Phil Housley: Your Feelings After Preseason

[Doohickie]

I think saying a player had a great camp and saying a young player is close are different. 

 

I disagree.  I think Housley is one of those "find something nice to say" guys.  So instead of saying DLo is no longer NHL material, he says he had a nice camp.  Instead of saying Bailey isn't ready for the NHL he says he's close.  This drives the cynics nuts but I think it's good for team morale in terms of hearing everything with a positive spin.  It doesn't mean Housley is being deceptive, he's just says everything in the most positive sounding way.

My patience with Housley is growing thin.

Because he gives boiler plate answers to the media? 

 

Because pi is the anti-Housley.  He finds a negative way to say everything.

I think Bylsma did everything he could with the hand he was dealt.    Was he the right guy for this particular group?  Maybe not... but that doesn't make him a bad coach.

 

I've seen nothing from this preseason to suggest Housley has them on the right path.    Guys like ROR, Eichel, etc... sleep-walking through pre-season games,  ragged scrambley d-zone play, giving up odd man rush after odd man rush.    Lack of effort and focus... and all Housley has done is heap praise on this group for their work ethic.... well, I for one, don't see any amount of work ethic from anybody.     

 

Who shined in camp?  Nobody.

 

Who took that next step in their development?  Nobody.

 

Who's taken a leadership role?   Nobody.

 

What are the lines going to look like opening night?   Who knows.

 

I don't know Housley personally, but it sounds like he hasn't earned the players respect... maybe he will, maybe he won't.   

 

Just a very underwhelming start....  with low expectations, and excuses aplenty (new coach/system will take time to adjust),  this team is setup for an abysmal start to the season... and I put that on Housley.    Every interview he says things like "It's a process".... "It's going to take some time"..... you know what?  ###### that!    With the talent on this roster, they shouldn't be satisfied with just "making progress".     Housley is giving players a built in excuse to take nights/periosds off.     He has all the hallmarks of a guy that the players are going to take advantage of.... and it's already showing in the pre-season with slow starts and guys under-performing.     I think he's in over his head. 

 

And it was easy to say the same thing about Sean McDermott a month ago.  If, 20 games into the season, the Sabres are 13-4-3, will you change your mind?

[Radar]

I think Bylsma did everything he could with the hand he was dealt.    Was he the right guy for this particular group?  Maybe not... but that doesn't make him a bad coach.

 

I've seen nothing from this preseason to suggest Housley has them on the right path.    Guys like ROR, Eichel, etc... sleep-walking through pre-season games,  ragged scrambley d-zone play, giving up odd man rush after odd man rush.    Lack of effort and focus... and all Housley has done is heap praise on this group for their work ethic.... well, I for one, don't see any amount of work ethic from anybody.     

 

Who shined in camp?  Nobody.

 

Who took that next step in their development?  Nobody.

 

Who's taken a leadership role?   Nobody.

 

What are the lines going to look like opening night?   Who knows.

 

I don't know Housley personally, but it sounds like he hasn't earned the players respect... maybe he will, maybe he won't.   

 

Just a very underwhelming start....  with low expectations, and excuses aplenty (new coach/system will take time to adjust),  this team is setup for an abysmal start to the season... and I put that on Housley.    Every interview he says things like "It's a process".... "It's going to take some time"..... you know what?  ###### that!    With the talent on this roster, they shouldn't be satisfied with just "making progress".     Housley is giving players a built in excuse to take nights/periosds off.     He has all the hallmarks of a guy that the players are going to take advantage of.... and it's already showing in the pre-season with slow starts and guys under-performing.     I think he's in over his head.

 

And so it begins. In for Buffalo I thought honeymoons lasted a few weeks into the season.

[Eleven]

I heard he said Bailey is close.  Thoughts?

[WildCard]

I heard he said Bailey is close.  Thoughts?

 I think Bylsma did everything he could with the hand he was dealt.    Was he the right guy for this particular group?  Maybe not... but that doesn't make him a bad coach.

 

I've seen nothing from this preseason to suggest Housley has them on the right path.    Guys like ROR, Eichel, etc... sleep-walking through pre-season games,  ragged scrambley d-zone play, giving up odd man rush after odd man rush.    Lack of effort and focus... and all Housley has done is heap praise on this group for their work ethic.... well, I for one, don't see any amount of work ethic from anybody.     

 

Who shined in camp?  Nobody.

 

Who took that next step in their development?  Nobody.

 

Who's taken a leadership role?   Nobody.

 

What are the lines going to look like opening night?   Who knows.

 

I don't know Housley personally, but it sounds like he hasn't earned the players respect... maybe he will, maybe he won't.   

