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Phil Housley

Snapshots: Kadri, Housley, Rochester

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There was concern earlier today out of Colorado Avalanche camp, as forward Nazem Kadri was notably missing from practice with an undisclosed illness. Those concerns were calmed a bit with the confirmation that the illness was not in fact COVID-19, says Peter Baugh of The Athletic (link). According to Kyle Fredrickson of the Denver Post, who spoke to Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar, Kadri is still expected to be ready for Game 1 on Tuesday night (link).

Keeping Kadri in the lineup is key for the Avalanche as they head into the playoffs with eyes set on the Stanley Cup. As strong as their lineup is, Kadri plays a pivotal role as their second-line center, playing a 200-foot game and contributing plenty offensively. The forward just finished his best season to date, in which he compiled 28 goals and 59 assists in 71 games. Colorado is set to take on the Nashville Predators at home Tuesday night in Game 1 of the first round.

  • Staying out west, the Arizona Coyotes announced that they have mutually parted ways with Assistant Coach Phil Housley (link). Housley just finished the third year of a three-year contract he signed with Arizona in June of 2019. It’s unclear what the next step is for the Hall of Fame defenseman, who previously spent two seasons as the Head Coach of the Buffalo Sabres, but the 58-year-old should be able to find opportunities if he wants them, considering his lengthy resume on and off the ice. As for Arizona, it does not appear that any additional changes are coming to the coaching staff, outside of possibly replacing Housley, but first-year Head Coach Andre Tourigny has drawn very favorable reviews despite Arizona’s struggles.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced that they have reassigned forward Peyton Krebs and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson to the Rochester Americans of the AHL ahead of Rochester’s playoff series against the Belleville Senators. Both players, who were sent to Rochester on paper on March 21st, are eligible to compete for the team in the Calder Cup playoffs. The two have each spent time in Rochester and Buffalo this season and are viewed as key pieces of Buffalo’s future. For now, they will get valuable experience competing in professional playoff games.

Snapshots: Rask, Housley, Carrier

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TSN’s Chris Johnston notes on Thursday’s edition of Insider Trading that free agent goaltender Tuukka Rask is working his way back after offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum and could be ready to return to game action as soon as January. Johnston notes specifically that Rask could be an option for Team Finland at the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, potentially a huge boost to an already strong Finnish program. While Johnston reports that Rask’s main focus in his “mind and his heart” remains with the Boston Bruins, the door isn’t completely closed on other options, either. Regardless, it’s good to see one of the league’s best goalies of his generation working his way back to health for what could be his last chance at a championship.

More notes from around the league:

  • Arizona Coyotes assistant coach Phil Housley has entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol, per the team’s public relations department. He won’t travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. He’ll miss three games, including a back-to-back set against the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators this Friday and Saturday. Arizona’s next home game is a week from today against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and pending test results, Housley could be available to return then.
  • According to the team, Nashville Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier is out for Thursday night’s game against the St. Louis Blues with an upper-body injury. The Predators note that he’ll be evaluated further when the team returns home. Carrier blocked a shot that hit him up high during Wednesday night’s game against the Dallas Stars and did not return.

Eastern Notes: Francis, Payne, Johansson, Reimer, Lehner, Mastrosimone

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One name that hasn’t gotten quite a bit of attention the last year has been that of former Carolina Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis. The former GM has spent the last few months on a management team that put together the roster for Canada at the recent World Championships. Sportsnet’s John Shannon points out that today is the last day that he is under contract with Carolina and could be free to sign with an other NHL team. According to Shannon, His work with Hockey Canada has increased his desire to return to the NHL.

Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland adds that Francis name has come up for a while as a strong candidate for the general manager position in Seattle. Francis help build the Hurricanes roster that eventually eliminated the former Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals last year and reached the conference finals.

