Phil Housley Explained

Phil Housley
Halloffame:2015
Birth Date:9 March 1964
Birth Place:Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Height Ft:5
Height In:10
Weight Lb:185
Position:Defense
Shoots:Left
Played For:Buffalo Sabres
Winnipeg Jets
St. Louis Blues
Calgary Flames
New Jersey Devils
Washington Capitals
Chicago Blackhawks
Toronto Maple Leafs
Ntl Team:USA
Draft:6th overall
Draft Year:1982
Draft Team:Buffalo Sabres
Career Start:1982
Career End:2003

Phillip Francis Housley (born March 9, 1964) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player who is currently an associate coach for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously served as assistant coach for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2019 to 2022.[1] [2] Housley was the head coach of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres from 2017 until 2019.[3]

Playing as a defenseman, Housley was drafted by the Sabres in the first round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft and had a long and illustrious career playing for the Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and Toronto Maple Leafs. As a player, Housley was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.

Playing career

Housley is the second leading scorer amongst American-born players, with 1,232 points (338–894). He held the record for most points by an American-born NHL player until Mike Modano surpassed it on November 7, 2007.

Housley never won the Stanley Cup, coming closest with the Capitals in 1998, where they were swept in the Stanley Cup Finals by the Detroit Red Wings. At the time of retirement, Housley had played more NHL games without winning the Stanley Cup than any other player in NHL history until the retirement of Shane Doan in 2017, Jarome Iginla in 2018 and Patrick Marleau in 2022.

On January 21, 2000, Housley played in his 1,257th NHL game, the most ever at the time by an American, breaking the record held by Craig Ludwig. Housley went on to play in 1,495 NHL games. He held the record for games played by an American-born player for nearly seven years, until it was broken, on November 24, 2006, by Chris Chelios.

Housley was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 9, 2015.[4] [5] On February 7, 2007, he was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame, commemorated in a pre-game ceremony with former head coach Scotty Bowman on hand.

Coaching career

From 2004 to 2013, Housley coached high school hockey at Stillwater Area High School in Stillwater, Minnesota, helping to rebuild the program to respectability.[6] From 2013 to 2017, Housley was an assistant coach for the Nashville Predators, working primarily with defensemen.[7] [8]

On January 5, 2013, Housley coached Team USA to the gold medal at the 2013 IIHF World U20 Championship in Ufa, Russia. He had served as an assistant coach on Team USA's 2007 and 2011 appearances in the World Juniors.[6]

On June 15, 2017, it was announced that Housley was hired by the Buffalo Sabres as their new head coach.[9] He led the Sabres to a 31st-place finish in his first season and saw the Sabres attain a 10-game winning streak early in his second season before the team collapsed down the stretch. Housley was fired by the Sabres after the 2018–19 season on April 7, 2019.[10] [11]

On June 26, 2019, it was announced that Housley signed a multi-year contract as assistant coach for the Arizona Coyotes.[12] For the Coyotes, Housley served as defensive coordinator and power play coach.[13]

With his contract set to expire, Housley and the Coyotes agreed to part ways on May 1, 2022. He joined the New York Rangers as an associate coach in June 2023.[14]

Personal life

Housley grew up in South St. Paul, Minnesota. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Karin Housley, a Minnesota state senator.[15] The Housleys have four grown children and reside in St. Marys Point, Minnesota.[16]

Career playing statistics

Regular season and playoffs

  Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1980–81South Saint PaulHS-MN18282654
1980–81St. Paul VulcansUSHL6771461055100
1981–82South Saint PaulHS-MN2231346518
1982–83Buffalo SabresNHL7719476639103472
1983–84Buffalo SabresNHL753146773330006
1984–85Buffalo SabresNHL731653692853252
1985–86Buffalo SabresNHL7915476254
1986–87Buffalo SabresNHL7821466757
1987–88Buffalo SabresNHL742937669662466
1988–89Buffalo SabresNHL722644704751342
1989–90Buffalo SabresNHL802160813261454
1990–91Winnipeg JetsNHL7823537624
1991–92Winnipeg JetsNHL742363869271450
1992–93Winnipeg JetsNHL801879975260772
1993–94St. Louis BluesNHL26715221242134
1994–95Zürcher SCNDA10681434
1994–95Calgary FlamesNHL43835431870990
1995–96Calgary FlamesNHL5916365222
1995–96New Jersey DevilsNHL22115168
1996–97Washington CapitalsNHL7711294024
1997–98Washington CapitalsNHL646253124180444
1998–99Calgary FlamesNHL7911435452
1999–2000Calgary FlamesNHL7811445524
2000–01Calgary FlamesNHL694303424
2001–02Chicago BlackhawksNHL801524393450114
2002–03Chicago BlackhawksNHL576232924
2002–03Toronto Maple LeafsNHL1000030000
NHL totals1,4953388941,2328228513435636

