Housley is the second leading scorer amongst American-born players, with 1,232 points. 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. 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. 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. From 2013 to 2017, Housley was an assistant coach for the Nashville Predators, working primarily with defensemen. 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. On June 15, 2017, it was announced that Housley was hired by the Buffalo Sabres as their new head coach. 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. On June 26, 2019, it was announced that Housley signed a multi-year contract as assistant coach for the Arizona Coyotes. For the Coyotes, Housley serves as defensive coordinator and power play coach.
June 16, 1990 - Traded by the Buffalo Sabres, along with Scott Arniel, Jeff Parker and Buffalo's 1990 1st round choice, to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Dale Hawerchuk and Winnipeg's 1990 1st round draft choice.
September 23, 1993 - Traded by the Winnipeg Jets to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Nelson Emerson and Stéphane Quintal.
July 4, 1994 - Traded by the St. Louis Blues, along with St. Louis' 1996 2nd round draft choice and St. Louis' 1997 2nd round draft choice, to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Al MacInnis and Calgary's 1997 4th round draft choice.
July 22, 1996 - Signed as a free agent with the Washington Capitals.
July 21, 1998 - Claimed on waivers by the Calgary Flames from the Washington Capitals
September 28, 2001 - Claimed on waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks from the Calgary Flames
March 11, 2003 - Traded by the Chicago Blackhawks to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Toronto's 2003 9th round draft choice and Toronto's 2004 4th round draft choice.