 

Just a very underwhelming start....  with low expectations, and excuses aplenty (new coach/system will take time to adjust),  this team is setup for an abysmal start to the season... and I put that on Housley.    Every interview he says things like "It's a process".... "It's going to take some time"..... you know what?  ###### that!    With the talent on this roster, they shouldn't be satisfied with just "making progress".     Housley is giving players a built in excuse to take nights/periosds off.     He has all the hallmarks of a guy that the players are going to take advantage of.... and it's already showing in the pre-season with slow starts and guys under-performing.     I think he's in over his head. 

Edited October 2, 2017 by WildCard

[nfreeman]

I heard he said Bailey is close.  Thoughts?

 

Ooooooooooohh. 

[sabills]

 I think Bylsma did everything he could with the hand he was dealt.    Was he the right guy for this particular group?  Maybe not... but that doesn't make him a bad coach.

 

I've seen nothing from this preseason to suggest Housley has them on the right path.    Guys like ROR, Eichel, etc... sleep-walking through pre-season games,  ragged scrambley d-zone play, giving up odd man rush after odd man rush.    Lack of effort and focus... and all Housley has done is heap praise on this group for their work ethic.... well, I for one, don't see any amount of work ethic from anybody.     

 

Who shined in camp?  Nobody.

 

Who took that next step in their development?  Nobody.

 

Who's taken a leadership role?   Nobody.

 

What are the lines going to look like opening night?   Who knows.

 

I don't know Housley personally, but it sounds like he hasn't earned the players respect... maybe he will, maybe he won't.   

 

Just a very underwhelming start....  with low expectations, and excuses aplenty (new coach/system will take time to adjust),  this team is setup for an abysmal start to the season... and I put that on Housley.    Every interview he says things like "It's a process".... "It's going to take some time"..... you know what?  ###### that!    With the talent on this roster, they shouldn't be satisfied with just "making progress".     Housley is giving players a built in excuse to take nights/periosds off.     He has all the hallmarks of a guy that the players are going to take advantage of.... and it's already showing in the pre-season with slow starts and guys under-performing.     I think he's in over his head. 

 

Jesus, can we at least see a game before we start calling for ANOTHER coaches head? ###### Christ.

 

EDIT: I see now that this was a bit of copypasta from Pi, which means I'll just ignore it, sorry.

Edited October 2, 2017 by sabills

[LGR4GM]

Housley and the team on practices:

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/sabres-practice-captain-phil-housley/c-291515140

Edited October 2, 2017 by LGR4GM

[WildCard]

Housley and the team on practices:

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/sabres-practice-captain-phil-housley/c-291515140 

My man, that's a good ol' 404

[Radar]

How do I feel about Housley? I feel bad for him. Honeymoon lasted only few periods of preseason games. I would replace him with PI.

[LGR4GM]

My man, that's a good ol' 404

Working on it... 

Should be good

[pi2000]

If Housley was a proven HC who has a history of success, then I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.  

 

Unfortunately, and through no fault of his own, he doesn't have any history.    So until that happens, I'll remain a skeptic.    

 

 

1 - I disagree.  I think Housley is one of those "find something nice to say" guys.  So instead of saying DLo is no longer NHL material, he says he had a nice camp.  Instead of saying Bailey isn't ready for the NHL he says he's close.  This drives the cynics nuts but I think it's good for team morale in terms of hearing everything with a positive spin.  It doesn't mean Housley is being deceptive, he's just says everything in the most positive sounding way.

 

2 - Because pi is the anti-Housley.  He finds a negative way to say everything.

 

3 - And it was easy to say the same thing about Sean McDermott a month ago. 

 

 

4 - If, 20 games into the season, the Sabres are 13-4-3, will you change your mind?

 

1 - It's sign that he's soft and won't say what needs to be said when it needs to be said.

 

2 - I'm not anti-Housley.    I really hope he succeeds and we see some promising signs early in the season.   That said, I'm also a realist.    Just because I'm not as optimistic as some of you, doesn't mean I'm not a fan.    I hope to God I'm wrong.

 

3 - McDermott is a leader, a firey passionate guy who has his team believing and buying in.    Can Housley do the same?   I don't know, but nothing I've seen or heard thus far suggests that's likely.

 

4 - Absolutely!  

[WildCard]

If Housley was a proven HC who has a history of success, then I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.  

 

Unfortunately, and through no fault of his own, he doesn't have any history.    So until that happens, I'll remain a skeptic.    

We just had that, and how did that work out?

[pi2000]

We just had that, and how did that work out?

 

Well, uh, I ummm, uh, hmmm, yeah....  I don't recall your honor.

[WildCard]

Well, uh, I ummm, uh, hmmm, yeah....  I don't recall your honor.

