History was made in the NHL on Monday night, as Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks became the all-time leader in regular season games played in the history of the league. On Monday, Marleau participated in his 1,768th game at the age of 41, an astounding feat given the usual longevity of players in the NHL.
The previous record holder was the famous Gordie Howe, with the record having stood since his last season in 1979-80. Marleau now looks down on an incredible list of hockey players at the top of this list, including Mark Messier, Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, and Mark Recchi.
Marleau got a very nice ovation from the Vegas Golden Knights home crowd on Monday during an early break to celebrate the occasion.
Patrick Marleau has officially played more games in the National Hockey League than anyone else. 👏
1,768 career games. #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/pwVjspiVcA
— NHL on NBC Sports (@NHLonNBCSports) April 20, 2021
IT’S OFFICIAL!
Patrick Marleau breaks all-time games played record. @SAPSports | #HistoryMarleaud pic.twitter.com/2PWJIMdAJQ
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) April 20, 2021
Congrats, Legend. 👏#SJSharks pic.twitter.com/juIueXg5Cz
— NHL on NBC Sports (@NHLonNBCSports) April 20, 2021
In his 23-year NHL career, Marleau has played with three teams — the Sharks, Penguins, and Maple Leafs — and has amassed 566 goals and 1,196 points. Though Marleau has won no major awards, nor Stanley Cups, in his historic NHL career, his longevity in the league is absolutely worthy of tremendous praise.
It’s very likely that this year will be the last of Marleau’s career, so what a way to go out by leading the league in games played. Platitudes aside, this tweet from the Golden Knights sums up Marleau’s record quite nicely.
1,768 games is literally so many
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 20, 2021
