Phil Housley discussion thread 2

[is the answer jesus]

He probably will be here to start next season.

Maybe. I could see the reluctance to fire yet another coach after only 2 seasons, but it's just so blatantly obvious Housley is in over his head. Botterill has to see it, the Pegula's have to see it. There's really no sense in delaying the inevitiable. This guy won't be a good coach and if this team happens to succeed it will be despite him.

 

[flashsabre]

There should be no reluctance to fire Housley and even Botts.

8 years of no playoffs is unacceptable.

Enough of trying 1st time coaches and GMs. They need to get this right this offseason. They are going to lose Their franchise player's faith and start this whole process again.

They need a top notch senior hockey guy at the top, someone who knows how to build a winner. Someone who can build for now and the future without sacrificing more years of development. No one is developing in a losing environment.

Stevie Y would be perfect but I'm pretty sure his heart is in Detroit. A seasoned President of Hockey Ops, GM and a seasoned, respected coach that demands consistent effort as well as understands how the game is played today.

Enough is enough. The fans deserve better.

 

[ZZamboni]

Predict:
1. Housley stays the rest of the season which is a short 16 games away.
2. Housley gets fired before the 1st round of the playoffs begin.
3. New coach gets hired between June 15th and July 15th.

 

[kirby11]

I feel pretty confident in saying I've played in games of pickup soccer and frisbee that featured more smart, in-game adjustments than Phil's made in his entire head coaching tenure

 

[old kummelweck]

I've seen enough. I don't see how you can instill a winning culture without winning.

 

[Vito_81]

I've seen enough. I don't see how you can instill a winning culture without winning.

The Leafs did it when Shanny and Babcock first arrived.

Set the standard and make players meet it or ship them off.

 

[MrMaster]

I smell Q

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

 

[ZZamboni]

I smell Q

 

[Montag DP]

There should be no reluctance to fire Housley and even Botts.

8 years of no playoffs is unacceptable.

I don't understand wanting to fire Botterill. He's been here for less than 2 years. Yes, he's made mistakes, but the overall picture of the organization is a lot better now than when he got here. If you fire him now, you start the process all over, yet again. No thanks. We haven't had a coach even close to NHL caliber since Lindy left. Let's fix that first rather than resetting the franchise every 2-3 years.

 

[Aladyyn]

I don't understand wanting to fire Botterill. He's been here for less than 2 years. Yes, he's made mistakes, but the overall picture of the organization is a lot better now than when he got here. If you fire him now, you start the process all over, yet again. No thanks. We haven't had a coach even close to NHL caliber since Lindy left. Let's fix that first rather than resetting the franchise every 2-3 years.

Are you still giving Botterill credit for getting lucky with ping pong balls?

 

[Montag DP]

Are you still giving Botterill credit for getting lucky with ping pong balls?

When have I ever done that? Do you have anything of value to add to the discussion?

 

[ZZamboni]

I don't understand wanting to fire Botterill. He's been here for less than 2 years. Yes, he's made mistakes, but the overall picture of the organization is a lot better now than when he got here. If you fire him now, you start the process all over, yet again. No thanks. We haven't had a coach even close to NHL caliber since Lindy left. Let's fix that first rather than resetting the franchise every 2-3 years.

I’m pretty confident JB gets one more full entire season. And if the team turns a corner, perhaps more. No matter what the fans want.

Housley however I think is as good as gone shortly after the season ends.

 

[OkimLom]

He's a bad coach. The Sabres come out pretty good in the first. But then intermission hits, and instead of trying to better your team (whether winning or not), and prepare for the adjustments that will be coming, things are kept the same, while the other team, especially with the quality of coaching we have faced recently, have made adjustments and have flipped the game. It's no coincidence that the 2nd period has been our worst period. And then because of the lack of stability from leadership, we just implode from there. There's a reason why we're 3rd worst in the league in GA in the 2nd period and 8th worst in the league in the 3rd period. Just for the record we are 10th best in the league in 1st period GA. While we are 12th in the 1st period, 26th in the 2nd, 27th in the 3rd for GF. The name of the game is adjustments, and quality teams that go on to be successful are spearheaded by a head coach who can put his team in positions to win throughout the game.

 

[Montag DP]

Housley however I think is as good as gone shortly after the season ends.

I hope you're right.

 

[truthbluth]

Let's gather 'round kiddos for story time.

Once upon time there was a hockey franchise. This franchise had been mired in mediocrity for a decade. They had a couple of high draft picks and lofty expectations so they promoted a former defenseman from franchise history who had been an assistant coach, but previously had been an offensive defenseman who became the highest scoring defenseman on the team right out of the draft at age 18. After 2 bad seasons (and then 4 games), this franchise fired that storied former defenseman and hired a veteran head coach who went on to have one of the most successful runs as head coach in modern NHL history.

