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Wednesday, December 29, 1999
Stay-at-'dome defenceman!
Smooth Housley re-signs with Flames
And here everyone simply assumed the man was a lead-pipe cinch to be the first-ever captain of the Minnesota Wild.
"I thought about that," Phil Housley conceded yesterday, following the announcement he'd agreed to a two-year-plus-option contract extension with the Flames.
"It's close to home and my mom is ill, and she could've seen me a lot more ... but this is a great situation. The coach has shown confidence in me. Management has been very good to me.
"And, first and foremost, my family likes it here. Stability is important to us now. I'm 35. I have four kids. They're in school. They have friends, activities. It's a difficult situation, going into the summer not having a plan, knowing exactly where you're going to be.
"What is it that they say? The top things that bring about stress are, one, dying and, two, moving. I've been through the moving thing. It's no fun."
Odd, isn't it, that the overriding public suspicion has always been that, deep down, Phil Housley wanted desperately to hightail it back to the U.S., on the quickest bus, plane or train when, in point of fact, he's developed an attachment here so strong as to forego the chance in order to stay?
Although dollar-figure details could not be wrenched out of any of the principals, Housley's agent, Larry Kelly, said the extension renumeration is at a comparable level to the current deal.
Kelly's client earns $2.5 million US this season.
"He probably could've gotten more if he'd tested the market in the summer," admitted Kelly. "But he wanted to stay."
The Housley-Calgary reunion, predicted to be an unqualified disaster at first, has been a marvellous success. To say he's resurrected his career in his second life as a Flame wouldn't be understating the case. Hardly used in the playoffs by the Caps as Washington got deeper into its march to the Stanley Cup finals two years ago, the Flames claimed the out-of-favour Housley back on waivers. He seemed unwanted, unsure.
"I remember when Brian (Sutter) called after they'd picked me up," recalled Housley. "He told me how much he and the team were looking forward to me coming back. That made me feel good."
Housley responded with a 54-point season, his best since that 97-point explosion in Winnipeg in '91-92. He's followed that up, despite having to deal with his mother's battle against cancer, with 27 more in 37 starts this year -- two off the lead for defencemen at the moment -- and by any criteria must be regarded as a legitimate Norris Trophy candidate.
Given added responsibility by Sutter, Housley has seemed more relaxed and confident than at any time in the past few seasons.
"We're talking about one of the all-time great offensive defenceman," pointed out general manager Al Coates. "Certain players find their niche in certain cities. And I think it's fair to say that Phil Housley has played better in Winnipeg and Calgary than anywhere else.
"He feels comfortable here. I never agreed with any of you (media) who said this is a different Phil Housley here now. We wanted to keep him the first time. He wanted to stay. But we couldn't get a deal worked out. So rather than watch an asset walk away for nothing, we made the trade with New Jersey."
"Howie has done everything we've asked of him," added coach Brian Sutter, an outspoken booster. "I knew playing against him and then coaching against him, what kind of talent he was. But when he got here, we challenged him to be better. We wanted him to be a leader and a presence. We wanted him to be accountable. And he has been."
Unrestricted free agency, and the chance to maybe finish his career with a Cup contender, must've been enticing.
"I still might," he counted. "Anything's possible. This last month we've proven we can play. This last streak we went on didn't hurt my decision to stay, either. There's a better atmosphere now.
"Look at Washington. I was there for that run. A good team chemistry, hard work and great goaltending can take you a long, long ways. I like this team."
And, quite obviously, this team still likes him.
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