11/05/24
January 16, 2004
Phil Housley retires: (officially) after 20 seasons in the NHL. Classy guy.
This is one of those players that I don't think deserves to go to the Hall of Fame, but (sadly) I wouldn't be surprised if he gets voted in. He was NEVER the best at his position, or an award winner, or a record setter. My one interesting memory about Housley is that he was a part-time centreman for the Sabres when he first joined the league, so in my (very old) fantasy hockey game (using cards and dice), he was listed as "Position: D/C". It was nice to have an extra face-off man in case my centre got tossed.
posted by grum@work at 09:28 AM on January 17, 2004
He was NEVER the best at his position, or an award winner, or a record setter. So, anyone playing D when Bobby Orr was king shouldn't be allowed in the hall? Messier shouldn't be allowed in the hall because he wasn't even the best center on his team with the Oilers? The hall isn't about the best at their position, players who got recognized for their seasonal contribution; it is about players who, over the course of their careers, put up steady, played at a level above. Phil Housely, offensively, was a level above most. He was a 7 time all star and scored at least 60 points in 11 straight seasons to start his career. 1200 points by a defenseman is a pretty special accomplishment, regardless of the fact that defensively, he was a 4th forward most of the time. I say he was one of the best passing defensemen of his era and deserves in the Hall.
posted by dfleming at 02:48 PM on January 18, 2004
not to mention he is the all time leader in scoring among american born players. thats a bit of a record, i think. ps- shigpit, from lf?
posted by owl at 11:22 AM on January 21, 2004
Is it bad that I love the guy just because of how good he was in NHL 94 and 95?