Sharks' Patrick Marleau Passes Gordie Howe for Most Games Played in NHL History
April 20, 2021
Nobody has played more regular-season games in NHL history than San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau.
Monday's contest against the Vegas Golden Knights was the 1,768th game of his career, which passed the legendary Gordie Howe's mark of 1,767.
Marleau even had custom gloves made for the occasion:
The 41-year-old entered the league in the 1997-98 season for the Sharks and played in San Jose until he joined the Toronto Maples Leafs for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. He rejoined the Sharks for the 2019-20 campaign, although they traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
That didn't stop the Sharks from signing him again prior to the 2020-21 campaign, and it feels only fitting he is wearing their jersey when he sets this record.
The three-time All-Star is San Jose's all-time leader in a number of categories, including games, goals, points, game-winning goals and shots.
In all, he has 1,196 points on 566 goals and 630 assists in his career.