Dallas Stars' Lindy Ruff Doesn't Deserve Blame For Season

For the Dallas Stars, there’s not too much else to say. Every point has been made, about every game has been deciphered, but there is one person who’s taken much of heat who, perhaps, should be appreciated just a bit more: Stars’ head coach, Lindy Ruff.

When it comes to press conferences, it’s pretty fair to say that Lindy Ruff is a man of few words. He knows when plays go well and he’s aware when things don’t fall in the Dallas Stars’ favor.

There’s something about the white glow on his face that tells fans exactly what’s going through his head (or it could just be the blatant expression of annoyance). Ruff has been in the spotlight this season, and not for good reason.

The Stars’ haven’t been performing too well, which tends to stress a large group of people off. Think about the many people who not only watch the team, but are directly affected by their performances: the coaching staff, managers and public relations, players, their families, and a huge nationwide fan base.

It’s a lot of pressure to put on one man.

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Of course, there are many things that could have been handled much better, but Ruff was doing what he thought was best for the team. And no, that doesn’t mean we have to agree with his every one of his decisions.

Lindy Ruff has been in the professional hockey world for a considerable amount of time. After paying his dues as a player, Ruff made his way behind the bench to offer his talent in a coaching position.

He’s gotten a few of his teams to the Stanley Cup finals, too. When coaching the Buffalo Sabres, he coached his team to the finals against the Dallas Stars in 1999. The Stars ended the series victorious, winning their only Stanley Cup to-date. That’s kind of ironic, right?

Ruff has coached 1,411 games in his career, which is crazy to think about. In the 2005-2006 season, while coaching the Sabres, he won the Jack Adams coach of the year award. He was nominated again in 2006-2007 but did not receive the award.

So, despite his some of the less-than-thrilling coaching decisions in the recent years, Lindy’s got a pretty good-looking resume.

My point is this:

Defending the different plays Lindy chooses to run is not something that anyone would want to do. It’s clear that things aren’t working out, but to finish the season on a positive note, some game-time decisions need to be made.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are definitely some things that Ruff needs to do differently.

Although he has a large part influence on the team, game performances are not completely Ruff’s fault. He can lead in one direction, but at the end of the day, decisions are made by the players.

Tonight’s matchup against the Edmonton Oilers (35-24-9) will be a test to see how the Stars choose to handle the rest of the season. For Dallas’ offensive line, near-perfect organization and communication will play a huge role in outplaying the Oilers’ defense.

Next: Rookies Prove Season is Not a Waste for the Stars

As for Ruff, he’ll need to really think through the lines he chooses tonight. This is a key time in the season to start developing the potential for both the summer and next fall. (Success would also raise some value to the team).

So for tonight, as always, keep an eye out for key plays. It’ll be interesting to see if Ruff will deviate from running his same offensive strategy.

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