[pi2000]

 

hahaha, good one

 

Look, Bylsma's first year behind the bench saw the Sabres improve from 54 to 81 points.    A 27 point improvement.

 

Let's see how many points they improve by this season.   I'll bet it's not 27 points.

[Samson's Flow]

hahaha, good one

 

Look, Bylsma's first year behind the bench saw the Sabres improve from 54 to 81 points.    A 27 point improvement.

 

Let's see how many points they improve by this season.   I'll bet it's not 27 points.

To be fair, incremental improvement is much easier when it is dumpster fire->bad than it is to go from bad->good. 

 

To make a human analogy, it is much easier to lose 27 lbs when you are 350 and have a long way to go than when you are 220 trying to get under 2 bills. The last bit of work to get to the goal is often much harder than the first improvement.

[LGR4GM]

 

 

1 - It's sign that he's soft and won't say what needs to be said when it needs to be said.

 

No it isn't. It would only be a sign of that if when he talks to players he doesn't tell them what they need to work on or what went wrong. 

[WildCard]

To be fair, incremental improvement is much easier when it is dumpster fire->bad than it is to go from bad->good. 

 

To make a human analogy, it is much easier to lose 27 lbs when you are 350 and have a long way to go than when you are 220 trying to get under 2 bills. The last bit of work to get to the goal is often much harder than the first improvement.

Yup

[LGR4GM]

hahaha, good one

 

Look, Bylsma's first year behind the bench saw the Sabres improve from 54 to 81 points.    A 27 point improvement.

 

Let's see how many points they improve by this season.   I'll bet it's not 27 points.

 

Bylsma took the Sabres from 54 to 81 to 78 so at best he is trending -3. 

Edited October 2, 2017 by LGR4GM

[pi2000]

Yup

 

To be fair, incremental improvement is much easier when it is dumpster fire->bad than it is to go from bad->good. 

 

To make a human analogy, it is much easier to lose 27 lbs when you are 350 and have a long way to go than when you are 220 trying to get under 2 bills. The last bit of work to get to the goal is often much harder than the first improvement.

 

So by how many points do you expect them to improve by this season?    And at what point do you hold Housley accountable?

 

Everything I've heard from Housley is that he's setting expectations extremely low... and that never ends well.    When Babcock took over in TOR he expected to win right away and expected that from his players.     That's part of what makes a good leader... and I've seen none of that display from Housley or his staff.

[LGR4GM]

So by how many points do you expect them to improve by this season?    And at what point do you hold Housley accountable?

 

Everything I've heard from Housley is that he's setting expectations extremely low... and that never ends well.    When Babcock took over in TOR he expected to win right away and expected that from his players.     That's part of what makes a good leader... and I've seen none of that display from Housley or his staff.

Please provide a quoted example of this. 

[WildCard]

So by how many points do you expect them to improve by this season?    And at what point do you hold Housley accountable?

 

Everything I've heard from Housley is that he's setting expectations extremely low... and that never ends well.    When Babcock took over in TOR he expected to win right away and expected that from his players.     That's part of what makes a good leader... and I've seen none of that display from Housley or his staff.

I expect them to be in the 90s

 

With Liger, where is the proof of any of this?

[woods-racer]

I expected 90 plus last year.

 

It's what I expect this year. Anything less will be a disappointment.

[Samson's Flow]

So by how many points do you expect them to improve by this season?    And at what point do you hold Housley accountable?

 

Everything I've heard from Housley is that he's setting expectations extremely low... and that never ends well.    When Babcock took over in TOR he expected to win right away and expected that from his players.     That's part of what makes a good leader... and I've seen none of that display from Housley or his staff.

I'd say a 10 point improvement from 78 to 88 would be a good start, and anything more than that is gravy and gets us in the playoffs. 

 

To the bold - what the what?!

[Doohickie]

I don't think Bylsma even began to do everything he might have done with he was dealt last year.  He tried one system that was out of date and never tried anything else.

Just because it's different, doesn't mean it's better.

 

But in all likelihood, it is better.

I'm encouraged by the limited preseason games I have seen. There are still a couple times where the old habit of insta-dump in starts happening, but I think every time I see that the player gives their own Vanek-face and realizes we aren't supposed to do that anymore. It will take time for the new habits to take over for the old crappy hockey, but I am willing to be patient to see how it goes.

 

Plus the Bills coaching hire seems to have gone pretty well, which for some reason is making me optimistic, even though they are only minimally related.

 

I think there is a common dynamic; both coaches seem to be upbeat people who relate well to the players and stress the team system over individual talent.  If the Sabres buy in the same way the Bills did, we might see some good hockey.

Edited October 2, 2017 by Doohickie