Here are the arguments for and against Phil Housley's induction. After voting on Housley's candidacy, we'll take you to the next Hall of Fame Case:

Criteria: Defensemen
A cross-section of skills at the position, those players considered all-around talents, are the favored ones on defense. Here, it seems, voters are assessing more on balance. Former N.Y. Islanders captain Denis Potvin is a prototype defensive selection, if far from an easily categorized player. Potvin ranks 52nd on the all-time scoring list, but his brilliance in all facets of the game, including a prodigious appetite for open-ice hitting and nastiness when needed, are what made him a Hall of Fame automatic.

There are, naturally, exceptions, to the all-around rule. Paul Coffey will be a certain Hall of Fame selection, primarily on the 1,531 career points he accrued while being the most feared offensive blueliner since Bobby Orr. And 2002 inductee Rod Langway is being fitted for a tux despite only accumulating 329 points over a 15-year career.

Phil Housley Status: Active, at 38 in his 20th NHL season. Now with Chicago, previously with Buffalo, Winnipeg, St. Louis, Calgary, New Jersey and Washington.
Pros Longevity. Superb passer of the puck. Will soon pass Larry Murphy (1,216) and move into third place on the all-time scoring list for defensemen, trailing only Ray Bourque and Paul Coffey. Racked up 60 or more points in first 11 seasons of his career. Is the highest-scoring U.S.-born defenseman.	Cons Has only been past the first round of the playoffs in two of his 20 seasons -- which says as much about the teams he's played on as Housley; still, he's a common thread. Small, highly suspect defensively. Notoriously one-dimensional, no one will ever be accused of nicknaming him "Ol' Blood and Guts." Eddie Shore would be appalled.
The Skinny If ever there was a battle of Numbers Vs. Impact to be waged for a Hall of Fame spot, this is it. Here's someone whose regular-season stats inarguably warrant induction, but whose over-all game is punctured way by way too many holes to believe admission should be a foregone conclusion.