He has spent most of his 16-year NHL career with putrid teams, including this season with the Philadelphia Flyers, who have somehow gotten even worse since their coaching change.
Twice in his career, he has been on a team that got out of the first round of the playoffs, getting to the conference finals with the 2012 and 2015 Rangers. More than half of his career has been spent on the outside of the playoffs, with his other five appearances being one-and-dones. Ryan Suter has appeared in more games than any other active player.
It's odd that there wasn't more of a hubbub about the ironman record that the 35-year-old defenseman broke on Tuesday night. Hockey is less popular than baseball, but playing in 962 consecutive NHL games is more impressive than taking the field for 2,632 consecutive. Even before the Chase Utley Rule, the level of threat to a shortstop's body can't be compared to a defense who averaged 21:03 of ice time per game during his NHL career.
It isn't likeYandle was just going over the top of a recent record. From 1975, through the last dynasty in 1987, the streak was run by Doug Jarvis. It isn't a record that was held by someone with the stature of Lou Gehrig, and it isn't a record that was held for 56 years.
It's too bad that there wasn't more of a celebration for him breaking the record. It's amazing that he was able to avoid missing any time through the COVID protocols, which have taken so many players out of lineups around the league. You can play through pain, but you can't play through scurvy, so it's a feat of its own.
It's possible thatYandle won't hold the record for long, because if he does miss a game, Phil Kessel is only 24 games behind him, with his streak dating back to 2009, and featuring a couple of Stanley Cup titles. If and when he does get the record, this is hoping that he gets some appreciation from the Toronto media that spent so much time with him when he was with the Maple Leafs.
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