BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula hasn't made a decision on the future of head coach Phil Housley, at least just yet.
"The season obviously hasn't finished yet but I think Botts [Botterill] has said that he supports Phil," Pegula said at the NFL Owners Meetings on Tuesday. "Phil communicates with the players well. Are we happy with how the season is going? Absolutely not, you can ask anybody on the team. So something has to change but we don't know what. We're all going to put our heads together and talk about it."
When asked if the decision to bring back Housley next season could be justified, Pegula responded: "he's a young coach and he was a great player and I think he can grow as a coach."
"Well Jason already said it that he's not planning on letting Phil go and that he's going to be returning," Sabres President Kim Pegula added. "But that's not to say that we can't always improve. I don't think anytime these things happen it's not just one thing and it's usually not on one person so we'll figure all that out and know that Terry and I and our staff and everyone in the organization wants to get better, no doubt about it."
Mr. Pegula was also asked about the status of general manager Jason Botterill, who is about to conclude his second season with the Sabres.
“We’re not happy with where we are at this point of the season” Kim Pegula on the #Sabres recent struggles. Pegula adds they’ll evaluate Phil Housley’s status at a later date @WKBW
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) March 27, 2019
"I communicate with Botts regularly, daily, sometimes three times a day." Terry Pegula said. "He's the only three-time gold medal world junior guy in the world. He's a smart guy and he does a good job."
