Sabres bring back Housley as coach

Phil Housley began his Hall of Fame playing career in Buffalo. It is also where he will open his NHL head-coaching career after being hired by the Sabres on Thursday.

Housley’s hiring completes an offseason overhaul for the Sabres in replacing coach Dan Bylsma, who was fired along with general manager Tim Murray in April.

Housley takes over a team that stagnated under Murray in extending its franchise-worst playoff drought to six seasons. With a 33-3712 record, Buffalo finished last in the Atlantic Division, 26th overall, and with two fewer wins than last season.

It’s a homecoming for Housley, who was selected with the No. 6 pick in the 1982 draft by Buffalo and spent his first eight of 21 NHL seasons playing for the Sabres. Housley has spent the past four years as an assistant coach with the Predators.

Lightning-Canadiens trade: Tampa Bay got the young defenseman it has been looking for in Mikhail Sergachev, even though it cost them highly skilled forward Jonathan Drouin. Tampa Bay acquired the soon-to-be 19-year-old Sergachev from Montreal in a trade that helps the Lightning ahead of the expansion draft and in their tight salary-cap situation.

Hurricanes: Forward Teuvo Teravainen agreed to a two-year deal worth more than $5.7 million, exactly a year after he was acquired in a trade with Chicago. Teravainen had 15 goals and 27 assists in 81 games last sea- son, all career highs.