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For ice hockey players in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing 500 consecutive regular season games is considered a highly significant achievement. This is often referred to as an "iron man streak".
As of the completion of the 2022–23 NHL season – the 105th regular season of play of the NHL – 26 players had played at least 500 consecutive regular season games in their NHL career, making it one of the most exclusive 500-clubs in the NHL.
The first player to play 500 consecutive games was Murray Murdoch, who played his 500th consecutive game during the 1936–37 season, the 20th season of the NHL. Phil Kessel is the current record holder, having played 1,064 games consecutively; likewise, he is the only player to have recorded 1,000 consecutive games. Glenn Hall is the only goaltender to play 500 consecutive games (1955–1962), and Henrik Sedin is the only European player to do so (2004–2014).
Several streaks ended for reasons other than player injury. Both Steve Larmer's and Johnny Wilson's streaks ended due to contract disputes. Andrew Cogliano's run ended at 830 games because of a two-game suspension, while Patrick Marleau's streak ended at 910 games with his retirement. During his consecutive games streak, Marleau broke the NHL all-time record for games played, playing his 1,768th game on April 19, 2021. Other streaks ended because the player was a healthy scratch, or was sent down to the minors.
As of the start of the 2023–24 season, there are two players with active 500 consecutive game streaks: Phil Kessel and Brent Burns. Burns is the most recent member of the 500 consecutive game club, playing his 500th game on December 3, 2019. In addition to the formal record, Kessel has the unofficial all-time record for most consecutive games played including playoffs (1,149 games).[1]
Keith Yandle initially broke Doug Jarvis' consecutive games played record on January 25, 2022, when the Philadelphia Flyers took the ice against the New York Islanders. Kessel passed Jarvis on March 27, 2022, when the Coyotes played the Winnipeg Jets, and became the NHL's active iron man on April 2, 2022, when Yandle was scratched from the Flyers' starting lineup.[2] Kessel then passed Yandle for the record on October 25, 2022, as his Vegas Golden Knights played the San Jose Sharks;[3] he then became the first player to play 1,000 consecutive games on November 17, 2022.[4]
This is a list of the 26 NHL players who have played at least 500 consecutive regular season games in their NHL career, updated through games played on March 12, 2024.
active streak
NHL record at the time streak completed
( ) denotes games played in current season
(C) streak is from the start of their career
Rank | Name | Games | Start | End | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Phil Kessel | 1,064 (0) | November 3, 2009 | Active (Free Agent) | Last game missed was on October 31, 2009, while playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs (game 12 for the team). He played the last 70 games of that season and, to date, every game since. Kessel broke Yandle's record on October 25, 2022, skating in his 990th consecutive game; he then skated in his 1,000th consecutive game on November 17, 2022. Kessel was scratched for Game 5 of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs on April 24, 2023, his first missed game since October 31, 2009. His ironman streak remains intact, however, because only regular-season games count for such purposes. |
2 | Keith Yandle | 989 | March 26, 2009 | March 29, 2022 | Yandle broke Jarvis' record on January 25, 2022, skating in his 965th consecutive game. Streak ended when Yandle was made a healthy scratch by Flyers interim coach Mike Yeo.[5] |
3 | Doug Jarvis | 964 (C) | October 8, 1975[6] | October 10, 1987[7] | Never missed a game in his career. Broke Garry Unger's record by playing in his 915th NHL game on December 26, 1986.[8] He was a scratch in the third game of the 1987–88 season while playing for the Hartford Whalers. He never played another NHL game. |
4 | Garry Unger | 914 | February 24, 1968 | December 21, 1979 | Streak ended when Unger was benched by Atlanta Flames coach Al MacNeil. |
5 | Patrick Marleau | 910 | April 9, 2009 | May 12, 2021 | Marleau did not play the opening few games of the 2019–20 season, while he was an unrestricted free agent. He signed an NHL contract with the San Jose Sharks on October 9, 2019. Because Marleau was not under contract at the time, the four games that the Sharks had previously played are not considered for the purposes of the streak. Marleau additionally became the all-time leader in games played in game 899 of his streak, surpassing the record previously held by Gordie Howe. Streak informally ended with Marleau's final game of the 2020–21 season, and formally ended with his retirement on May 10, 2022.[9] |
6 | Steve Larmer | 884 | October 6, 1982[10] | April 15, 1993[10] | Did not miss a game during 11 years with the Blackhawks.[11] Streak ended as a result of a contract dispute after the 1992–93 season ended.[12] |
