Sources: Sabres expected to name Phil Housley as next head coach

Phil Housley, right, talks with Nashville Predators defenceman Ryan Ellis. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

It appears the Buffalo Sabres are close to hiring Dan Bylsma’s replacement behind the bench.

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the team is closing in on naming Phil Housley as their next head coach.

Housley has spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach with the Nashville Predators. Prior to that, he coached Team USA to a gold medal at the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championship.

A Hall of Fame defenceman Housley, 53, played 1,495 career NHL games with Buffalo, Winnipeg, St. Louis, Calgary, New Jersey, Washington, Chicago and Toronto. He scored 338 goals and 1,232 points across 21 seasons. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.

Housley was drafted by the Sabres sixth overall in the 1982 draft and spent his first eight seasons with the organization.

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