NHL: 3 all-time records that are on pace to be broken
Hockey in the NHL is an ever-changing tapestry and many records from the past are impossible to break. However, these three records are on pace to be broken.
Some records in the NHL are impossible to break. No one will ever touch Wayne Gretzky‘s career 1,963 assists and 50 hat tricks or Martin Brodeur‘s 691 wins.
However, some records that were seen as untouchable are now in the grasping range. Here are three NHL records that are on pace to be broken.
3. Longest Ironman Streak
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Record holder: Doug Jarvis (964)
Who can break it: Keith Yandle (841)
Doug Jarvis was drafted in 1975 and never missed an NHL game until his career ended in 1987. Keith Yandle was drafted in 2005 and his ironman streak started in 2009. As a defenseman, he has a bigger workload and has averaged over 20 minutes a night throughout his career.
He has proven his durability through and through with the most intense incident had to be when he lost nine teeth in the first period against the Carolina Hurricanes, missed the second period, and returned in the third. He then got dental work in the next morning before playing that very night to play game #821.
In order to beat Jarvis’s record, Yandle will need to play 123 more games. That means the rest of this season and the entirety of next season, and four more games in the 2021-2022 season. At 33 years old and under contract until 2022-2023, this is very attainable. Staying healthy is key for Yandle if he wants to be the owner of the NHL’s longest ironman streak.
2. Most career goals
Record holder: Wayne Gretzky (894)
Who can break it: Alex Ovechkin (684)
Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey player of all-time and his name is at the top of a ton of NHL records. Alex Ovechkin is arguably the greatest goalscorer the league has ever seen and toppling Gretzky will cement his legacy. While it seems like a long shot, mathematically, it isn’t.
Gretzky played 1487 NHL games and averaged 0.60 goals per game. Ovechkin has played 1130 games and averages 0.61. If Ovechkin continues at this pace, it will take him 344 games to pass the Great One. He will need to finish this season, plus two more full seasons and 52 games. At 34 years old, he still has time and even when he gets older, the Washington Capitals just need to keep him in his office on the power play until he becomes the record holder.
1. Most games played
Record holder: Gordie Howe (1767)
Who can break it: Patrick Marleau (1700)
Patrick Marleau played his 1700th NHL game yesterday and became just the fifth player in league history to reach that plateau. He is now just 68 games shy of breaking Gordie Howe’s record of most games played.
No words can describe how incredible of a player Marleau is. He has been in the NHL since 1997 and has played through four decades in the league. Considering how much change the game underwent in all those years, the fact that Marleau continued to be a relevant player shows the adaptability and athleticism he has. At 40 years old, he is still able to keep up with the modern-day NHL while also putting up respectable points. With an underperforming San Jose Sharks team, he has 16 points in 43 games played.
His ironman streak is 831 consecutive games played which is just 10 games behind Keith Yandle. Marleau has proven time and time again that he will not stop and all he needs to do to pass Howe is finish this season and play 29 games next season. It is so close and with how durable he has been for the past 22 years, it can definitely be done.