Housley's communication skills key to turnaround by Sabres

WINNIPEG -- Communication is the crucial element that has helped Phil Housley transition from a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman to the coach of the surging Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres are 17-7-3 entering their game against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Monday (8 p.m. ET; SNE, SNP, FS-TN, MSG-B, NHL.TV). Buffalo has been in and out of first place the Atlantic Division, the Eastern Conference and NHL standings during the past week, and the Sabres matched a team record by winning 10 consecutive games from Nov. 8-27.
It's quite a turnaround from last season, Housley's first as Buffalo's coach, when the Sabres finished last in the NHL at 25-45-12.
The key to the swift turnaround was a series of offseason conversations, mainly between Housley and the Sabres' leadership group.
"I think we solved a lot coming into training camp," Housley said. "We knew we had to change. We talked a lot about that after last season, that we had to change. That included coaching, our philosophy and our leadership group."

Asked to detail changes, Housley first raised his arm and pointed down the hallway to the dressing room.
"Everybody had to make a commitment to holding each other accountable, and we knew it wasn't going to happen overnight," he said. "They've put a lot of work into it. They've done terrific things to mold our culture right now."
Center Jack Eichel, 22, was named captain on Oct. 3, 2018, on the eve of starting his fourth season with Buffalo. Forward Kyle Okposo and defenseman Zach Bogosian were named alternates.
Eichel said a lot of hard questions were asked and answered during the offseason.
"Instead of kind of sulking and letting it go, I thought we did a really good job of figuring out the issues and figuring out solutions and trying to change what's gone on the last few years," said Eichel, who leads the Sabres with 32 points (five goals, 27 assists) in 27 games. "It was about having a higher standard of life and work and just really sacrificing for each other, and I think we've done a really good job of that."
Housley, 54, knew when he took the job with Buffalo that patience would be essential. But that's been easier said than done.
The Sabres hired Housley on June 15, 2017. Before coming to Buffalo, Housley had been an assistant with the Nashville Predators from 2013-17. He started his coaching career with the boys' hockey team in Stillwater, Minnesota, near his home. He also worked for the United States with various junior-level national teams.

"There were times I tried to remain as positive as I could, but you get frustrated," he said. "But I have learned a lot about having patience. And also trying to push the buttons at the right time and holding players accountable."
Housley has found the proper formula this season, Eichel said.
'At times when he's expecting more, he tells us that," Eichel said. "And at times when he's happy with where we're headed, he's letting us know. We're learning, he's learning and we're all just trying to get better."
Housley, selected by the Sabres in the first round (No. 6) of the 1982 NHL Draft, played his first eight seasons with Buffalo and had 558 points (138 goals, 380 assists) in 608 games. He retired in 2003 after playing in 1,495 games during 21 NHL seasons with the Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs, finishing with 1,232 points (338 goals, 894 assists), the most by a U.S.-born defenseman. Housley is fourth all-time in scoring among NHL defensemen and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.
A transition from playing excellence to coaching excellence does not surprise Ed Olczyk, a former teammate with the Jets.
"Howie was always a guy who was one step ahead as a player," said Olczyk, who coached the Pittsburgh Penguins (2003-06) and is a TV analyst for NBC Sports and the Chicago Blackhawks. "He had great instincts and such a feel for the game. And he's been able to translate that as a coach.
"I know, talking to a lot of guys in Nashville, when he was an assistant there, they said he could deliver the message in a way that players could relate to. When he played, his offensive level was on another level. Sometimes when players are that skilled and great, they can't, in layman's terms, express themselves."
Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis said Housley never had an issue in relaying his modern and progressive approach as an assistant under Peter Laviolette. The Predators reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games, in Housley's final season before he was hired in Buffalo.
"He was a great coach for all the D and what he did for our games inside our locker room," Ellis said. "We'll always forever be grateful to him."

Craig Button was the general manager of the Flames when Housley was there. He appreciated Housley's skills as a player but wasn't sure they would translate to coaching.
"In so many ways, those players had unique skills," said Button, now an analyst with TSN. "That's why they were Hall of Fame players. I won't say the game came easy to them, but it came naturally. They didn't need as much coaching in skill areas, if any at all.
"So now when they might come to coach, well, being a good coach is understanding what a player needs and how to help a player. When you've been gifted and it's come so naturally, sometimes it's hard to make that connection. It's like the brilliant physics student who can't be a physics teacher. They get it but they can't teach it."
Button said he admired Housley's willingness to grind his way up the coaching ladder.
"He went and learned and worked at it," Button said. "That's incredibly important to be successful as a coach.
"And I'm so happy to see in Buffalo that when they hired him, they were 'in' with him, making sure they were there for him as he gets better as a coach. It's a great credit to [general manager] Jason Botterill."
Housley was an assistant with the United States at the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2007 and 2011, winning bronze each time. In 2013, he coached the U.S. to the gold medal at the WJC in Ufa, Russia.
"He was the first coach I had that treated me like an adult," said Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba, who played for Housley in 2013. "I was 19 and he treated me like an adult. As you grow up, you have coaches that treat you more like a younger kid, but he was the first one, for me, who was different that way.
"When you're in junior, there are still curfews and everybody's watching over you. He kind of treated us like, you can make your own decisions and he taught me that he wasn't there to babysit me; that he'd treat you like you want to be treated and left it up to you as to what you'd do with it."
Trouba's story gets to the heart of the matter with Housley.
"With today's player, Howie fits in perfectly," Olczyk said. "He's a players coach, no doubt about that. It's knowing when to push the button and it's a lot of positive messaging, nurturing, sometimes coddling.
"I've had this conversation with him ... you have to understand and figure out who and what your players are before everybody else does. It's finding a way to tell [a player] what he needs to know, not what he wants to hear. And I think that's Howie. He's direct and I think he gets that. He's a communicator and I think players of today appreciate that."
NHL.com correspondent Robby Stanley contributed to this story