Phil Housley was barely a day into his new job as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres in the summer of 2017 when he began to make a to-do list of all that lay ahead with the new gig, including the hiring of assistant coaches and the search for a new home.



But there was a curious item at the top of the list. First things first, he decided, he wanted to hire Mat Myers.



Myers was the Nashville Predators’ second-in-command video coordinator, an increasingly important job in the modern NHL, though hardly a position that figures to be of utmost importance to a brand-new coach. But Housley insisted.



The two had become close over two years in Nashville. Myers was single and Housley was living the bachelor’s life with his wife and family still based in Minnesota, so they became dinner dates and concert cohorts for the steady stream of live music that rolled through the city. They bonded over long conversations in the midst of exhausting road trips,...