Former Flames defenseman Phil Housley heading to HHOF

Finally, after several years of eligiblity, Phil Housley is a hall of fame defenseman. The American-born scoring phenom straight out of Saint Paul, Minnesota will join many legends as part of this year’s draft class. This year’s inductees include Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Pronger, and Angela Ruggiero. Bill Hay (a former President and CEO of the Flames) and Peter Karmanos round out the inductees as part of the builders’ category.

Housley played for the Flames during two stints, from 1994-95 to 1995-95, and again from 1998-99 to 2000-01. In those five seasons, he accumulated and added to his overwhelming points total with 50 goals and 188 assists in 328 games. The Flames only made the playoffs once with Housley on the roster, in 94-95 when he added a whopping nine assists in seven games.

The entire career of Housley in its own right is really a fantastic representation of the high scoring eras of hockey. His rookie season with Buffalo in 1982-83 saw him accumulate 66 points in 77GP. He finished second in Calder Memorial Trophy voting that season to Steve Larmer. Throughout his career, he continued to set standards and immense numbers, finishing his career fourth all-time in defenseman goals with 338; and points with 1232. Housley retired in 2002-03 with the Toronto Maple Leafs after a strong 20 year career. Next to Mike Modano, Housley is second all-time in American-born players in total points.

Since retirement, Housley turned his focus to coaching, finding success in 2013 with the US junior team in which he captured a gold medal. Now an assistant coach with the Nashville Predators, he could be among many suitable candidates moving forward to occupy a head coaching role.

by Mike Pfeil