Dallas Stars: Lindy Ruff Led Charge In Franchise Overhaul
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars split ties with head coach Lindy Ruff rather quickly after the season ended, and that may have caused you to overlook just how much he did for this franchise in his four years behind the bench.
April 2013 was a lot like April 2017 for the Dallas Stars. The month helped close out a dreadfully mediocre season for the team and kickstarted an offseason requiring a lot of change.
After signing general manager Jim Nill on to be the newest GM in April ’13, the Stars began rattling off big moves. They had a large list of holes that needed to be filled, and perhaps the most influential one was behind the bench.
Glen Gulutzan had coached the Stars for two years and gotten them nowhere, putting together a combined record of 64-57-9. He was fired when Nill became GM, leaving Dallas with a need for a head coach.
In late June, the announcement was made that after two months of searching for a new bench boss, the Dallas Stars had finally decided on Lindy Ruff to be their next head coach. Ruff had recently been fired by the Buffalo Sabres and was looking for a fresh start, just like Dallas.
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And now we’re back to April 2017. The Stars have parted ways with Lindy Ruff and hired Ken Hitchcock to be their coach starting in 2017-18.
That’s due to the fact that Lindy Ruff led the Dallas Stars to their second worst season in franchise history in 2016-17, posting a horrific 34-37-11 record with 79 points. They ended the year 11th in the Western Conference and fell 15 points short of a playoff spot.
This was a monumental collapse from the 2015-16 season when Dallas won the Western Conference regular season title, racked up 50 wins and 109 points, and fell one win short of a trip to the Western Conference Finals.
It was two completely different hemispheres, and sadly Dallas was on the wrong side in this most recent year.
There was plenty to blame the season’s negative aspects on, but in the end it was Ruff who had to take the axe.
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“It’s tough,” said Stars captain Jamie Benn on exit interview day. “Lindy was a great coach and a great person. Obviously, I had a pretty good relationship with him. It’s got a lot to do with us players because we failed as a group this year. Unfortunately, he took the hit for it.”
Amidst all of the headlines and speculations regarding the coaching dilemma, there seems to be one key element that was missed: focusing on all that Ruff did for the organization.
Maybe you liked him, maybe you didn’t. You might have thought that he should’ve been fired a long time ago or you might just agree that his firing had to happen, regardless of how he is as a coach.
It’s easy to focus on Ken Hitchcock and the future while leaving Ruff and his four years deep in the past. But that can’t happen. Without Lindy Ruff, the Dallas Stars would very likely not be where they are today.
And no, I’m not talking about near the bottom of the league. I’m talking about the team that has a legitimate shot at being a contender and making a deep run as early as next year.
When Ruff joined the organization in June 2013, the Stars were a mess. They had missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for five straight seasons, had no legitimate claim as a contender (at least in the immediate future), and lacked an overall sense of direction. While Nill was the main orchestrator behind the franchise turnaround, it was Ruff who put it all into motion.
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Through Ruff’s four years, the Dallas Stars went from the Western Conference cellar to a threatening playoff team.
In his first year behind the bench, the Stars put up 91 points and earned the final wild card spot in the West. They gave Anaheim all they had in a six-game series but fell 4-2. In his second season, the Stars surprisingly enough improved to 92 points on the year. But with the rest of the league catching fire as well, it wasn’t enough to punch their ticket to the postseason.
After narrowly missing the race in 2014-15, Dallas made sure to not miss a second time. They picked up 109 points and a Central Division title, along with the first seed in the West. They pushed through the first round of the playoffs and took the St. Louis Blues to seven games in round two before falling out.
And then there is the ugly 2016-17 campaign that had to do with much more than just Ruff’s coaching.
But the effect that Ruff’s coaching tenure had on Dallas was much more than just the season-by-season results. It was the style, the development, and the chemistry that he brought to the team.
Under Ruff, the Stars turned into an offensive powerhouse. They learned the high-risk, high-reward system. Sometimes it backfired, and sometimes it produced great success. Hence the name of the system.
The development that happened during Ruff’s term has an undeniably large influence on the team. Players like Radek Faksa, Devin Shore, Mattias Janmark, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, and many more all became NHL players (and good ones at that) under Ruff’s system. Even players who had already been in the NHL reached new heights under Ruff.
“Lindy helped me a lot,” said Radek Faksa. “He was a great coach. He gave me lots of chances. He was my first NHL coach and I’m never going to forget that. I really appreciate everything he did for me.”
There were also the players that Nill brought in who were in need of a fresh start, such as Patrick Eaves and Adam Cracknell.
“I enjoyed playing for him,” said Adam Cracknell. “I wish Lindy [Ruff] nothing but the best and he was a great coach for me. I had this season because of him.”
All in all, Ruff helped the Dallas Stars become a single unit and mesh together. No matter what roster he was given, he always found a way to mold them into one.
Next: Hitchcock Hopes To Make Changes To Stars' Game
It’s hard to put into words just how much of an influence Lindy Ruff had on the team. Sure we can get caught up in Ken Hitchcock and all that he is expected to do to make the team better in his own regard, but just remember what Ruff did with the team he was given.
A lot can change in four years. Luckily, the Dallas Stars organization is on the better side of change. They have Lindy Ruff to thank for that.