As The Puck Turns

So I literally couldn't sleep last night. I was excited after writing my first blog. As of 12:45p on June 24th, I have 105 page views. Not too bad for a first timer. While laying in bed unable to sleep, today's blog began to swim around in my head. If you pay any attention at all to sports on a regular basis, you will see a lot more drama and weird story lines going on than any soap opera writer could ever dream up. Take my piece yesterday about Josh Hamilton. There is enough drama from his story that could fill a soap opera for a month. So then my thoughts began to turn to hockey. I thought about naming this piece "The Young And The Toothless" but didn't want anyone to mistake this for a piece written by Larry The Cable Guy.

This piece, properly named "As The Puck Turns", is about the hiring of Lindy Ruff as the new head coach of the Dallas Stars.

Let me set the scene for you so you will understand why this hiring is a little ironic to me...just in case you don't know the history here. The date is June 19, 1999. It's game six of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Dallas Stars and the Buffalo Sabres. It is the first Stanley Cup Finals appearance for the Stars since moving to Dallas from Minnesota in 1993. The Stars (then known as the North Stars) had been to the Finals twice in Minnesota, losing to the New York Islanders in 1981 and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991. It's only the second Stanley Cup Finals appearance for the Sabres in franchise history. They lost their first appearance to the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975. So it's apparent that whoever wins this series will be making history for each respected franchise. The Stars have a three games to two lead as regulation comes to an end of Game Six with the score tied 1-1. First overtime period...nothing. Second overtime period...again nothing. Third overtime period...Brett Hull (who will always live in Dallas Stars folk lore) scores the series ending goal at the 14:51 mark passed Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek to give the Dallas Stars their first Stanley Cup championship.

The Sabres are irate claiming that Hull's goal shouldn't count because his skate was in the goalie crease, which is the rules. It's been debated for the last 14 years on whether or not Hull's goal should have counted. It's been called the "No Goal" debate and up until June 22, 2013 the "No Goal" charge was led by one Lindy Ruff. But why would Ruff care about that goal you ask? Well...Ruff was the head coach of the Sabres during that '99 Finals. Now he is taking over the reigns of the team that beat him for the Stanley Cup...the Dallas Stars

Now me personally...being a Stars fan I was hoping that new General Manager Jim Nill would hire John Tortella, who was fired by the New York Rangers after the team was knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by the Boston Bruins. But it seems now that Tortella will be filling the coaching vacancy in Vancouver (click here for that story). When I heard the news of the Ruff hiring, I wasn't sure what to make of it. Now that it's been a few days since the news surfaced and I've had some time to think about this hiring for my favorite hockey team...I still don't really know what to make of this. (Just a side note...I wonder what will go through Ruff's mind every night when he sees the Championship banner hanging in the American Airlines Center rafters. Just a thought.) So to help me out in understanding Lindy Ruff as the new Dallas Stars coach, let's take a look at his NHL history and numbers as a coach.

Ruff was drafted by the Sabres in 1979. He played in 691 games as a defensemen/left wing for the Sabres and New York Rangers. He was hired as an assistant coach for the Florida Panthers and helped lead them to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1996. He was hired by the Buffalo Sabres in 1997 as their head coach and was fired in February of 2013 after the team started 6-10-1 in this lockout shortened season. Here is Coach Ruff by the numbers (as a head coach 1997-2013)...

565 total wins - 9th during that span
8 playoff appearances - Tied for 13th during that span
1 Stanley Cup Finals appearance
57 playoff wins - 8th during that span

So when I see these numbers, I'm not overly impressed. But in order for this hiring to make sense for a team that hasn't been to the playoffs in five straight season, you need to take a look at the new General Manager Jim Nill. Nill comes over to the Stars after being the Assistant General Manager for the Detroit Red Wings for the last 15 years. During his tenure with Detroit, Nill has not only developed one of the best reputations around the NHL as a players' kind of guy, but his Red Wings were in the playoffs all 15 years of his tenure in Detroit, winning the Stanley Cup four times during that span. So it's obvious that Nill knows hockey pretty darn well.

Is Ruff the right man to lead the Dallas Stars back to the playoffs and, hopefully, win the Stanley Cup again? I'm honestly not sure. But with Jim Nill as the GM and an owner in Tom Gaglardi who isn't afraid to spend money...Ruff may just be what this young, talented Stars team needs to get back to the likes of the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Boston Bruins. We shall see. Either way, this proves that sports has better drama than any soap opera ever thought of having.