Phil Housley still remembers Sabres fans at Memorial Auditorium in opening his Hall of Fame career in Buffalo during the 1980s.

Now, Housley is looking forward to bringing that type of excitement back to Buffalo -- this time as the Sabres' head coach.

Some 35 years to the day since the then-18-year-old was selected by the Sabres in the NHL draft, Housley is being asked to instill relevance to a franchise coming off its latest offseason house-cleaning.