Phil Housley discussion thread

[OkimLom]

Rehashing the same hot takes all offseason doesn't make them less hot takes. And claiming it's all been confirmed by one bad game makes it an even hotter take.

Are you aware of what a hot take is? Housley inability to use his lines effectively is old news and has carried over to the season so far. It’s far from a ‘hot take’.

 

[OkimLom]

You guys think the Pegulas might stand in the way of Botts firing Phil early in the season, wanting to demonstrate that the organization has some measure of "stability"?

I think it’s more like Botts standing in the way of Pegula wanting to fire him in the same way Murray was for Bylsma.

Pegula handles this franchise like a fan, reading off what the media says and going by what the fans want. I’m not saying that it would be wrong for him to fire Phil, because I agree it needs to be done, but also believe Pegula would fire him for a different reason than what the posters’ reasons would be on these boards. We are about the impact he has on giving the team chance to win, where Terry would fire him because the fans are booing and the media are writing negative articles.

 

[SabresSharks]

I think it’s more like Botts standing in the way of Pegula wanting to fire him in the same way Murray was for Bylsma.

Pegula handles this franchise like a fan, reading off what the media says and going by what the fans want. I’m not saying that it would be wrong for him to fire Phil, because I agree it needs to be done, but also believe Pegula would fire him for a different reason than what the posters’ reasons would be on these boards. We are about the impact he has on giving the team chance to win, where Terry would fire him because the fans are booing and the media are writing negative articles.

Whatever works. Phil has to go.

 

[Der Jaeger]

To the extent that Sullivan was their AHL coach. But Sullivan had two years of NHL head coaching experience with Boston, six years on an NHL bench as an assistant, and had two stints as an AHL head coach. Payne fits the Sullivan profile better if you're looking at experience. I think Taylor would be an odd choice after firing a guy who sucked in no small part because of insufficient experience as a head coach in pro hockey.

Sort of. Housley wasn’t a pro hockey head coach. Taylor is.

 

[Fezzy126]

Rehashing the same hot takes all offseason doesn't make them less hot takes. And claiming it's all been confirmed by one bad game makes it an even hotter take.

My stance has been consistent from day 1, I've preached patience for Housley and any new players. I've consistently stated that with new systems or new players, chemistry and cohesion can take time. A perfect example is Arizona, they played really well down the stretch last year.

Last year I stayed positive for half of the year, and although some players eventually settled in, the overall team performance never improved to a satisfactory level. However, youth, injures, and lack of talent among the supporting players were glaring obstacles for anyone to overcome. So I have defended Housley...

In general last year I was satisfied with Phil's:

• controlled zone exit strategy
• uncontrolled zone exit strategy
• Zone entries (Eichel has a lot to do with that though)
• Line construction
• PK

And unhappy or 'meh' with:

• Regroups
• Counters
• Non-Eichel zone entries
• Offensive zone tactics (low to high strategy, reliance on point shots)
• Defensive zone assignments/positioning
• PP
• Team intensity
• Player deployment and usage

Again, I made excuses for a lot of the negatives. But yesterday was quite concerning... Everything above looked worse than last year. I'll sit back and continue to be patient, but I don't want to lose another season. I hope if things don't improve that they make a change around the 10-15 game mark.

 

[Dreakon13]

Are you aware of what a hot take is? Housley inability to use his lines effectively is old news and has carried over to the season so far. It’s far from a ‘hot take’.

The hot take isn't pointing out Housley's flaws. It's the mob calling for his head by the end of October because of a whirlwind of fans losing their shit all offseason and the team playing bad yesterday.

There's zero indication that Housley is on the hot seat, certainly not after one game with a turned over roster. Nothing from the media, nothing from the Sabres. Purely flaming fan driven takes.

 

[OkimLom]

The hot take isn't pointing out Housley's flaws. It's the mob calling for his head by the end of October because of a whirlwind of fans losing their **** all offseason and the team playing bad yesterday.

There's zero indication that Housley is on the hot seat, certainly not after one game with a turned over roster. Nothing from the media, nothing from the Sabres.

Even if we’re just talking about firing him, there were a few that wanted him gone, but knew that was a tall order in itself.

 

[Dreakon13]

Even if we’re just talking about firing him, there were a few that wanted him gone, but knew that was a tall order in itself.

Maybe I'm just digging up that poll that was closed earlier today then, but some folks think there's no way he survives October. Apologies if that's not a hot enough take to comment about.

Can only imagine how bad it'll get after game 2 though.

EDIT: Or rather, folks that blew me up for even suggesting the possibility that the team improves at all this year. Since I guess I'm just supposed to assume the season ended with that 4-0 loss in the opener. There's just no other way to look at it.

 

[slip]

I think it’s more like Botts standing in the way of Pegula wanting to fire him in the same way Murray was for Bylsma.

