Oldest active NHL player timeline

[seventieslord]

My favorite thing is how Gordie Howe was already the oldest player in the NHL, then left the league for 9 years, then came back to become the oldest player again.

Thinking about athlete longevity in perspective is really disturbing when I'm here just now getting settled into my career and personal life, only starting to reach personal achievements, etc. and then I log on here to read about how Nick Foligno is a washed-up dinosaur who needs to retire when he's literally a year younger than me.

I don't know if there's data to back it up or if it's just that everyone seemed older when I was younger, but it really felt like the league skewed older before the lockout. In 2004 it felt like every team had 39 and 40 year olds on their rosters. Now only a handful of talents are hanging on after 35 aside from genetic freaks like Chara and Jagr.

There is an old thread somewhere where we asked @pnep for the data. Something like a timeline year by year showing the average age of the five oldest players in the league that played at least half the season, or something like that. They are definitely Ebbs and flows at certain times, but I'm not sure I agree that right now the oldest players are particularly young, I think we're in approximately an average time for that.

 

[MS]

assuming he doesn't return to the NHL next season, thornton will be the last active NHL'er born in the 70s

i guess you could say both thornton and chara since they both haven't played since 2022, but thornton still hasn't retired

Jaromir Jagr still hasn't retired either - to me 'last player from the 70s' is the last one to play in the NHL.

Both Chara and Thornton played their last NHL game on 4-29-22 but Thornton got into one playoff game on 5-23-22 for all of 6 minutes, which will be the last time a player from the 1970s appeared in an NHL game.

 

[jigglysquishy]

Jaromir Jagr still hasn't retired either - to me 'last player from the 70s' is the last one to play in the NHL.

Both Chara and Thornton played their last NHL game on 4-29-22 but Thornton got into one playoff game on 5-23-22 for all of 6 minutes, which will be the last time a player from the 1970s appeared in an NHL game.

So Thornton last 1970s player to play an NHL game.

Recchi last 1960s.

Kjell Samuelsson last 1950s.

Goring last 1940s player.

Bobby Hull last 1930s player

Howe last 1920s player.

Looking at it, Orr would have been the oldest NHL player in 1984-85 if he was still playing. At only age 36.

 

[MadLuke]

the nhl was a bit on the old side for the face of the league just pre and post lockout:

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/984418/Aging_3_medium.PNG

But I am not sure for the general players, maybe it is the 80s that were specially on the young side an era where an argument can be made that the 70s players did not had an easy time adjust too, versus the other crop of aging players before or after.

 

[jigglysquishy]

the nhl was a bit on the old side for the face of the league just pre and post lockout:

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/984418/Aging_3_medium.PNG

But I am not sure for the general players, maybe it is the 80s that were specially on the young side an era where an argument can be made that the 70s players did not had an easy time adjust too, versus the other crop of aging players before or after.

The NHL is at its youngest when the peak of baby boomers were in their early 20s.

It was at its oldest when the same group was in their late 30s.

My general perception of a fast youth movement 2005-2008 doesn't seem to match the data.

 

[pnep]

There is an old thread somewhere where we asked @pnep for the data. Something like a timeline year by year showing the average age of the five oldest players in the league that played at least half the season, or something like that. They are definitely Ebbs and flows at certain times, but I'm not sure I agree that right now the oldest players are particularly young, I think we're in approximately an average time for that.

 

[MadLuke]

The NHL is at its youngest when the peak of baby boomers were in their early 20s.

It was at its oldest when the same group was in their late 30s.

Make a lot of sense.

 

[Terry Yake]

So Thornton last 1970s player to play an NHL game.

Recchi last 1960s.

Kjell Samuelsson last 1950s.

Goring last 1940s player.

Bobby Hull last 1930s player

Howe last 1920s player.

Looking at it, Orr would have been the oldest NHL player in 1984-85 if he was still playing. At only age 36.

dwayne roloson was the last active player born in the 60s. chico resch for the 40s

 

[jigglysquishy]

dwayne roloson was the last active player born in the 60s. chico resch for the 40s

Good catch.

