List of NHL players with 500 consecutive games played
For ice hockey players in the National Hockey League, 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 2019–20 NHL season — the 102nd regular season of play of the NHL — a total of 25 different 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. Doug Jarvis currently holds the record for most consecutive games played with 964, never missing a regular season game in his NHL career. Glenn Hall is the only goaltender to play 500 or more consecutive games, and Henrik Sedin is the only European player to do so.
Several streaks ended for unusual reasons, unlike injuries. Steve Larmer's streak ended in 1993 due to a contract dispute. Along with former record holder Johnny Wilson, they are the only players on the list who had their streaks end due to financial reasons. Andrew Cogliano's run ended at 830 because of a controversial two-game suspension. If the suspension is overturned at any point, the streak was at 929 games at the time of his injury. Part of the players did not continue, remaining a healthy scratch or being sent to the minors.
There are currently four players with active streaks: Keith Yandle, Patrick Marleau, 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. Providing that the length of schedule does not change and there are no further work stoppages, Yandle, Marleau, and Kessel could possibly pass Jarvis' record during the 2021–22 season.
500 consecutive games played
This is a list of the 25 NHL players who have played at least 500 consecutive regular season games in their NHL career.;Legend:
denotes games played in current season
streak is from the start of their career
Rank | Name | Games | Start | End | Notes |
1 | Doug Jarvis | 964 | October 8, 1975 | October 10, 1987 | Never missed a game in his career. Broke Garry Unger's record by playing in his 915th NHL game on December 26, 1986. |
2 | Garry Unger | 914 | February 24, 1968 | December 21, 1979 | Streak ended when Unger was benched by Atlanta Flames coach Al MacNeil. |
3 | Steve Larmer | 884 | October 6, 1982 | April 15, 1993 | Did not miss a game during 11 years with the Blackhawks. Streak ended as a result of a contract dispute. |
4 | Keith Yandle | 866 | March 26, 2009 | active | Last game missed was on March 22, 2009, while playing for the Phoenix Coyotes. He played the last 9 games of that season and, to date, every game since. Yandle also played 84 games in 2014–15 due to a mid-season trade. |
5 | Patrick Marleau | 854 | April 9, 2009 | active | Last game missed was on April 7, 2009 while playing for the San Jose Sharks. He played the last 2 games of that season and, to date, every game since. Marleau did not play the opening few games of the 2019–20 season, but he signed an NHL contract with the San Jose Sharks on October 9, 2019, meaning he did not miss 4 games that the San Jose Sharks had previously played, while Marleau was an unrestricted free agent and games were not counted for him. |
6 | Phil Kessel | 844 | November 3, 2009 | active | Last game missed was on October 31, 2009, while playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played the last 70 games of that season and, to date, every game since. |
7 | Andrew Cogliano | 830 | 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. |
8 | Craig Ramsay | 776 | March 27, 1973 | February 10, 1983 | Dave Lewis ripped a slap shot off Ramsay's left foot, afterwards Ramsay was not in the lineup for the next game. |
9 | 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. |
10 | Henrik Sedin | 679 | March 21, 2004 | January 18, 2014 | Missed game as a result of a finger injury. At the time of the completion, Sedin's streak was the sixth longest streak in NHL history. |
11 | Andy Hebenton | 630 | 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 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. |
12 | 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. |
13 | 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. |
14 | 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. |
15 | 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. |
16 | Danny Grant | 566 | December 4, 1968 | December 19, 1975 | Streak ended as a result of a torn right thigh muscle that required surgery. |
17 | 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. |
18 | 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. |
19 | Brent Burns | 541 | November 21, 2013 | 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. |
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. |
21 | Brad Boyes | 513 | October 5, 2005 | November 23, 2011 | Streak ended as a result of a lower body injury. |
22 | 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. |
22 | John Marks | 509 | October 27, 1973 | December 30, 1979 | On December 16, 1979, Marks set a new all-time record, previously held by Murray Murdoch. |
24 | Murray Murdoch | 508 | November 16, 1926 | March 21, 1937 | First player in NHL history to play 500 consecutive games. |
25 | Glenn Hall | 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. |
Active players approaching 500 consecutive games
This is a list of the players who have played at least 400 consecutive regular season games in their NHL career and will be approaching the 500 consecutive game mark within the next year.;Legend:
denotes games played in current season
Rank | Name | Games | Start | End | Notes |
1 | Dmitry Orlov | 413 | March 8, 2014 | Active | Last game missed was on March 6, 2014, while playing for the Washington Capitals. He played the last 16 games of that season and, to date, every game since. |