It’s no secret that Phil Housley’s inaugural season as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres did not go as planned. For the third time in five years, the team finished dead-last in the NHL standings and entered the offseason with more questions than answers.
In a series of events that matriculated as a result of tactful transactions and lottery luck, his squad has gone through an upheaval of sorts, appearing much more formidable than they did at this time a year ago. After a 2016-17 campaign that the franchise would like to quickly forget, he must now put his squad in a position to execute his system.