The Buffalo Sabres joined the Florida Panthers as teams that fired their head coaches one day after the conclusion of the regular season. The Sabres announced Sunday that Phil Housley was relieved of his duties after two years behind the bench.
Housley's firing comes one day after he told the media that he expected to be back with the team next season.
In Housley's two seasons as head coach in Buffalo, the Sabres went 58-84-22 and missed the playoffs in both years. (Buffalo's last postseason appearance came in 2011.) The Sabres got off to a strong start to begin the 2018-2019 season, going 17-6-2 in their first 25 games and shooting to the top of the Atlantic division following a 10-game winning streak.
Unfortunately, the team didn't sustain that level of play and went 16-33-8 the rest of the way. They finished with 76 points on the year, putting them sixth in the Atlantic. They finished among the bottom 10 teams in both offense (24th) and defense (23rd).
As a result, Housley becomes the third straight Sabres coach to be dismissed after two seasons, joining Ted Nolan and Dan Byslma. Now, Buffalo will look for a replacement who can restore some stability to the franchise and get the most out of a young core that includes Jack Eichel and Rasmus Dahlin.
