List of NHL players with 1,000 games played
Updated: Wikipedia source
The National Hockey League (NHL) is the major professional ice hockey league which operates in Canada and the United States. Since its inception in 1917–18, 425 players have played at least 1,000 regular season games, varying in amounts between Patrick Marleau's 1,779 to Bernie Federko's 1,000. Of these players, a number have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. A player who reaches the milestone is awarded a silver stick. Forty-nine of the listed players have played for only one franchise (of which 11 are still active as of the conclusion of the 2025–26 regular season). Five of those players played exclusively for the Detroit Red Wings and four played for the Montreal Canadiens, those teams having the most such players. From 1961 until being surpassed by Marleau on April 19, 2021, the record for most games played was held by Gordie Howe, who played 1,767 games. The record for most teams played for by a player who has competed in over 1,000 games is held by Mike Sillinger, who played for 12 teams in his career; Sillinger played his 1,000th game with his 12th and final NHL team, the New York Islanders. Brothers Eric, Jordan, and Marc Staal are the only trio of brothers to play 1,000 games each in the NHL, with Marc making this achievement possible by playing his 1,000th game in the 2021–22 season. Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, and Marc-Andre Fleury are the only goaltenders with at least 1,000 games played. The first 1,000-game goaltender was Roy, marked in the 2002–03 season while Brodeur has a goaltender-leading 1,266 games. Only 25 players have played in over 1,500 games; of those, 17 have been inducted into the Hall of Fame and five more are not yet eligible for induction. Three of those 25 (Nicklas Lidstrom, Alex Delvecchio, and Steve Yzerman) played their entire careers with Detroit; Shane Doan (Winnipeg/Phoenix/Arizona), Alexander Ovechkin (Washington), and Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles) are the only players to play over 1,500 games with a single franchise other than Detroit. In addition, eight of the 25 spent at least some portion of their career with the Red Wings, also more than any other team. Ovechkin's 1,573 games is the most for any player in a career spent with only one franchise. The record for most teams played for by a player who has competed in over 1,500 games is held by Jaromir Jagr, who has played for nine teams in his career. Jagr played his 1,500th game with New Jersey, his seventh NHL team. Due to the much greater number of teams and the greater number of games played in a season, the list is dominated by post-expansion players. No NHL player surpassed 1,000 games before Gordie Howe on November 26, 1961, against the Chicago Black Hawks. Only 17 players in the top 100 started their careers before the expansion era, and only two players—Red Kelly and Bill Gadsby—played in more than 1,000 games and finished their careers before the expansion era.