Kind of hard to win a Norris when you’re competing against guys like Paul Coffey, Ray Bourque and Rod Langway in their prime. You don’t stand a chance. Al MacInnis and Iafrate feel Phil Housley’s pain. I remember Housley as a Jet and a Flame beating up on the Canucks.
Of the defensemen who played in the NHL during the 80s and early 90s; next to Paul Coffey, Phil Housley was probably the most dangerous when it came to possessing the puck and going on a rush down the ice.
Was Phil a confident kid? Yes. Did all of us kids want to be Bobby Orr growing up in the 70s? Yes. Was Phil egotistical? Not in the slightest. Nice tribute. Thanks for this one.
1996 was a down year for my NJ Devils. Coming off their first Cup run the team was in flux and didnt even make the playoffs after winning The Cup the very year before. After losing former captain Bruce Driver to FA signing with the NY Rangers , Lou being Lou picked up Phil Housley in 96 to fill the void. Always loved Phil, one of the best American defenseman ever. Even though his run in Nj was short & uneventful it was a pure joy to be able to see him play while wearing my favorite sweater. Thanks for showcasing this legend of the game, brother. And oh yes, Tommy Albelin was an unsung tremendous talent. 3 finals w NJ and 2 Cups. Guy was a nonflashy lunch pale workhorse. Sweet nod to one of my favorite Swedes.
Thanks, great video. Housley had a great career overall. I remember him well as a Sabres fan. We traded him to get Hawerchuk which was a good move at the time for Buffalo, although I remember that we always seemed to be lacking a great powerplay D after he left. Bodger was okay on the powerplay but it always seemed like we were missing a great #1D after he left.
Shannon's memory is wonderful... but I am 6 years older than he is. At least that's my excuse. Shannon uses the whiteboards but could probably do these videos from memory.
Wow, two Minnesota kids highlighted in 4 days. I didn't see Broten play until he reached the high school hockey tournament, but everyone knew Phil was going to do something special when watching him play at 9 or 10 years old.
It seemed like Selanne was getting a pass every game when he was in full speed This was still a few years before the red line was removed as a two line restriction. In other words your pass couldn't travel across your blue line and the redline.....imagine how many combined points they would have had....
Contrary to what one often heard from Canucks fans around 1995; Selanne's goal production went down not because of the cheap shot by Mike Peca, but because of the absence of a guy named Housley. Housley spent pretty much that entire 1992-93 season hitting Selanne on the tape. Isn't it amusing how Canucks fans were shooting their big mouths off after Peca drilled Selanne; but not even a decade later, when Steve Moore nailed Markus Naslund? Hoo hoo HOO! That was like a federal offence! The Canucks went headhunting when it came to Moore. This is one reason why I, a Habs fan, have come to dislike Canucks fans as much as I do some Leafs fans and more so than Bruins fans.
I remember Housley vividly from the Jets and how he assisted many of Teemu Selänne's goals! By the way, Housley was also part of that USA team that won the World Cup back in '96.
1,232 points as a defenceman and they make Housley wait years and years for induction? 694 points gets Cam Neely though? The HOF is competing with the Biden Admin for ineptitude
@@freedom_fighter4317 Don't compare anything to do with the NHL to the bullshit political situation in the USA. We true hockey fans don't want to hear about it.
As a kid I was devastated when Calgary traded Al Macinnis for Phil. Now many years later & all grown up & especially after seeing his body of work over the years I never honestly gave the respect that the great player Phil was. Mostly because I was a bitter Flame fan lol. Thank you For another great video as always. 🤘🏻🇨🇦.
This is a video that I am very happy to see. My dad went to the same school as Housley back when he was in highschool. My dad was friends with Phil's brother. He's always told me stories about when he first heard that Phil was offered a contract by Buffalo. Thanks for the video!
The thing I will always remember about Housley is the quote I always hear when he is brought up in Sabres groups: "Hit him with your purse!" Great player, softer than baby 💩
Housley was one of those compact defensemen who was a forward in reality. I always thought his size and offensive prowess made him a something of blue line version of Denis Savard.
Thanks for the video. Phil Housley was my favourite player when I started supporting the Sabres in the late 80's. Still disappointed he was traded, despite getting Dale Hawerchuk in return.