Pegula handles this franchise like a fan, reading off what the media says and going by what the fans want. I’m not saying that it would be wrong for him to fire Phil, because I agree it needs to be done, but also believe Pegula would fire him for a different reason than what the posters’ reasons would be on these boards. We are about the impact he has on giving the team chance to win, where Terry would fire him because the fans are booing and the media are writing negative articles.

My completely unsubstantiated opinion is that Pegula the fan played a large role in hiring Housley. Botts was too thrilled to have a job (and possibly a future scapegoat in Housley) so he just went along. Pegula was all over the place in his coaching search. That’s how he went from “we need experience behind the bench” to hiring one of his childhood hockey idols with zero NHL or AHL head coaching gigs. I have zero doubt Botts realizes Phil needs to go, but the boss isn’t quite there yet.

 

[Buffaloed]

The hot take isn't pointing out Housley's flaws. It's the mob calling for his head by the end of October because of a whirlwind of fans losing their **** all offseason and the team playing bad yesterday.

There's zero indication that Housley is on the hot seat, certainly not after one game with a turned over roster. Nothing from the media, nothing from the Sabres. Purely flaming fan driven takes.

I agree. The Sabres lost 4-0 and one was an empty netter. It's not as if the were blown out. A break here, a bounce there... We need to be more reasonable.

 

[Moncton man]

Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend, that's soon enough.

 

[5 Minute Major]

My completely unsubstantiated opinion is that Pegula the fan played a large role in hiring Housley. Botts was too thrilled to have a job (and possibly a future scapegoat in Housley) so he just went along. Pegula was all over the place in his coaching search. That’s how he went from “we need experience behind the bench” to hiring one of his childhood hockey idols with zero NHL or AHL head coaching gigs. I have zero doubt Botts realizes Phil needs to go, but the boss isn’t quite there yet.

Wouldn’t a childhood hockey idol of Pegula be someone like Toe Blake and not Phil Housley?

 

[Dreakon13]

I agree. The Sabres lost 4-0 and one was an empty netter. It's not as if the were blown out. A break here, a bounce there... We need to be more reasonable.

Can never tell when you're serious, or when you're poking fun.

 

[Montag DP]

The hot take isn't pointing out Housley's flaws. It's the mob calling for his head by the end of October because of a whirlwind of fans losing their **** all offseason and the team playing bad yesterday.

There's zero indication that Housley is on the hot seat, certainly not after one game with a turned over roster. Nothing from the media, nothing from the Sabres. Purely flaming fan driven takes.

Since last season, in my mind the question has been, what has he done to suggest he is anywhere near an NHL-caliber head coach? I have been looking for a long time and so far have found nothing. We took a huge step back last year despite having a roster that was no worse than Bylsma's 80-point teams the two years before. And that's not because we played a high-risk offensive game. We were downright terrible in all three zones, and by far the worst passing team in the league. We've had a huge amount of roster turnover since last year, but the same exact problems persist. I'll give it 20 games to see if a miracle manifests itself, but at some point you have to blame the coaching.

Also, this year's lineup is undoubtedly the most talented one we've had since the rebuild started. Granted, that's not saying much, but there's no excuse for another sub-80 point finish. Phil should absolutely be on the hot seat if we're projecting that way after 20 games.

 

[Goathead]

I’m so tired of losing and it’s so clear that Housley has no clue what he’s doing. If he doesn’t pull a rabbit out of the bag and we keep him all year I’m actually going to need to stay away from sharp objects .

 

[Bones Malone]

 

[Moskau]

Thanking the Sabres organization for helping you through your problems and then throwing shade at them weeks later doesn't sound like something a sober person would do Robin.

 

[Sabre the Win]

"a real team"

Go f*** yourself Lehner. I hope when we play he is in net and we light him and his real team up.

 

[Jim Bob]

I love how people get triggered when "toxic players" leave the mess that the Sabres have been recently, they go to better teams, and they actually talk about how it feels better to be on a better team.

 

[Satoru Gojo]

Alain Vigneault??

 

[ZZamboni]

Too much butt hurt. Kinda funny.

 

[5 Minute Major]

What does this have to do with Phil Housley?

 

[5 Minute Major]

I love how people get triggered when "toxic players" leave the mess that the Sabres have been recently, they go to better teams, and they actually talk about how it feels better to be on a better team.

So, you are saying the Islanders are a better team than the Sabres and Lehner was not treated well here?

 

[Jim Bob]

So, you are saying the Islanders are a better team than the Sabres and Lehner was not treated well here?

I am saying that Lou Lam and Barry Trotz are a much better GM/Head Coach combo than Botts and Housley and I can understand why Lehner would talk about that stark difference in quality in GM/Head Coach combo like he did.

Sometimes, the truth hurts.

 

[5 Minute Major]

I am saying that Lou Lam and Barry Trotz are a much better GM/Head Coach combo than Botts and Housley and I can understand why Lehner would talk about that stark difference in quality in GM/Head Coach combo like he did.

Sometimes, the truth hurts.

Hurts?

No. Having Robin Lehner on this team hurt.

That’s the truth.