page_title: List of NHL players with 1,000 games played
hierarchical_section_title: List of NHL players with 1,000 games played
caption_attribution_description: Trading card photo of Gordie Howe as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. These cards were printed on the backs of Chex cereal boxes in the US and Canada from 1963 to 1965. Those collecting the cards cut them from the back of the boxes. Howe's card at PSA.
context_page_description: The National Hockey League is a major professional ice hockey league which operates in Canada and the United States. Since its inception in 1917–18, 348 players have played at least 1,000 regular season games, varying in amounts between Gordie Howe's 1,767 to Bernie Federko's 1,000. Of these players, a number have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
  Thirty-five of the listed players have played for only one franchise. Four of those players played exclusively for the Montreal Canadiens and five played for the Detroit Red Wings, those teams having the most such players. 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. Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo are the only goaltenders with at least 1,000 games played. Roy spent his career with the Montreal Canadiens and the Colorado Avalanche while Brodeur played for the New Jersey Devils and his final seven games with the St. Louis Blues.
context_section_description: The National Hockey League (NHL) is a major professional ice hockey league which operates in Canada and the United States. Since its inception in 1917–18, 348 players have played at least 1,000 regular season games, varying in amounts between Gordie Howe's 1,767 to Bernie Federko's 1,000. Of these players, a number have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
  Thirty-five of the listed players have played for only one franchise. Four of those players played exclusively for the Montreal Canadiens and five played for the Detroit Red Wings, those teams having the most such players. 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. Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo are the only goaltenders with at least 1,000 games played. Roy spent his career with the Montreal Canadiens and the Colorado Avalanche while Brodeur played for the New Jersey Devils and his final seven games with the St. Louis Blues. Luongo played for the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers and Vancouver Canucks in his career. The first goaltender was Patrick Roy, playing in his 1,000th game in the 2002–03 season.
  Only 21 players have played in over 1,500 games; of those, 14 have been inducted into the Hall of Fame and three more are not yet eligible for induction. Three of those 21 (Nicklas Lidstrom, Alex Delvecchio and Steve Yzerman) played their entire careers with Detroit; Shane Doan, of the Winnipeg/Phoenix/Arizona franchise, is the only player to play over 1,500 games with a single franchise other than Detroit. In addition, eight of the 18 spent at least some portion of their career with the Red Wings, also more than any other team. Lidstrom's 1,564 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. No goaltender has ever played in 1,500 games.
  Due to the much greater number of teams, the greater salaries paid to today's players, 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.
caption: Gordie Howe appeared in 1,767 games, the most in league history. He was the NHL's all-time leading scorer after both of his retirements (1971 and 1980).
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