| Phil Housley |
| Phillip Francis Housley Defense Left-Handed Shot Height: 5' 10", Weight: 185 pounds Born: 3.9.64 St. Paul, Minnesota |
| How he arrived: Traded by the Calgary Flames with Dan Keczmer for Tommy Albelin, Cale Hulse, and Jocelyn Lemieux, 2.26.96 How he left: Signed as a free agent by the Washington Capitals, 7.22.96 |
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| Regular Season Statistics with the Franchise Stats in bold signifies team leader. |
Back in the day, Housley was generally regarded as one of the best defensemen in the game, and in particular, one of the best
American defensemen in the game. He was a pretty good defender, but was best known for his offensive play, his
quarterbacking. He was often overshadowed, however; playing during the same time period as Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey,
Chris Chelios, and Brian Leetch CAN lead to that.
Hindsight being 20/20, the acquisition of Housley was clearly a rental. I do wonder if he would have stayed had the Devils made
the playoffs that year, because he did play very well, getting 16 points in 22 games.
Really, though, it was a story of moving around a lot since the Sabres traded him to the Winnipeg Jets, with the longest stays
being both with the Jets and a second tenure with the Flames. (3 seasons each.)
In the end, he set a lot of American records, notably in playing 1,495 NHL games, since broken by Chelios in 2006, and
scoring 1,232 points, since broken by Mike Modano back in 2007.
He has gotten into coaching after retirement, currently serving as the headman at Stillwater H.S. in Minnesota. He has also
coached internationally, serving as an assistant for the US teams at World Juniors twice.
He has already been inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame, the US Hockey Hall of Fame, and more recently, the IIHF
Hall of Fame. He is eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame, but has yet to get that call.
American defensemen in the game. He was a pretty good defender, but was best known for his offensive play, his
quarterbacking. He was often overshadowed, however; playing during the same time period as Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey,
Chris Chelios, and Brian Leetch CAN lead to that.
Hindsight being 20/20, the acquisition of Housley was clearly a rental. I do wonder if he would have stayed had the Devils made
the playoffs that year, because he did play very well, getting 16 points in 22 games.
Really, though, it was a story of moving around a lot since the Sabres traded him to the Winnipeg Jets, with the longest stays
being both with the Jets and a second tenure with the Flames. (3 seasons each.)
In the end, he set a lot of American records, notably in playing 1,495 NHL games, since broken by Chelios in 2006, and
scoring 1,232 points, since broken by Mike Modano back in 2007.
He has gotten into coaching after retirement, currently serving as the headman at Stillwater H.S. in Minnesota. He has also
coached internationally, serving as an assistant for the US teams at World Juniors twice.
He has already been inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame, the US Hockey Hall of Fame, and more recently, the IIHF
Hall of Fame. He is eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame, but has yet to get that call.
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| Entry Draft: 1982 First Round Pick (6th overall) by the Buffalo Sabres |