Nhl.com separates out goalies from skaters.

 

[seventieslord]

Jaromir Jagr still hasn't retired either - to me 'last player from the 70s' is the last one to play in the NHL.

Both Chara and Thornton played their last NHL game on 4-29-22 but Thornton got into one playoff game on 5-23-22 for all of 6 minutes, which will be the last time a player from the 1970s appeared in an NHL game.

And managed to be -1 in a 1-0 loss.

 

[kaiser matias]

So Thornton last 1970s player to play an NHL game.

Recchi last 1960s.

Kjell Samuelsson last 1950s.

Goring last 1940s player.

Bobby Hull last 1930s player

Howe last 1920s player.

Looking at it, Orr would have been the oldest NHL player in 1984-85 if he was still playing. At only age 36.

Wild to think he was that young, as he feels like he belongs in a totally different era than the mid-80s. Even at that age he probably would have thrived in that type of environment, too.

 

[McGarnagle]

And managed to be -1 in a 1-0 loss.

If that doesn't encapsulate Joe Thornton's career, I don't know what does

 

[jigglysquishy]

So Thornton last 1970s player to play an NHL game.

Recchi last 1960s.

Kjell Samuelsson last 1950s.

Goring last 1940s player.

Bobby Hull last 1930s player

Howe last 1920s player.

Looking at it, Orr would have been the oldest NHL player in 1984-85 if he was still playing. At only age 36.

Adding onto this.

Edgar Laprade last 1910s skater.
Dit Clapper last 1900s skater.
Ching Johnson last 1890s skater.
Jack Walker last 1880s skater in NHL.
Jack Laviolette only skater born in 1870s to play an NHL game.

 

[Albatros]

Wild to think he was that young, as he feels like he belongs in a totally different era than the mid-80s. Even at that age he probably would have thrived in that type of environment, too.

Though he would have had to play a significantly more peripheral game already in his 20s to still be in the league in his 30s as he pretty much methodically destroyed his own knees to get where he wanted to be.

 

[seventieslord]

If that doesn't encapsulate Joe Thornton's career, I don't know what does

It encapsulates his 2021-22 season for sure.

 

[FerrisRox]

Brad Park was only 36 by 1985, but that was ancient by the standards of the time.

And he put up 13 goals and 43 points in just 67 games that year so he was still a solid contributor on the ice in his final season. He certainly could have played longer, especially on the Red Wings depleted blue line.

 

[Michael Farkas]

As a make-work project, I added DOBs from H-R to the table.