What's great about this story, is that it could be done again...with the same veteran head coach! Come on Q, let's do it.

 

[Aladyyn]

what a joke this guy is

 

[Gabrielor]

I can’t listen to his interview, but I’m being told that he’s dodging some of the tougher questions, and b.s.-ing through the rest.

He has to go.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

3-5: Phil Housley with Howard and Jeremy on WGR (12:35)

#Sabres head coach Phil Housley joins Howard and Jeremy next on WGR! Tune in:

Housley - Last night we didn't pick up people and do our job in the defensive zone... There are different mistakes; we continue to make them, but we continue to try and fix them at practice moving forward. #Sabres

Housley - Ristolainen has been in a tough place right now. A lot of the things he's been doing is coming back at him. I do like his physicality and his physical game with some of the game's top players. We have to continue to work on his decision making. #Sabres

Housley - I think he's trying to do the right thing. He's trying to make a difference by stepping up, but it is an awareness issue for sure. #Sabres

Housley on making personnel decisions on the blue line. - You have to look at matchups. What gives us the best chance for success? It also goes into what type of teams we're playing and what they bring every game. #Sabres

Housley - We're banged up on the blue line, so we're trying to give our guys chances. It's not all on our defense as well. It's a five-man unit that has to work together. #Sabres

Housley - Checking has been able to give us success when we play well, it drives us. It's how we play without the puck. We've played good hockey, but when we get away from that, we have to reinforce that message. #Sabres

Housley - I have a job to do. We have to try and push our group. It's a result driven business. We've been doing some things well, but the outcome has not been there. #Sabres

Housley - When we have checked well, when we do the things that it takes to win, I feel we've done a lot of great things. Our possession has been great, we've gotten a lot of chances. When we don't have the puck, that's when we have to check well. #Sabres

Housley on the lack of back-to-back wins - It's tough. Since the All-Star Break, we've been in a lot of one-goal games. We have to stay the course and find ways to win those games. We're a young team, and we have to continue to harp the message of having composure. #Sabres

Housley - There's still a lot of work to be done this year. We have to re-group from last night and focus on our game against Chicago on Thursday. We have to keep taking things one game at a time. #Sabres

 

[boots electric]

i'm not happy with what botts has done (or not done) so far, but i expected growing pains and i think replacing GMs every couple years hurts the team more than replacing the coach. i'm fine with giving botts another year to right the ship and show obvious progress, but the first thing that has to happen is replacing housley. period.

bring in a guy with a proven track-record of success. i know that's difficult, but anything less is a complete failure and spells the end for botts.

 

[Samsonite23]

I only caught part of that interview on the way to work, but I was surprisingly impressed with the questions the Jeremy was asking. Phil was dodging left and right. Guy is clueless.

 

[truthbluth]

i'm not happy with what botts has done (or not done) so far, but i expected growing pains and i think replacing GMs every couple years hurts the team more than replacing the coach. i'm fine with giving botts another year to right the ship and show obvious progress, but the first thing that has to happen is replacing housley. period.

bring in a guy with a proven track-record of success. i know that's difficult, but anything less is a complete failure and spells the end for botts.

I liked this because I agree about the GM vs Coach decision. But as far as getting a new coach, I'm a huge Sheldon Keefe believer. I'd love Q too, but Keefe, who does not have a proven track-record, is my #1 choice.

 

[kirby11]

what a joke this guy is

Phil last night, wondering, "What gives us the best chance for success? I know...better break up the 2 functional D pairings and keep my elite shutdown unit of Risto-Scandella together."

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

Housley not willing to answer the question gives you his answer.

I think playing the vets even when they perform like dog shit has to do with the situation a few years ago when the young players didn't respect Gorges and Gionta because they were marginal players that didn't have large roles on the team.

So now they go over the bridge in the opposite direction for culture reasons. Reminds me of the moronic quote by the current Buffalo Bill's coach. "Culture trumps strategy".

Both these regimes (Bills and Sabres owned by Pegulas) probably got hired partly due to impressing the Pegulas in interview by touting the "we're going to change the culture" pitch.

 

[truthbluth]

Housley not willing to answer the question gives you his answer.

I think playing the vets even when they perform like dog **** has to do with the situation a few years ago when the young players didn't respect Gorges and Gionta because they were marginal players that didn't have large roles on the team.

So now they go over the bridge in the opposite direction for culture reasons. Reminds me of the moronic quote by the current Buffalo Bill's coach. "Culture trumps strategy".

Both these regimes (Bills and Sabres owned by Pegulas) probably got hired partly due to impressing the Pegulas in interview by touting the "we're going to change the culture" pitch.

For what it's worth, I like what Sean McDermott is doing much more than Housley, and I trust him to adapt much more than Housley.