Lindy Ruff Done in Dallas
Ian Gooding
2017-04-09
The Dallas Stars have announced that Lindy Ruff will not return as head coach in 2017-18. They will begin searching for a new head coach.
In spite of a weak defense, the Stars finished atop the Central Division in 2015-16. However, that defense remained weak in 2016-17 (team GAA of 3.17, 29th in NHL) while the offense dried up (2.71 GF/GP, 17th in NHL, down from a league-leading 3.23 GF/GP in 2015-16). The Stars also finished with a league-worst 73.9 percent penalty kill, much of which will fall on the coach.
If the finale is Lindy Ruff's last ride with the Stars, here's what might have gone wrong.https://t.co/kDw2qMPJeO via @sportsdaydfw
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) April 9, 2017
Injuries played a factor in the Stars’ misfortune, as Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp, Mattias Janmark, Jiri Hudler, Cody Eakin, and Ales Hemsky all missed significant stretches, while Valeri Nichushkin bailed for the KHL. These personnel absences aren’t on the coach, nor is the disastrous goaltending pairing of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi, which is currently on the books for another season. It’s possible that the changes in Dallas may extend to replacing one of those goalies. Lehtonen was the more effective of the two goalies, but he has a bigger cap hit ($5.9 million compared to $4.5 million).
A new coach should have better luck with the scoring next season, but he will have his work cut out for him in improving the Stars’ porous defense. Stars’ GM Jim Nill may seek a coach that will focus less on the run-and-gun style that Ruff allowed. One possibility is Ken Hitchcock, the franchise’s all-time winningest coach, whose system would represent a major shift from the Stars’ style of play under Ruff. A more defensive-minded coach like Hitchcock could limit the upside of the Stars’ two leading scorers, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. But let’s suspend judgment on that until a new coach is hired.
It may not take a long time for an established coach like Ruff to find work. The Vegas Golden Knights need a coach. The coaching deck of cards will also fall as the regular season ends and non-playoff teams reflect on what went wrong.
Fantasy owners are now weighing in. Give your take here!
One Comment
Leave A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Related Posts
UPCOMING GAMES
| Jan 22 - 19:01 |
 N.J
| vs |
 BOS | |
| Jan 22 - 19:01 |
 TOR
| vs |
 CBJ | |
| Jan 22 - 21:01 |
 COL
| vs |
 WPG | |
| Jan 22 - 22:01 |
 L.A
| vs |
 FLA
| |
Starting Goalies
Top Skater Views
| Players | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| DARREN RADDYSH |
 T.B | |
| LANE HUTSON |
 MTL | |
| MIKE LUNDIN |
 | |
| KAAPO KAKKO |
 SEA | |
| PAVEL DOROFEYEV |
 VGK
| |
Top Goalie Profile Views
DAL
WSH
OTT
NYR
LINE COMBOS
| Frequency |
 STL Players
| |
|---|---|---|
| 23.0 | BRAYDEN SCHENN JORDAN KYROU DYLAN HOLLOWAY | |
| 19.1 | ALEXEY TOROPCHENKO OSKAR SUNDQVIST PAVEL BUCHNEVICH | |
| 17.8 | ROBERT THOMAS BRANDON SAAD JAKE NEIGHBOURS | |
DobberHockey Podcasts
Keeping Karlsson: May the Schwartz Be With You
Elan and Brian see new sides of Jaden Schwartz and Kaapo Kakko, get hopeful for Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, Tomas Hertl and Jason Robertson, and take a moment to sympathize with Eric Comrie.
Fantasy Hockey Life: Western Conference Buys and Sells
Victor and Jesse make the rounds of the Western Conference with an argument on opne buy and one sell for each team. We talk Jackson LaCombe, Mason McTavish, Martin Pospisil, Nazem Kadri, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Matthew Savoie, Drew Doughty, Kevin Fiala, William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau, Shane Wright, Chandler Stephenson, Tom Willander, Jake DeBrusk, Victor Olofsson, Noah […]
Keeping Karlsson: Matchup Maximizer Week 16
Elan looks at the schedule for the upcoming week of NHL action and recommends some players with good schedules that you should consider streaming in to win your head to head matchups.
Keeping Karlsson Short Shifts – The Wilkes-Jarry Penguins
Elizabeth and Lewis are back to take listeners through a host of power play changes that are giving managers the opportunity to get exposure to great players off the waiver wire, including Philly, Jersey, and Tampa talk. They also cover Jarry’s AHL demotion, Cooley’s ascension to the top-line and powerplay, and injuries to Tavares and Hintz. The duo wrap up with some hot and cold streak deep dives, including discussion of the Red Wings crazy powerplay success in the last ten games, whether Erik Gustafsson is rosterable or an overperforming illusion, Fantilli’s continued success, Merilainen as Hamburglar 2.0, and whether Schenn’s success and Neighbours’ lack thereof are likely to continue.
Keeping Karlsson: Leaving Letang
Elan and Brian find a couple volume and potential starters showing up midseason, consider whether Jake Walman really is on the league’s longest hot streak, and encourage you to pause the pod for a Columbus 1C stepping onto one of the NHL’s best lines.
A lot of their situation is on Nill for the jumbled roster they have, but it’s time for some new coaching blood. Hitchcock is not the answer, and he would only be short term at best. I’m surprised Galant doesn’t have a job yet, and I think someone should give Torchetti a chance after he did such a great job with Minnesota last year (maybe Detroit will if Blashill doesn’t make it).