7 | Brent Burns | 843 (0) | November 21, 2013[13] | Active | Burns' streak started on November 21, 2013, when he returned from facial injuries. He played his 500th consecutive NHL game against the Washington Capitals on December 3, 2019. Burns is the fourth defenseman to play 500 consecutive games and is first player to play 500 consecutive games while playing both forward and defense.[14] |
8 | Andrew Cogliano | 830 (C) | October 4, 2007 | January 13, 2018 | Consecutive games streak ended as a result of a two-game suspension. The NHL Department of Player Safety later ruled that Cogliano hit Kings' forward Adrian Kempe with a "high, forceful hit", after Kempe had completed a pass.[15] |
9 | Craig Ramsay | 776 | March 27, 1973 | February 10, 1983 | Dave Lewis ripped a slap shot off Ramsay's left foot, afterward Ramsay was not in the lineup for the next game.[16] |
10 | Jay Bouwmeester | 737 | March 6, 2004 | November 22, 2014 | Streak ended as a result of a lower body injury, believed to be from stepping on a crack on the ice.[17] |
11 | Henrik Sedin | 679 | March 21, 2004 | January 18, 2014 | Missed game as a result of a rib injury. At the time of the completion, Sedin's streak was the sixth longest streak in NHL history.[18] |
12 | Andy Hebenton | 630 (C) | October 7, 1955 | March 22, 1964 | Was the first player to break Johnny Wilson's consecutive games played record. Hebenton's streak ended as a result of being sent to the minors. After being sent to the minors, Hebenton never played in the NHL again. Hebenton's consecutive game streak (including the minor leagues) was 1062 games, which included 216 games prior to his time in the NHL and an additional 216 games after his NHL career. His career streak came to end as a result of attending his father's funeral.[19] |
13 | Karl Alzner | 622 | October 8, 2010 | April 7, 2018 | Alzner's streak started at the beginning of the 2010–11 season. He did not play in the last game of the 2009–10 season while playing for the Washington Capitals. Streak ended as a result of being a healthy scratch for the opening game of the 2018–19 season on October 3, 2018, while playing for the Montreal Canadiens.[20] |
14 | Johnny Wilson | 580 | February 10, 1952 | March 20, 1960 | Played eight consecutive seasons of 70 games along with the final 20 games of the 1951–52 NHL season. Streak ended as a result of a contract dispute. At the time of the completion, Wilson's streak was the longest in NHL history.[21] |
15 | Billy Harris | 576 | October 7, 1972 | November 28, 1979 | Harris played the first 576 games in Islanders history. On November 30, 1979, he was made a healthy scratch by Al Arbour on the 20th game of the season, ending his streak.[22] |
16 | Mark Recchi | 570 | October 4, 1991 | December 11, 1998 | Streak ended due to a case of pneumonia that Recchi had been fighting for several weeks. Recchi said in an interview that he no longer had the energy and the best way to help the team was to rest.[23] |
17 | Danny Grant | 566 | December 4, 1968[24] | December 19, 1975 | Streak ended as a result of a torn right thigh muscle that required surgery.[25] |
18 | Alex Delvecchio | 548 | December 13, 1956 | November 11, 1964 | Delvecchio was accidentally struck by a Red Kelly shot. He suffered a hairline fracture of the jaw, but missed only two games.[26][27] |
19 | Brendan Morrison | 542 | February 27, 2000 | December 12, 2007 | Morrison's streak ended as a result of wrist surgery. He had injured his wrist in the preseason but had continued to play through the pain. At the time of completion, Morrison's streak was the eleventh longest streak in NHL history.[28] |
20 | Craig MacTavish | 519 | October 12, 1986 | January 2, 1993 | Streak ended as a result of a lower back strain. At the time of its completion, it was the second-longest active streak in the league.[29] |
21 | Brad Boyes | 513 (C) | October 5, 2005 | November 23, 2011 | Streak ended as a result of a lower body injury.[30] |
22 (tie) | Andrew Brunette | 509 | January 2, 2002 | February 19, 2009 | Brunette appeared to injure his knee in a game in January and aggravated the injury several weeks later, causing his streak to end at 509 games.[31] |
22 (tie) | John Marks | 509 | October 27, 1973 | December 30, 1979 | |
24 | Murray Murdoch | 508 (C) | November 16, 1926 | March 21, 1937 | First player in NHL history to play 500 consecutive games.[11] |
25 | Glenn Hall (G) | 502 | October 6, 1955 | November 7, 1962 | Streak ended on November 7, 1962, game 13 of the 1962–63 season. Hall's streak ended when he was fastening the toe strap on his skate and suddenly "feeling his back go out". Including playoffs, Hall played a total of 551 consecutive games.[32] |
Player(s) projected to join the 500 consecutive games played club in the 2024–25 season.
Name | Games | Start | End | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ryan Suter | 453 (0)[33] | October 4, 2018 | Active | Last game missed was on April 2, 2018 while playing for the Minnesota Wild. Suter sustained a fractured fibula in a game vs the Edmonton Oilers and missed the remainder of the regular season. Suter's 500th consecutive game is projected to be played on January 18, 2025. |
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