The Buffalo Sabres officially introduced new head coach Phil Housely at a press conference Thursday afternoon. Plenty has been made of how he turned Nashville's defensive unit into the class of the league, especially the top four of Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, and P.K. Subban.

One can argue those four defensemen were great players prior to Housley's tutelage, especially Subban, who won the Norris Trophy for the 2012-13 season as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. However, Housley thinks his one year of experience coaching the media darling that is Subban will help him handle Buffalo's biggest star in forward Jack Eichel.

Eichel has drawn no shortage of criticism this offseason, after it came out he had a significant influence on Tim Murray and Dan Bylsma being fired from their respective roles as general manager and head coach.

Housley is believed to be the guy who can improve a Sabres defense which has ranked no higher than 24th in Corsi For percentage at full strength over the past three years.

While he may hope to improve the Sabres from the net out, he'll need to start forming trust with his players by starting with the centerpiece that currently seems to be the furthest away.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Beyond the buzz of Jonathan Drouin's blockbuster arrival in Montreal lie some not-so-glamorous contract negotiations between the 22-year-old winger and his new general manager Marc Bergevin.

Drouin, acquired by the Canadiens on Thursday in exchange for prospect Mikhail Sergachev and conditional picks, is a restricted free agent, and talks regarding a new deal are already underway, reports TSN's Bob McKenzie.

Related: Projecting Jonathan Drouin's next contract

Drouin wrapped up his entry-level contract this past season, registering a career-high 53 points in 73 games. Based on his production and potential, it's feasible to think he could fetch something in the range of $5-6 million annually.

er CapFriendly, Montreal has $22.5 million in cap space to work with this offseason, with choices to make on RFAs Drouin, Alex Galchenyuk, Nathan Beaulieu, and Nikita Nesterov, as well as unrestricted free agents Alexander Radulov, Andrei Markov, Dwight King, and Brian Flynn.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Phil Housley won't initially have anything close to the defensive talent he had in Nashville, but it's up to Jason Botterill to give his new head coach a capable group to work with on the Buffalo Sabres' back end.

The general manager will no doubt look to bolster the club's defense for Housley, who was hired Thursday after spending four seasons turning the Predators' defense into a juggernaut.

Nashville ranked in the top two in the NHL in goals by defensemen in all of those campaigns and placed in the league's top half in fewest goals allowed in each of the last three.

The Predators had at least one player finish in the top five in Norris Trophy voting in three straight seasons from 2013-14 to 2015-16, and Nashville's defense corps rose to an entirely new level this season, carrying the club to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Housley - one of the best offensive defensemen of all time - helped mold the Predators rearguards into one of the most productive groups in the NHL for a sustained period of time.

Buffalo's defense, on the other hand, was an obvious weak spot in 2016-17 beyond the encouraging development of Rasmus Ristolainen.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

The 22-year-old was counted on to almost single-handedly provide the offense for the Sabres from the blue line, and he collected 45 points in 79 games while logging an average of 26:28 in ice time.

Only Dustin Byfuglien, Drew Doughty, Ryan Suter, and Erik Karlsson played more than Ristolainen, which is a testament to the trust former head coach Dan Bylsma showed in him, but it was also a sign that he needed help.

The Sabres struggled in many facets as a team this season, but the lack of offense generated from the back end was a genuine concern.

After Ristolainen, only one defenseman - Jake McCabe - produced at least 20 points, and Buffalo's seven most frequently used D-men managed only 114 points in 444 combined games played. Yes, there were injuries, but the Sabres' defense corps were lousy at generating scoring chances.

Housley is the perfect coach to address that problem, but like Ristolainen, he won't be able to overhaul it by himself.

Botterill won't have many options on the free-agent market besides a big-ticket blue-liner like Kevin Shattenkirk, so he'll have to get a little creative to help improve the Sabres' biggest area of need.

As for Housley, he has an obvious area of expertise, but he'll do more than just help the defense. He's a proven winner who should help players at all positions get better, and his wealth of experience should help Jack Eichel continue to grow up front.

The Sabres' forward group is deep and versatile. Buffalo's defense needs the most work, and it's in good hands with Housley now, but he'll only be able to do so much without the right pieces in place.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Nick Bonino gave the Steelers a reminder of what a championship smells like Thursday.

After partying with the entire city of Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Bonino brought the Stanley Cup to Steelers minicamp to build the bond between the Steel City's sports clubs.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Marc Bergevin made yet another massive splash.

The Montreal Canadiens acquired forward Jonathan Drouin and a conditional 2018 sixth-round pick from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for prospect Mikhail Sergachev and a conditional second-round pick in 2018, the team announced Thursday.

TSN's Pierre LeBrun clarified the conditions here:

Sergachev was one of the Canadiens' top prospects, drafted ninth overall by the club in 2016. The 18-year-old blue-liner spent the season with the OHL's Windsor Spitfires, notching 43 points in 50 games en route to winning the Memorial Cup.

