Housley eager to rejoin Sabres
Former defenceman back in Buffalo, now serving as head coach
— Buffalo’s last tango with the Stanley Cup trophy came with an ex-Sabre behind the bench.
Four years after Lindy Ruff departed and six since they last made the playoffs, the Sabres are turning to a popular alumnus to get back to respectability. Hall of Fame defenceman Phil Housley was named coach on Thursday, a few days after the Nashville Predators were eliminated in the Cup final and he was free to leave Peter Laviolette’s staff.
“People don’t realize how pumped I am to be back here,” Housley said of the first hire by new Buffalo GM Jason Botterill, who did not bring in Pittsburgh assistant Rick Tocchet for an interview.
Housley will get a nice head start if centre Jack Eichel can remain healthy all season. Housley spoke of building a strong relationship with the budding star right away. Housley, the seventh of 18 Buffalo coaches to come from within the organization, played eight years there, right out of a Minnesota high school, part of more than 1,600 NHL regular season, playoff and international games. The 53-year-old Housley’s wife, Karin, is a Republican state senator in Minnesota.
Canadiens deal for Drouin
The Montreal Canadiens took some flak when the first-year returns from the P.K. Subban-Shea Weber trade came in and now they’ve dealt another younger defenceman.
But Thursday’s move — Mikhail Sergachev for forward Jonathan Drouin of the Tampa Bay Lightning — is bound to be a bit more popular, at least short term, netting the Habs a home-province sniper who fills a hole up front. GM Marc Bergevin moved quickly to sign Drouin, a restricted free agent Drouin, who inked a six-year contract worth a reported US$33 million ($5.5 million AAV).
Sergachev hardly played in the NHL last season, but the top 10 pick from 2016 helped the Windsor Spitfires win the Memorial Cup last month. As he’s ineligible for the expansion draft, it saves the Lightning from exposing a player next week when the Golden Knights will select one player from each team.
The trade also came with a second-round conditional pick in 2018 to the Bolts and sixth-rounder to the Habs, but neither are used if Sergachev plays at least 40 games next season according to TSN. Next up for Bergevin could be the trade of another former first rounder, RFA forward Alex Galchenyuk, as Montreal seeks more stability at centre.
Knights are coming
With the Vegas expansion draft less than a week away, a buyout window officially opened for all teams at noon Thursday to help them determine protected lists. Taken off the books to allow younger players to be kept was veteran Colorado defenceman Francois Beauchemin, who had a year to go at $4.5 million.
Clubs had until Thursday to ask players to waive their no movement clauses. Among those prominent in refusing the request was Ottawa defenceman Dion Phaneuf, who has submitted a new list of teams that he can’t be dealt to, according to reports.
Leaf him in L.A.
Drew Doughty’s “soft spot” for the Leafs doesn’t mean the London, Ont., native would jump at a chance to boost Toronto’s blue line if one presented itself.
Doughty told TSN Radio’s Leafs Lunch on Thursday there are off-ice challenges in Toronto that he and many other NHLers believe would preclude them from coming.
“I think all of us southern Ontario players, we secretly want to play for the Leafs,” the 27-year-old Doughty said. “You know, we all have that kind of soft spot. We would all like to play here, especially with the team, the way they’re getting better and stuff like that. But I think it just always comes down to how hard it is to live in a city being that big of a celebrity.
“I’m spoiled in L.A. where I walk around anywhere I want and not one person’s going to recognize me. If, say, I did for some reason play for the Leafs, I don’t know if I could get used to that or not. I think that’s the problem, why guys don’t sign here.”
Doughty has two years at $7 million still on his contract before unrestricted free agency. Toronto coach Mike Babcock has been trying to sell free agents on the city since he arrived two years ago and general manager Lou Lamoriello called the dramatic improvement in 2016-17 “a platform year” for the franchise to get back on the NHL map.
Ice chips
The Islanders’ pre-season schedule is up in the air, as is their future at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn beyond this season, but they will play at least one exhibition game in their old home, the renovated and reduced-capacity Nassau Coliseum, against the Flyers ... In his season-ending commentary, Nashville GM David Poile hinted he’ll use his position on the NHL competition committee to strive harder to make sure the correct call is made on controversial goals. A quick whistle by a referee whose view was obstructed cost the Preds a key Game 6 goal. “We as managers, somewhat of the gatekeepers of the game, we’ve got to put in place a system where the right call is always made,” Poile said. “Everybody knows that the goal should have counted, but the system was not there to allow the goal to be counted. I will do everything I can to try to help that.”