1917-18	Jack Laviolette	7/17/1879
1918-19	Joe Hall	5/3/1881
1919-23	Didier Pitre	9/1/1883
1923-24	Georges Vezina	1/21/1887
1924-24	Bobby Rowe	8/19/1885
1924-25	Georges Vezina	1/21/1887
1925-26	Louis Berlinquette	5/26/1887
1926-27	Hugh Lehman	10/27/1885
1928-28	Hap Holmes	2/21/1888
1928-29	Art Duncan	7/4/1891
1929-29	Herb Gardiner	5/8/1891
1929-30	Art Duncan	7/4/1891
1930-31	Bert McCaffrey	4/12/1893
1931-31	Joe Simpson	8/13/1893
1931-32	Helge Bostrom	1/9/1894
1933-36	George Hainsworth	6/26/1895
1937-37	Bill Cook	10/9/1896
1937-38	Ivan Johnson	12/7/1898
1938-39	Eddie Shore	11/25/1902​
1939-40	Nels Stewart	12/29/1902​
1940-40	Eddie Shore	11/25/1902​
1940-41	Hooley Smith	1/7/1903​
1941-43	Dit Clapper	2/9/1907​
1943-43	Johnny Gottselig	6/24/1905​
1943-44	Frank Boucher	10/7/1901​
1944-44	Johnny Gottselig	6/24/1905​
1944-46	Dit Clapper	2/9/1907​
1946-46	Bill Cowley	6/12/1912​
1946-47	Dit Clapper	2/9/1907​
1947-47	Bill Cowley	6/12/1912​
1947-48	Toe Blake	8/21/1912​
1948-48	Bryan Hextall	7/31/1913​
1948-51	Turk Broda	5/15/1914​
1951-51	Doug Bentley	9/3/1916​
1951-51	Roy Conacher	10/5/1916​
1951-54	Woody Dumart	12/23/1916​
1954-54	Doug Bentley	9/3/1916​
1954-54	Milt Schmidt	3/5/1918​
1954-56	Butch Bouchard	9/4/1919​
1956-60	Maurice Richard	8/4/1921​
1960-69	Johnny Bower	11/8/1924​
1969-71	Gordie Howe	3/31/1928​
1971-73	Jacques Plante	1/17/1929​
1973-74	Gump Worsley	5/14/1929​
1974-75	Doug Mohns	12/13/1933​
1975-78	Johnny Bucyk	5/12/1935​
1978-79	Terry Harper	1/27/1940​
1979-80	Gordie Howe	3/31/1928​
1980-81	Dave Keon	3/22/1940​
1981-81	Terry Harper	1/27/1940​
1981-82	Dave Keon	3/22/1940​
1982-84	Tony Esposito	4/23/1943​
1984-85	Brad Park	7/6/1948​
1985-87	Glenn Resch	7/10/1948​
1987-88	Gilles Meloche	7/12/1950​
1988-89	Billy Smith	12/12/1950​
1989-90	Borje Salming	4/17/1951​
1990-92	Larry Robinson	6/2/1951​
1992-93	Rejean Lemelin	11/19/1954​
1993-95	Mark Howe	5/28/1955​
1995-97	Joe Mullen	2/26/1957​
1997-98	Viacheslav Fetisov	4/20/1958​
1998-99	Kjell Samuelsson	10/18/1958​
1999-00	Guy Carbonneau	3/18/1960​
2000-04	Igor Larionov	12/3/1960​
2005-09	Chris Chelios	1/25/1962​
2009-10	Mark Recchi	2/1/1968​
2010-10	Chris Chelios	1/25/1962​
2010-11	Mark Recchi	2/1/1968​
2011-12	Dwayne Roloson	10/12/1969​
2012-14	Teemu Selanne	7/3/1970​
2014-18	Jaromir Jagr	2/15/1972​
2018-19	Matt Cullen	11/2/1976​
2019-22	Zdeno Chara	3/18/1977​
2022-23	Craig Anderson	5/21/1981​

Excel doesn't calculate dates from before 1/1/1900, so neither do I, but I tried to create a formula for years and days old of the oldest player on March 1 of the league year in question. Some guys I skipped because there's some funny business in there in terms of games played and other caveats. So I did my best in good faith and tried to weed out some of the not-worthwhile pieces like a player playing six games in a year or some such...

Yrs	Days	League Yr
36​	105​	1939​
37​	106​	1940​
38​	63​	1941​
35​	29​	1942​
37​	259​	1943​
42​	156​	1944​
38​	30​	1945​
39​	30​	1946​
34​	270​	1947​
35​	201​	1948​
34​	299​	1949​
35​	299​	1950​
36​	299​	1951​
35​	77​	1952​
36​	77​	1953​
37​	188​	1954​
35​	187​	1955​
36​	188​	1956​
35​	218​	1957​
36​	218​	1958​
37​	218​	1959​
38​	219​	1960​
36​	122​	1961​
37​	122​	1962​
38​	122​	1963​
39​	123​	1964​
40​	123​	1965​
41​	123​	1966​
42​	123​	1967​
43​	124​	1968​
44​	124​	1969​
41​	345​	1970​
42​	345​	1971​
43​	54​	1972​
44​	54​	1973​
44​	302​	1974​
41​	88​	1975​
40​	304​	1976​
41​	304​	1977​
42​	304​	1978​
39​	43​	1979​
51​	348​	1980​
40​	354​	1981​
41​	354​	1982​
39​	322​	1983​
40​	323​	1984​
36​	247​	1985​
37​	243​	1986​
38​	243​	1987​
37​	242​	1988​
38​	89​	1989​
38​	328​	1990​
39​	282​	1991​
40​	283​	1992​
38​	112​	1993​
38​	287​	1994​
39​	287​	1995​
39​	13​	1996​
40​	13​	1997​
39​	325​	1998​
40​	144​	1999​
39​	358​	2000​
40​	98​	2001​
41​	98​	2002​
42​	98​	2003​
43​	99​	2004​
44​	46​	2006​
45​	46​	2007​
46​	47​	2008​
47​	47​	2009​
42​	39​	2010​
43​	39​	2011​
42​	151​	2012​
42​	252​	2013​
43​	252​	2014​
43​	25​	2015​
44​	26​	2016​
45​	26​	2017​
46​	26​	2018​
42​	129​	2019​
42​	359​	2020​
43​	359​	2021​
44​	359​	2022​
41​	294​	2023​

