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.
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]
July 4, 1994 - Traded by the St. Louis Blues, along with St. Louis' 1996 2nd round draft choice (Steve Bégin) and St. Louis' 1997 2nd round draft choice (John Tripp), to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Al MacInnis and Calgary's 1997 4th round draft choice.
March 11, 2003 - Traded by the Chicago Blackhawks to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Toronto's 2003 9th round draft choice (Chris Porter) and Toronto's 2004 4th round draft choice (Karel Hromas).