  • Ottawa Senators new head coach D.J. Smith will add another key assistant to his staff. After bringing in Jack Capuano to be his associate head coach, the Senators announced today that they have also added former St. Louis Blues head coach Davis Payne as an assistant coach for the 2019-20 season. The 48-year-old Payne spent the past two years in Ottawa’s division as the associate coach for the Buffalo Sabres and Phil Housley. Before that he spent five years as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings and helped lead the team to the 2014 Stanley Cup Championship. As head coach in St. Louis, he spent parts of three seasons there between 2009 and 2011, finishing with a 67-55-15 record.
  • TSN’s Darren Dreger writes that unrestricted free agent forward Marcus Johansson is talking to a number of teams today, but he is no longer talking to the Boston Bruins. The 28-year-old was acquired by Boston at the trade deadline for their playoff run, but reports indicate that his price tag is more than Boston wants to pay. Dreger adds that Boston is totally out of the picture now.
  • News & Observer’s Luke DeCock reports that while the Carolina Hurricanes acquired goaltender James Reimer earlier today, his stay in Carolina could be short. The scribe writes that Carolina isn’t necessarily planning on keeping the goaltender as the team continues to look to make more deals ahead of the opening of free agency on Monday. If they can find a taker, the team may try to flip him to another team.
  • The Athletic’s Arthur Staple adds that the Reimer trade suggests that the Florida Panthers are the leading candidates to sign Sergei Bobrovsky, which means the Islanders could find themselves without a top goalie. He points out there is plenty of time to re-connect with Robin Lehner. The two sides weren’t close in negotiations, but the Islanders may have no choice to change their stance in discussions.
  • The Detroit Red Wings got some bad news Saturday when they learned that recent draft prospect Robert Mastrosimone, the team’s second-round pick this year, suffered broken right ankle during development camp last week, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. The injury will require four to six weeks of rehab. Mastrosimone scored 31 goals for the USHL Chicago Steel last season.

Arizona Coyotes Hire Phil Housley

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The Arizona Coyotes have brought in another experienced coach, signing Phil Housley to a multi-year contract to serve under head coach Rick Tocchet. Housley was most recently the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres but lost that job after another disappointing year. GM John Chayka released a statement about the hire:

Phil is a great addition to our coaching staff. His experience as a player, combined with his success overseeing defensive units, make him a perfect fit for this job. We’re all excited to work with him and leverage his knowledge of the game to make us better.

Despite his unsuccessful run with the Sabres, Housley is still regarded as an excellent defensive coach from his time with the Nashville Predators. That is the same role he will serve in Arizona, and there is certainly plenty of talent to work with. The Coyotes have a solid veteran group on the blue line including Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jason Demers, with a young talent emerging in Jakob Chychrun.

Arizona already allowed the sixth-fewest goals in the NHL last season, though a huge part of that was due to the exceptional goaltending they received. If Housley can improve the blue line even more—and perhaps even pass on a few tricks that got him to 1,232 career points from the back end—there is no reason to believe the Coyotes won’t compete for a spot in the playoffs in 2020.

Kings Hire Trent Yawney As Assistant Coach

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New Los Angeles Kings head coach Todd McLellan has put the finishing touches on his coaching staff. After opting to retain veteran goalie coach Bill Ranford and up-and-coming coach Marco Sturm, McLellan still needed to add a defensive mind and found one in former colleague Trent Yawney. The Kings have announced that Yawney will join McLellan’s staff as the final assistant coach.

Yawney, 53, just wrapped up a stint as an assistant with the Edmonton Oilers, a hire made by McLellan before he was fired. Prior to that, Yawney served as an assistant with the Anaheim Ducks for four years. He also worked as an assistant for the San Jose Sharks from 2008 to 2011, again under McLellan. Yawney has also spent several years as an AHL head coach. However, what many may recognize Yawney for his playing career, spent mostly with the Chicago Blackhawks, and his brief stint as the head coach of the team from 2005 to 2007, when he was replaced mid-season by Denis Savard.

As the Kings’ release points out, Yawney has worked closely with a number of top defenses and elite defensemen, including Norris Trophy winners Chris Chelios, Doug Wilson, Phil Housley, Rob Blake, and Duncan Keith. In L.A., Yawney will have the opportunity to work with another elite talent in Drew Doughty, but also a deep group of young defensemen who are ready to break out with the right system and proper guidance. Yawney could prove to be a key figure in what the Kings’ hope is a return to relevance sooner rather than later.

2019 Calder Memorial Trophy Finalists Announced

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The finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, given each year to the most proficient first-year player in the NHL, have been announced. The three rookies are Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson, St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon. New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal was the 2018 winner of the award.