Drouin, 22, is coming off his best NHL season, recording 21 goals and 32 assists for the Lightning. He grew into a more prominent role in the absence of Steven Stamkos, and consistently displayed his offensive flair as one of the most dynamic playmakers in the game.

However, Drouin is a restricted free agent, along with teammates Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat, and Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman needed to make a choice, or risk losing one of them for nothing in the expansion draft.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's a secret no more.

All-world Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, from beautiful London, Ontario, is spending some time in Toronto this month, and he joined the folks at TSN's "Leafs Lunch" on Thursday for a chat. Naturally, the topic of playing at home came up, to which Doughty had a most interesting response.

Asked about the up-and-coming kids in the blue and white, Doughty said most players from the Southern Ontario secretly harbor a desire to suit up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, while also detailing why it's not such a tantalizing proposition.

"I think of all us Southern Ontario players, we secretly want to play for the Leafs. You know, we all have that kind of soft spot," Doughty said. "Honestly, I hated the Leafs when I was a kid. I absolutely hated them, always cheered against them. I was on my dad's team, he was a Montreal Canadiens fan, but I watched every Leaf game, and, so, I secretly love the Leafs.

"I think that, yeah, we'd all want to play here especially with the team the way they're getting better and stuff like that, but I think it always comes down to how hard it would be to live in a city being that big of a celebrity," he added. "I'm spoiled In L.A., where I walk anywhere I want and not one person's going to recognize me.

"If you say I did for some reason play for the Leafs I don't know if I could get used to that or not. I think that's the problem, why guys don't sign here."

Two takeaways from Doughty's remarks:

1. Playing pro hockey for a living in Los Angeles - the Kings practice a short drive away from Manhattan Beach - has to be one of the greatest experiences one could possibly have in sports.
2. Get those blue and white Doughty jerseys ready, Leafs fans!

Doughty's 27 - he'll be 28 in December - and has two seasons left on his contract, which pays him $7 million a season. He'll be an unrestricted free agent at 29.

Everyone knows the Kings have salary cap issues, and everyone knows Toronto needs another top-flight D-man.

Lastly, everyone also knows that Leafs fans are going to probably blow this way out of proportion. So, thanks, Drew.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Pittsburgh Penguins had one final task to complete Thursday to conclude their championship season: locker clean out.

Along with the housekeeping, several Penguins players met with the media for their season-ending interviews, and appropriately, netminder Marc-Andre Fleury was the center of attention, faced with questions on his imminent departure from the only NHL club he's ever known.

"It's been such a long time," said an emotional Fleury, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I've met a lot of good people. It feels like home to me."

Fleury was drafted first overall by the Penguins in 2003, and recently revealed he waived his no-movement clause in February, a decision he declared was the "right thing to help the team."

The emergence of goaltender Matt Murray has Fleury's days in the Steel City numbered, with the rookie occupying the goal for each of Pittsburgh's back-to-back Stanley Cups.

Still, Fleury was nothing but gracious throughout his impending exit. He never griped about his backup role, and even handed Murray the Stanley Cup in celebration, symbolizing a passing of the torch in Pittsburgh's crease.

"Matt's the guy here. He will be for many years," Fleury said.

Fleury's future destination, at this point, remains unclear. He's eligible to be selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the upcoming expansion draft, or can be traded to one of 18 teams on his approval list.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Buffalo Sabres have their man.

Phil Housley has been hired as the Sabres' next head coach, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

T

More to come.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Forget "grin and bear it." Zach Werenski is grinning and wearing it.

The Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman was given an incredible shirt Thursday, and teammate Nick Foligno got one for himself, too.

The shirt first surfaced back in April, when it was worn by a fan before Game 4 of the Blue Jackets' first-round playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It's a larger version of the selfie Werenki posted after taking a shot to the face in Game 3.

Werenski missed the rest of the Blue Jackets' postseason with a facial fracture, but at least he has a sweet souvenir for his troubles.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The list of Pittsburgh Penguins injuries was larger than it initially seemed.

Matt Murray revealed he tore his hamstring in the pregame warmup before the Penguins' playoff opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Murray returned in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final, carrying the Penguins the rest of the way and helping them win the Stanley Cup for the second straight season.

Carl Hagelin broke a fibula in a regular-season game against the Winnipeg Jets and it never fully healed, the forward told reporters Thursday, per NHL.com's Wes Crosby.

Hagelin won't need surgery, just "a little rest."

Justin Schultz said he suffered a broken rib in the Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators, according to the Post-Gazette's Jason Mackey.

Brian Dumoulin injured his hand in the first round and said it didn't seem to heal at all, via the Post-Gazette's Sean Gentille.

Nick Bonino already revealed he broke a tibia that he battled through in the Stanley Cup Final. He added Thursday that he also had a break in his left ankle and that the bone cracked all the way though.

On the morning after winning the Cup, Ian Cole said he played through a broken hand and broken ribs sustained in the Penguins' second-round series against the Washington Capitals.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.