Growing up I had so many Phil Housley cards. Learning his stats I never truly had an opportunity to appreciate him as a player. Thanks for making this 🤘
This video just showed up on my recommended videos 1 year after it was posted. Phil Housley was the original Quinn Hughes. Small defenceman with great offensive skills.
I don't have any memories of him playing forward as a Sabre. I'm not saying it didn't happen, I just don't remember it. He was given extreme freedom in how he played. It was all out offense, with him. Some nights the points were great, others he'd drive you crazy with the defensive lapses. Hard to evaluate, I guess.
Hey Shannon, would love to see you do a career video on Brad Richards. Like him, I am also a fellow Islander, and a lot of people from PEI are pretty proud of what he was able to do in the NHL. Had a surprisingly decorated career and definitely has highs and lows. I followed since his first year where he was up for rookie of the year all the way until he won his second cup with the Blackhawks. Would love to hear you what you have to say about him, as he played for one of your favourite teams during a time he was playing at his prime.
Not taking anything at all away from Phil Housley, but just quirky how it seems like just about everybody scored like crazy in that one mad season 92-93! I've noticed the trend before, but it's really starting to look almost universal when going over these career videos of THG.
In the 1990-91 allstar game I remember there were in total two minor penalties the entire game and Housley got both of them. It was cool seeing him play so well for the Black Hawks very late in his career and the Hawks finally making the playoffs after many years not getting in. He was a great skater Even very late in his 30s.
Great player...2nd NHL'er to make the jump from High School straight to the NHL. The point I always make about Housley that seems to get lost in the shuffle....NO WAY Selanne hits 76 in 92/93 without Housley setting up half of them. Those guys together made a heck of a duo.
Good player i think i played against dan daost and phil in the halton mens league later in 2000 but never forgot dans smarts were to be as a player and his grit
Housley was a terrific player, but the 80s and 90s were STACKED with great Defensemen. Bourque, Leetch, Chelios, MacInnis etc. It wasn't fair to Phil. Almost impossible to win a Norris back then.
Yeah. And looking back at that 92-93 season when he played 80 games and scored 97 points if he had played all possible games, which was 84 during that season, he might have even topped 100 points which is a rarity for defensemen. He was playing with Selänne(and Zhamnov and Tkatchuk) during that season so I assume he would have been able to get 3 assists during those 4 games if he had been able to play those.
I think Housley had a broken finger just before the Washington run in the playoffs...probably affected his totals Although the finals were against All Stars Detroit Redwings (loaded)
I think if he was Canadian he gets in the hall a lot quicker, we need to to recognize non-Canadian players have a much harder time getting into the hall
I've never understood why defensemen that were effective as forwards, just didn't stick with playing forward. I mean if you're more effective as a forward than you are as a defenseman then it makes sense just to stick with forward.. Another guy that was really effective as a forward - at least on the power play - was Dustin Byfuglien, I mean put him in front of the net and you're not moving him but he was only sparingly used on the PP as a forward, at least when he was on the Hawks and it just made no sense.. He had the speed, size and talent of a power forward and he could play power forward but he was rarely used. Look, if you have a dynamic player that can play both forward and defense then why not take advantage of it?? I mean Byfuglien was a pretty unique player given his size, speed and skating ability and I was baffled why he wasn't used more creatively.. One of the rare times I can recall a defenseman really being used and converted to a permanent forward is Wendell Clark, and that's an odd one because he was drafted 1st overall as a defenseman, but then was quickly converted into a forward.. Of course you have guys like Paul Coffey, Brent Burns etc that also played forward on occasion... So yea, if a defenseman is effective as a forward, why just not keep them there - especially if they're unique like Dustin Byfuglien?
Well said, imagine having a few players on the roster that have the ability to play both. It seems like that would save having to make so many roster moves.
Not sure how you figure the Jets won the Housley Hawerchuk trade because the Jets got Tkachuk with the first. The Sabres got the higher pick. Who was selected/how the pick turned out shouldn't matter.
Housley and Tkachuk ended up becoming the biggest whiners in Winnipeg when it came to contracts. Then when Housley was traded by St. Louis to Calgary, he made a big stink about having to pay Canadian taxes.