While it seemed like a forgone conclusion that the Canucks’ Pettersson would walk away with the award early in the season, the young Swede has gotten some good competition from Binnington as well as fellow Swede Dahlin. However, Pettersson remains the front runner. The 20-year-old came over from Sweden this year and immediately posted 28 goals and 38 assists for 66 points, making the loss of both Henrik and Daniel Sedin, who retired a season ago, less noticeable. What’s interesting is that Pettersson was initially pegged to play the wing for a season as he transitioned to North American hockey. Instead, within a week or two of training camp the team announced he would play center immediately and fared extremely well at that. Despite the impressive numbers, the other two candidates have a legitimate chance at the award, as much of Pettersson’s production was concentrated in the first half of the season. He tallied 23 goals and 45 points in the first 40 games of the season, but struggled more in the second half, totaling just five goals and 21 points in his final 31 games.

Binnington didn’t make his first start this year until Jan. 7, but he made it count, posting a shutout against the Philadelphia Flyers and leading a struggling Blues team to the playoffs with a 24-5-1 record with a 1.89 GAA and a .927 save percentage. The 25-year-old netminder was not even considered the team’s top goalie prospect at the start of the season, as he was behind Ville Husso in San Antonio of the AHL, but a strong start to the season with the Rampage and his immediate success with St. Louis give the goaltender a good chance at challenging for the Calder.

Dahlin comes from a much more conventional place, as he was the 2018 No. 1 overall pick and immediately steadied a struggling Buffalo defense this season. He had one of the best seasons for an 18-year-old defensemen ever, as he posted nine goals and 44 points, second most in the NHL history for his age and position. Only his former coach, Phil Housley, did better as an 18-year-old defender, as Housley put up 57 points back in the 1982-83 season. Dahlin also played the second-most minutes among NHL rookies, averaging 21:09, behind Dallas Stars’ defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who many felt deserved to be among the top three in this race. Dahlin is the first Buffalo Sabres player to be a finalist for the award since Tyler Myers was nominated in 2009-10.

Buffalo Sabres Fire Head Coach Phil Housley

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Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill announced that the Sabres have fired head coach Phil Housley after two years behind the bench. The head coach went 58-84-22 in those two years and struggled to inspire a young team with a tremendous amount of talent.

Housley, who was hired without any coaching experience, often struggled to adjust his system to his team and seemed to be lacking in his post-game messages to the team. The team especially struggled in goals allowed as they were outscored 546-419 this season, allowing an average of 3.33 goals per game, which ranked 30th in the league. It’s a far cry from where the team stood in November this past season when the Sabres had the best record in the NHL and eventually plummeted to sixth overall in the Atlantic Division with a  33-39-10 overall record. Regardless, many people felt that Housley was likely to be given another year, but the team really struggled down the stretch as they lost 16 of 17 games to finish the season before winning their last two games of the season.

While Botterill and the Sabres are expected to make an extensive search for a new head coach, the team also will give serious consideration to their AHL coach, Rochester Americans head coach Chris Taylor. Other names already mentioned in association with the opening are Alain Vigneault and Todd Richards. Once the team hires a new coach, the Sabres will have had six coaches over the past seven years.

With multiple coaches having been fired during the season and the firing of Florida’s Bob Boughner this morning, there are now eight coaching positions open this offseason.

 

Buffalo Sabres Not Looking At Coaching Change

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The Buffalo Sabres have suffered a drastic slide since finishing their ten-game winning streak in late November. Since November 27th, when they were sitting at 17-6-2, the team has gone just 11-18-5 and dropped out of the playoff race in the Atlantic Division. While they still have an outside shot at a wild card spot if they turn things around, they aren’t ready to make drastic changes, at least not behind the bench. Today while speaking with reporters including John Vogl of The Athletic, GM Jason Botterill expressed his confidence in the work that head coach Phil Housley has done so far and indicated that his job is safe.

Housley, who took over as the team’s head coach before the 2017-18 season after finding immense success as an assistant in Nashville, now has a 53-69-19 record through 141 games behind the Buffalo bench. While there has obviously been great high points—like that ten-game winning streak—there just hasn’t been enough success of late to satiate fans of the team.

The Sabres have taken strides in their rebuild this year and will continue to develop from within, but even with a vote of confidence the coaching seat will remain warm. If they do miss the playoffs this season it will be eighth consecutive year with no postseason action, despite having one of the league’s highest paid players in Jack Eichel. Luckily, the team has three first-round picks in this year’s draft and another franchise player in the making with young Rasmus Dahlin. There should be brighter times on the horizon, and for now Housley will be the one to lead them there.

Atlantic Notes: Muzzin, Zadina, Scandella, Rodewald

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A lot of praise was sent towards Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas and the organization for pulling off an impressive trade when they acquired defenseman Jake Muzzin from Los Angeles for a what’s likely to be a late first-rounder and two above average prospects. The move didn’t take away any players off their current roster and only made them better.

However, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun writes that Mike Babcock may not be integrating Muzzin properly so far. The 29-year-old averaged 21:32 of ice time in 50 games with the Kings. However, his ATOI is quite a bit less in Toronto with Babcock playing him just 18:37. The team has no intention of moving Morgan Rielly away from the left-side, but the team might be better off moving Muzzin to the right side and allowing him to play alongside Rielly. At the moment, Muzzin is playing on the second defensive unit. Regardless, the team needs to find a way of increasing Muzzin’s minutes.

  • Peter Wallner of MLive.com writes that the hottest player currently on the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL is 2018 first-rounder Filip Zadina, who scored an overtime goal Saturday to pick up his fourth goal in four games. The 19-year-old winger who naturally struggled early on when he arrived in the AHL, seems to have found his stride. He has seven points in his last eight games and has had a plus-six rating, a big improvement considering he had a minus-16 rating previous to the run. He now has 15 goals and 29 points in 43 games. While there is no word on whether the team might bring him to Detroit at some point, with the team currently struggling, a recall is potentially possible, although the team might be wary of allowing him to play more than 10 games this year and burning that first year of his entry-level deal.
  • NHL.com’s Mike Morreale reports that Buffalo Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella is injured once again and did not go with the team on their current road trip, although he could rejoin them. Head coach Phil Housley said that Scandella will be evaluated for an undisclosed injury. “Being evaluated by doctors and we’ll know more hopefully when we get down to Florida,” said Housley. It’s very likely the team will place him on injured reserve until he is ready to return.
  • TSN 1200 reported that the Ottawa Senators activated Jack Rodewald from injured reserve Saturday and have already assigned the 25-year-old forward to Belleville of the AHL. Rodewald was injured in a game against Anaheim on Feb. 7 with a lower-body injury and was expected to miss two weeks. He had played in six games with Ottawa, but had failed to record a point. The team also activated forward Mikkel Boedker from a mid-body injury.

Snapshots: Pominville, Moravcik, Winnipeg

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When the Buffalo Sabres take the ice tonight against the Dallas Stars, they will do so without veteran forward Jason Pominville. Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News, after speaking with head coach Phil Housley, relays that Pominville will sit out Wednesday night’s contest as a healthy scratch. Some quick research by the Olean Times Herald’s Bill Hoppe indicates that this is Pominville’s first healthy scratch since April 4, 2006 – during his rookie season. Pominville, 36, has been an All-Star and frequent Selke Trophy candidate over his 15 years in the league, split between two stints with Buffalo and five seasons with the Minnesota Wild. So why now is he out of the Sabres’ lineup? Lysowksi writes that the only reason Housley gave was to rest the veteran of more than a thousand games in the second night of a back-to-back and give young Remi Elie a shot. However, Pominville’s streak of one goal and two assists in his past 24 games likely contributed as well. Even though Pominville is on pace to meet or exceed his 34 total points from last season, he has cooled off significantly after a hot start, much like the Sabres overall. His spot in the lineup could be in jeopardy, especially if Elie proves to be the spark that Buffalo is seeking.

  • It didn’t take long for defenseman Michal Moravcik to find new employment. Just a day after clearing unconditional waivers and having his contract terminated by the Montreal Canadiens, Moravcik has returned home to the Czech Republic. HC Plzen has announced a contract with the 24-year-old blue liner for the remainder of the season. Plzen is the same team that Moravcik had come up through the system with and was playing for before signing in North America. As such, Morazcik should soon return to the elite form that first caught the eye of NHL scouts. Plzen is surely looking forward to the boost, as the team that also employs familiar names like Jakub Kindl and Petr Straka hopes to make up ground in the standings.
  • The city of Winnipeg already hosts the NHL’s Jets and the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, but it will have yet another tenant beginning next season. The WHL’s Kootenay Ice have decided to move to Winnipeg, as first reported by The Winnipeg Free Press’ Jeff Hamilton. The team is expected to keep the “Ice” moniker and same logo and will soon get to work on a long-term development plan for a new arena and sports complex on the south side of the city. While Winnipeggers already have two good teams to root for, no one in the area is likely to complain about the return of major junior hockey and should be excited to watch presumptive top-15 pick Peyton Krebs lead a young, rebuilding team next season.

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