 

[McGarnagle]

The drop to 36 in 1985 is stunning. You'd think that with the league expanding to 21 teams and roster sizes being increased that someone would've hung on. Then when doing the math it kind of struck me as self-evident why there was a lesser talent pool from 1944-1945-1946 births. Probably an overall war dip from a primarily Canadian talent pool before the baby boom of the late 40s/early 50s.

However, is it only a demographic issue (i.e. if birth year 1944 only produced 36 NHL players, you have a 1/36 chance of having an outlier with increased longevity), or is it more explained by the wide open Soviet-influenced play of the 1980s prioritizing speed and end-to-end firewagon hockey vs. the more bogged down and physical play of the 70s and 90s that prioritized strength and power? Obviously probably a combination of both in the end.

 

[jigglysquishy]

The drop to 36 in 1985 is stunning. You'd think that with the league expanding to 21 teams and roster sizes being increased that someone would've hung on. Then when doing the math it kind of struck me as self-evident why there was a lesser talent pool from 1944-1945-1946 births. Probably an overall war dip from a primarily Canadian talent pool before the baby boom of the late 40s/early 50s.

However, is it only a demographic issue (i.e. if birth year 1944 only produced 36 NHL players, you have a 1/36 chance of having an outlier with increased longevity), or is it more explained by the wide open Soviet-influenced play of the 1980s prioritizing speed and end-to-end firewagon hockey vs. the more bogged down and physical play of the 70s and 90s that prioritized strength and power? Obviously probably a combination of both in the end.

Births steadily started to increase in 1941. The Depression had a much larger impact in Canada than the war.

They started to spike in 1948 (Orr), peaking in 1961 (Gretzky).

I think it's more stylistic in the mid 80s, with an emphasis on speed, than any demographic reason.

Someone born in the demographic trough was reaching his late 30s in the early 70s, when the team explosion covered for them.

 

[The Panther]

Besides demographics, don't overlook the clear turn towards YOUTH in pro-hockey at the dawn of the 80s. That was just the way the wind blew, and maybe in part due to the WHA forcing 18-year-olds into the draft. Anyway, I don't think it was necessarily related to anything about population.

As an extreme example:
Edmonton's 1981 playoff top-six scorers and top goalie:
Ages: 20 / 20 / 20 / 27 / 19 / 20 / 20
Toronto's 1967 playoff top-six scorers and top goalie:
Ages: 27 / 23 / 30 / 29 / 37 / 26 / 37

It was very common circa 1981 to 1986 for NHL clubs to ice a 20-year-old goalie and a top-six where five guys were 23 and younger.

The "culture" of the time, as much as the demographics, made a 35-year-old defenceman seem really old.

 

[Albatros]

The Oilers and other expansion teams were also forced to build on young talent whereas the established teams had far more experience in their rosters. While the expansion teams also did have older players, these were generally not very good.

 

[MadLuke]

Besides demographics, don't overlook the clear turn towards YOUTH in pro-hockey at the dawn of the 80s. That was just the way the wind blew, and maybe in part due to the WHA forcing 18-year-olds into the draft. Anyway, I don't think it was necessarily related to anything about population.

