Top 20 Defensemen of Post-Orr Era
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Del.i.cious
#20
Phil Housley
SI's Brian Cazeneuve ranked the 20 best defensemen who played in the NHL since Bobby Orr made his enormous impact with the Boston Bruins between 1966 and '76:
With 1,232 career points, Housley stands fourth all-time among NHL backliners. So why not rank him higher? His teams never went anywhere. Aside from one season (1997-98) when he was a third-pair defenseman with Washington, which reached the Stanley Cup Final, Housley's teams won exactly one playoff series, and that was during his rookie season with Buffalo in 1982-83. He was also -53 for his career, a mark for defensive liability that nobody else on this list even approaches.
With 1,232 career points, Housley stands fourth all-time among NHL backliners. So why not rank him higher? His teams never went anywhere. Aside from one season (1997-98) when he was a third-pair defenseman with Washington, which reached the Stanley Cup Final, Housley's teams won exactly one playoff series, and that was during his rookie season with Buffalo in 1982-83. He was also -53 for his career, a mark for defensive liability that nobody else on this list even approaches.
