Buffalo Sabres fire Housley

Buffalo Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill on Sunday announced head coach Phil Housley was relieved of his duties.

The team wrapped its eighth-straight playoff-less season on Saturday with a 7-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. The Sabres finished 33-39-10, good for sixth place in the Atlantic Division.

In two seasons as coach, Housley compiled a record of 58-84-22.

Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula released the following statement regarding today’s announcement: “We appreciate Phil Housley’s effort over the past two seasons. He will always be a respected member of the Sabres organization, and we wish him and his family all the best moving forward. We support the decision made by Jason today. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we know Jason is operating in the best interests of the organization both short- and long-term. We are confident we share the same vision of bringing winning hockey back to Buffalo, which remains our expectation.”