International

YearTeamEvent GPGAPtsPIM
1982United StatesWJC71016
1982United StatesWC71014
1984United StatesCC60220
1986United States WC102684
1987United StatesCC50224
1989United States WC73472
1996United StatesWCH10110
2000United StatesWC72350
2001United StatesWC90114
2002United StatesOLY61450
2003United StatesWC61124
Junior totals71016
Senior totals6410243422

Head coaching record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L OTL Pts Finish Result
2017–1882 25 45 12 62 Missed playoffs
2018–1982 33 39 10 76 6th in Atlantic Missed playoffs
Total 164 58 84 22 138

Awards and achievements

International play

1982 (eight place), 1986 (sixth place), 1989 (sixth place), 2000 (fifth place), 2001 (fourth place), 2003 (13th place)

2013 (Head Coach - Gold Medal)

Transactions

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Arizona Coyotes & Assistant Coach Phil Housley Agree to Part Ways . October 11, 2023 .
  2. Web site: Arizona Coyotes hire former Sabres head coach Phil Housley as assistant. 2019-06-26. Arizona Sports. 2019-06-27 . Matt . Layman .
  3. Web site: Arizona Coyotes to hire former Sabres coach Phil Housley as assistant. azcentral. en. 2019-06-23 . June 20, 2019 . Richard . Morin .
  4. Web site: Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Fedorov selected to Hall of Fame; nine Red Wings players from 2002 are in. mlive.com. June 30, 2015 . Ansar . Khan .
  5. Web site: Housley Took First Steps Toward Hockey Hall While With the Sabres . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160919020608/http://sabres.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=787201 . Sep 19, 2016 . Nov 9, 2015 . Jourdon . LaBarber . NHL.com.
  6. Web site: Sabres hire Phil Housley as coach, bring back piece of history. John. Vogl. The Buffalo News. June 15, 2017. June 15, 2017.
  7. Web site: LaBarber. Jourdon. Get to know Sabres coach Phil Housley. NHL.com. June 15, 2017. June 15, 2017.
  8. Web site: Bove. Matt. Bove: Housley – the perfect fit for the Sabres. WKBW. June 15, 2017. June 15, 2017.
  9. Web site: Phil Housley named head coach of Buffalo Sabres. NHL.com. June 15, 2017. June 15, 2017.
  10. Web site: Sabres relieve Housley of coaching duties . NHL.com . April 8, 2019 . April 7, 2019.
  11. Web site: Buffalo Sabres fire coach Phil Housley one day after he said he expected to be back with team . Blackburn . Peter . April 7, 2019 . CBSSports.com.
  12. Web site: Housley joins Coyotes as assistant. NHL.com. en-US. 2019-06-27.
  13. Web site: Phil Housley happy for Sabres' success, doesn't want to dwell on past. October 28, 2019.
  14. Web site: Coyotes, assistant coach Phil Housley part ways .
  15. News: The thoroughly modern marriage of Phil and Karin Housley. November 23, 2017. The Buffalo News. September 7, 2018.
  16. News: Minnesotans Phil and Karin Housley make sports and politics mix. Star Tribune. September 7, 2018.
  17. Web site: IIHF class of 2012 honoured. Podnieks. Andrew. Andrew Podnieks. International Ice Hockey Federation. 20 May 2012. 18 June 2023. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140227230920/http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/browse/1/recap/6983.html. 27 February 2014.
  18. News: Pavel Bure heads IIHF Hall of Fame inductees. Associated Press. 2 December 2011. CBC Sports. Toronto, Ontario. 18 June 2023.