Would be strange if it would not be related in any way to the peak of baby boom being exactly the age to enter the league at that time.

 

[The Panther]

Would be strange if it would not be related in any way to the peak of baby boom being exactly the age to enter the league at that time.

Yeah, maybe it was a "perfect storm" situation --- the peak of the baby-boom (born 1960/61 to 1965 = Messier, Gretzky, Bourque, etc. to Yzerman, Lemieux, Roy) coming of age exactly coincided with the the WHA "merger", with the 18-year-olds in the draft, and with the new "speed + finesse" era emerging over the gooning-era of the mid-1970s.

 

[Overrated]

My favorite thing is how Gordie Howe was already the oldest player in the NHL, then left the league for 9 years, then came back to become the oldest player again.

Thinking about athlete longevity in perspective is really disturbing when I'm here just now getting settled into my career and personal life, only starting to reach personal achievements, etc. and then I log on here to read about how Nick Foligno is a washed-up dinosaur who needs to retire when he's literally a year younger than me.

I don't know if there's data to back it up or if it's just that everyone seemed older when I was younger, but it really felt like the league skewed older before the lockout. In 2004 it felt like every team had 39 and 40 year olds on their rosters. Now only a handful of talents are hanging on after 35 aside from genetic freaks like Chara and Jagr.

There were
2022-23: 1 player 40 or older / 104 players 33 or older (10.4%)
2017-18: 4 players 40 or older / 94 players 33 or older (9.5%)
2012-13: 6 players 40 or older / 118 players 33 or older (12.8%)
2008-09: 5 players 40 or older / 139 players 33 or older (14.3%)
2003-04: 9 players 40 or older / 118 players 33 or older (11.8%)

Some random years from the past:

1997-98: 0 players 40 or older / 83 players 33 or older (9.94%)
1995-96: 0 players 40 or older / 56 players 33 or older (6.55%)
1991-92: 1 player 40 or older / 39 players 33 or older (4.98%)
1988-89: 0 players 40 or older / 22 players 33 or older (3.01%)
1985-86: 0 players 40 or older / 20 players 33 or older (2.91%)
1983-84: 0 players 40 or older / 24 players 33 or older (3.57%)
1979-80: 3 players 40 or older / 38 players 33 or older {5.81%)
1974-75: 1 player 40 or older / 42 players 33 or older (8.38%)
1969-70: 4 players 40 or older / 54 players 33 or older (16.8%)
1965-66: 1 player 40 or older / 26 players 33 or older (14.3%)
1958-59: 0 players 40 or older / 5 players 33 or older (3.52%)
1953-54: 0 players 40 or older / 8 players 33 or older (5.33%)
1947-48: 0 players 40 or older / 7 players 33 or older (4.89%)
1935-36: 2 players 40 or older / 18 players 33 or older (10.7%)
1929-30: 0 players 40 or older / 16 players 33 or older (10.1%)
1921-22 0 players 40 or older / 6 players 33 or older (12.8%)
1917-18 0 players 40 or older / 6 players 33 or older (13.3%)

B..b..but players today age better because of better training and nutrition while in the past they all smoked that is why they all retired at 25 while in reality there were times when people aged just as well if not better than today.

I think this proves my theory that the growth of the sport between 1980 and the early 90s was so massive it completely displaced the in my opinion much weaker 1970s players who just couldn't compete.

It's almost as if there were two booms. Once for people born between the late 20s and late 30s who absolutely displaced the much weaker players of the early NHL. Those guys could hold their own throughout their 30s in the 1960s. The second boom happened for people born between the late 50s and early 70s. These guys throughout the 80s completely displaced the previous generation from the NHL.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Getting closer. But you're not able to do this with "some random years from the past"...also, you need to factor in the other end of the age spectrum. You'd also want weighted factors on the quality of player and his role/ice time, ideally...your dates are off, but your concept isn't invalid...been down this road myself, similarly un-scientifically...but there's something here I predict.