Sabres fire Housley

[DistantThunderRep]

Will probably throw all that money on Joel Quenneville, best fit for him right now. I just don't see him going to Florida, but I'll say I might be wrong in case if he does sign where I don't expect him to then Panthers fans won't be liking this because 'I'm wrong.'

Think plan B for Buffalo will be Todd McLellan.

Think Q should go to Seattle.

Well...I guess you can't see very well at all.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Is it more likely the Sabres hire a guy with prior experience this time? Is there any rumors on that, or just speculation?

 

[Space Coyote]

Babcock might become available April 18th.

 

[Chainshot]

Is it more likely the Sabres hire a guy with prior experience this time? Is there any rumors on that, or just speculation?

They seem to operate that way: go from one extreme to another, regardless of it being wise or not.

 

[Jetsfan87]

Tough break, he did a great job coaching Nashvilles D the last few years so I thought hed be a good fit to groom Dahlin and work with Risto. But after that 10 game winning streak ended they just rolled over a died.

 

[Royal Thunder]

It's just been a brutal run of coaching for us. You haven't heard one rumour of any team interested in Rolston, Nolan, or Bylsma as their next coach. And I doubt Housley will have any interest as a HC candidate.

 

[Kamiccolo]

 

[Kyndig]

Isn't he the guy that stapled Lucic next to McDavid when Lucic only had like 1 goal in 30 games?

 

[SabresSharks]

Tough break, he did a great job coaching Nashvilles D the last few years so I thought hed be a good fit to groom Dahlin and work with Risto. But after that 10 game winning streak ended they just rolled over a died.

Phil's instincts with d-men were particularly unsound. Baffling for a HoF d-man.

He totally wasted Victor Antipin with healthy scratches last season. He might have been a good 2nd/3rd pairing option, but he never received enough ice time to prove himself one way or the other.

He did the same this season with Beaulieu, who was looking quite capable after a horrid season in 2017/18. (Good luck to Nate with the Jets. I'm sure he isn't shedding any tears over his departure.)

He practically refused to pair Risto with Lawrence Pilut, with whom he alone seemed to have chemistry.

Defensive zone coverage was generally abysmal. The front of our net was a party zone for opposing forwards.

We've all heard that he supposedly did a fine job with the Preds. Let's just say their d-corps is a significantly easier coaching challenge than Buffalo's. He failed miserably here.

 

[justafan22]

Isn't he the guy that stapled Lucic next to McDavid when Lucic only had like 1 goal in 30 games?

yes

 

[tsujimoto74]

Tough break, he did a great job coaching Nashvilles D the last few years so I thought hed be a good fit to groom Dahlin and work with Risto. But after that 10 game winning streak ended they just rolled over a died.

It's funny because among his weaknesses in constructing the roster was the fact that he couldn't even identify who his 6 best defensemen were. (That 6 included Beaulieu and Pilut, and it did not include Scandella, but Phil never figured that out.) And, like Bylsma before him, he miscast Risto as an all-situations #1 playing 26 minutes per game. I can't help but feel like the credit Housley gets for Nashville's D is overstated. How hard is it actually to coach a group that has Josi, Subban, Ekholm, and Ellis as its top 4?

 

[Pens x]

This took way too long to fire him

 

[SabresSharks]

This took way too long to fire him

Phil was a bad hire. This was likely his first and last NHL head coaching job. But when was the right time to fire him?

I was willing to give a rookie HC a 2nd year. Most of us improve at our jobs as we gain experience, right? He certainly wasn't going to be fired in the wake of that 10 game win streak, and the Sabres had banked so many points by that time, they could have coasted into a playoff spot. The problem was they didn't coast; they cratered. Once a realistic shot at the playoffs disappeared, I didn't see much point in ousting him until season's end. I'm not a big fan of the "interim coach".

Given the history, I think Botts' timing on the firing was right, but he needs to get the hiring right this time, or it's his ass out the door.

 

[CartographerNo611]

What's the coach and GM casualty count in Buffalo now over the last 5 seasons?

Sabres GMS

Murray
Botterill

Sabres Coaches

Nolan
Blysma
Housley

Oilers GMS

Mactavish
Chia
K. Gretzky

Oilers Coaches

Eakins
Nelson
Mclellan
Hitchcock

Senators GMs

Murray
Dorian/Eugene

Senator Coaches

Maclean
Cameron
Boucher
Crawford

 

[Slimmy]

I know many in NA were sceptical towards foreign players many years ago, and as a European I get the sense it's a bit the same about coaches now as well.

As a Swede I would love seeing Rikard Grönborg get the chance as HC of Buffalo! He started his coaching career in NA as well and has said coaching NHL is the dream. His mega success as HC of Team Sweden is coming to an end after this WC. So it all kinda fits.

So how you take this? Will I be mocked like Börje Salming was in the beginning as a foreigner, or does Grönborg have a chance to start a new era with successful foreign managers, like the success of foreign players?

Not a terrible idea. I kinda like it. Though, I don't think Buffalo is willing to take a gamble again so soon after hiring and then firing Housley. They want a coach with NHL experience who will command the room.

 

[JAS 39 Gripen]

Not a terrible idea. I kinda like it. Though, I don't think Buffalo is willing to take a gamble again so soon after hiring and then firing Housley. They want a coach with NHL experience who will command the room.

While I think that Rikard is closer to getting the Ducks-job than the Sabres one, I think it's huuuugley overrated to hire an ex-NHL coach just b/c "hes been in the NHL before". The constant circulation of coaches today is, partly, an effect of the close bonds that coaches and GM's create during hard times etc - they help "their brothers" out, per se.

The league could use some new, fresh faces. I like what I saw last year with two collage coaches getting jobs btw.

 

[Slimmy]

While I think that Rikard is closer to getting the Ducks-job than the Sabres one, I think it's huuuugley overrated to hire an ex-NHL coach just b/c "hes been in the NHL before". The constant circulation of coaches today is, partly, an effect of the close bonds that coaches and GM's create during hard times etc - they help "their brothers" out, per se.

The league could use some new, fresh faces. I like what I saw last year with two collage coaches getting jobs btw.

I agree. But they will probably play it safe after the Housley hiring.

 

[romba]

Cant' speak of him as a coach but he was suuuuuper awkward seeing him interact with the players on 'behind the scenes' stuff and when he'd give interviews. Did not come off as a leader to me.

 

[Selanne00008]

I know many in NA were sceptical towards foreign players many years ago, and as a European I get the sense it's a bit the same about coaches now as well.

As a Swede I would love seeing Rikard Grönborg get the chance as HC of Buffalo! He started his coaching career in NA as well and has said coaching NHL is the dream. His mega success as HC of Team Sweden is coming to an end after this WC. So it all kinda fits.

So how you take this? Will I be mocked like Börje Salming was in the beginning as a foreigner, or does Grönborg have a chance to start a new era with successful foreign managers, like the success of foreign players?

I could be on board with this for sure. I mean, why not right?

 

[hockeyfan2k18]

Ridiculous

 

[Aladyyn]

Ridiculous

I agree, it's ridiculous that we keep hiring these idiots who are terrible at their job.

 

[Howie Hodge]

J*** E*****, coach killer?.....

We've all heard this one before. And it was received as sophomoric the first time.

 

[hockeyfan2k18]

I agree, it's ridiculous that we keep hiring these idiots who are terrible at their job.

Well, Habs like to lose doing things their way, so let them lose. Bergy was the best candidate they could find given their "requirements".