplay where they scored the gwg... I remember that hit, Backes I believe... Good hit from a good player.

I agree with this. The league already has a backup review system in place by sending them to Toronto. The flag will just be a disrpution to the flow of the game.
- Buffalo--Sabres

Moreso than the refs having to explain their call to the irate coach for 5 min? They pretty much create equal amounts of disruption. Review the call and get it right.

I believe that Lindy bite the bullet for our GM, Darcy Regier!!
Lindy was NEVER given the talent to win in this league.
I actually think that Lindy made the best out of the little talent he had on his team!
Darcy should have been fired a long time ago, and so doing, Lindy would have had a better going in Buffalo, IMO.
It's a shame that it had to be this way, but Lindy got the short end of the stick!
Lindy is a great coach, and even a better individual.
I sure a hell gonna miss him a lot, and wish him the best on his new coaching job.
He is gonna be coaching soon, very soon.

Paul Gaustad was called for an infraction that was misinterpreted by the officials, and should never have been called. That lead to a MN goal in overtime, and a rewrite of the rule by the NHL. So yeah, another costly mistake by the refs at a critical time that eventually lead to a score and ended the game.
- Predaceous

I'm sure you're right. That was regular season with 30 games left. We survived "No Goal". You just have to be the better team and overcome the little things.

When did any video review ever take 5 seconds? Never happened, never will happen, everyone involved has to talk it over. The point of my recommendation was to not slow down the games pace too much, while still maintaining a level if stability when it comes bad calls or non-calls. How does a powerplay that has nothing to do with the bad call your talking about lose your team the game? Even though a bad call in regards to penalties can change to momentum of the game, there's still a chance the victimized team can kill it off. If coaches were able to challenge every call on the ice hockeys pace would slow down way too much.
- Kuzark96

To say a 5 minute poweplay called for a headshot when they guys head was never even touched "has nothing to do" with a bad call is ridiculous.

There's always a chance the "victimized" team can overcome a goal scored on a bad offsides call or any other bad call. That's not the point, the point is to get it right. Trying to narrow it down to certain calls that fit a narrow window will create an ineffective system (maybe slightly better than we have now) and will lead to more delays while they try to figure our if they can review something or not and explain to the coach why.

To say a 5 minute poweplay called for a headshot when they guys head was never even touched "has nothing to do" with a bad call is ridiculous.

There's always a chance the "victimized" team can overcome a goal scored on a bad offsides call or any other bad call. That's not the point, the point is to get it right. Trying to narrow it down to certain calls that fit a narrow window will create an ineffective system (maybe slightly better than we have now) and will lead to more delays while they try to figure our if they can review something or not and explain to the coach why.
- noffsin6

I see your point. Should probably add majors to the list of calls that can be challenged.

There already is a precedent - and it is rarely used - an opposing coach can challenge a player's stick legality. If right - the player gets the penalty, if wrong - there is a bench minor served by the challenging team for delay of game. I think I remember a game where we tried to call this on Kolvachuk - but the Atlanta team trainer ran down the tunnel with the stick so we lost the challenge....

I think a bench minor for delay of game would keep coaches from risking using the flag too much - and it could only be used for goal review of an infraction not already able to be reviewed by NHL HQ. I think at this point that they only look at net, line, crease, handpass, and kicking violations around the net in regards to a goal. I do not think at this time they can review an offsides non-call about a goal. the only problem with this - what about the blown call given for a non-offsides?