I never understand arguments like this.
For Marleau to have played this many games already means that he is a pretty decent player right.
And 0 people are making an argument saying otherwise.Maybe, but at the end of the day: Howe is a Legend and Marleau is not.
I don't think there's any way of looking at it where Marleau comes out on top of Howe. He was a prodigy that could still hack it in his 50's. This is simply an nhl record that Howe would have easily if he didn't miss years/play in another league. That said, Marleau deserves credit for (likely) becoming the ONLY other player to play as many nhl games. I'm sure if Gordie was alive he'd handle the situation with class and would be the 1st person to congratulate Patty.
marleau's durability is unparalleled. there's nobody who played as long as he has and never got seriously hurt at least once.
while bored af during quarantine one day, i did some legwork on the most durable players over 15+ year careers. here's marleau:
patrick marleau
22 seasons
35 games missed over 22 seasons
years with more than three games missed: 5 (one was his rookie year, the others were four, four, five, and six)
years with more than ten games missed: 0
trivia: never had a major injury
and four of marleau's 35 were the beginning of last year, when he didn't have a team to play for. they weren't an injury. if you don't count those, he averages less than one and a half games missed over his entire 22 year career.
among the other guys with 20+ year careers, it goes
marleau 35 games missed/22 years (1.59)
delvecchio 42/22 (1.91)
lidstrom 44/20 (2.20)
iginla 46/20 (2.30)
recchi 51/21 (2.43)
murphy 52/21 (2.48)
howe 65/26 (2.50)
and the guys who could conceivably catch marleau are
eric staal 26/16 (1.625)
ovechkin 31/15 (2.07)
everyone, howe, lidstrom, delvecchio, they all got hurt and missed significant time at least once. but never marleau. he never missed more than a few games at a time. the most ever was five games in 2009, when he sprained his MCL right before the playoffs. interestingly, he came back to play hurt in the last two games of the regular season and in the playoffs, where he was not good. that was the year the marleau is a choker stuff really got bad and he was stripped of his captaincy that summer.
here's the whole thread — Most durable players over very long careers
If he breaks Howe's record, he will become a legend. Fact.Maybe, but at the end of the day: Howe is a Legend and Marleau is not.
He won't make the hall of fame, but his eyebrows will.
This is amazing. Thank you for all the work that went into this.marleau's durability is unparalleled. there's nobody who played as long as he has and never got seriously hurt at least once.
while bored af during quarantine one day, i did some legwork on the most durable players over 15+ year careers. here's marleau:
patrick marleau
22 seasons
35 games missed over 22 seasons
years with more than three games missed: 5 (one was his rookie year, the others were four, four, five, and six)
years with more than ten games missed: 0
trivia: never had a major injury
and four of marleau's 35 were the beginning of last year, when he didn't have a team to play for. they weren't an injury. if you don't count those, he averages less than one and a half games missed over his entire 22 year career.
among the other guys with 20+ year careers, it goes
marleau 35 games missed/22 years (1.59)
delvecchio 42/22 (1.91)
lidstrom 44/20 (2.20)
iginla 46/20 (2.30)
recchi 51/21 (2.43)
murphy 52/21 (2.48)
howe 65/26 (2.50)
and the guys who could conceivably catch marleau are
eric staal 26/16 (1.625)
ovechkin 31/15 (2.07)
everyone, howe, lidstrom, delvecchio, they all got hurt and missed significant time at least once. but never marleau. he never missed more than a few games at a time. the most ever was five games in 2009, when he sprained his MCL right before the playoffs. interestingly, he came back to play hurt in the last two games of the regular season and in the playoffs, where he was not good. that was the year the marleau is a choker stuff really got bad and he was stripped of his captaincy that summer.
here's the whole thread — Most durable players over very long careers
Be the only positive for their seasonI think he goes back to San Jose.
They probably want him breaking the games record while he is a part of their roster.
Player | Year | GP | Max | P% |
Patrick Marleau | 1999 | 1583 | 1606 | 98.6% |
Gordie Howe | 1951 | 1396 | 1418 | 98.4% |
Larry Murphy | 1981 | 1558 | 1586 | 98.2% |
Mark Recchi | 1991 | 1563 | 1606 | 97.3% |
Alex Delvecchio | 1953 | 1395 | 1434 | 97.3% |
Nicklas Lidstrom | 1992 | 1564 | 1608 | 97.3% |
Jarome Iginla | 1997 | 1554 | 1606 | 96.8% |
Norm Ullman | 1956 | 1410 | 1460 | 96.6% |
Scott Stevens | 1984 | 1520 | 1592 | 95.5% |
Ron Francis | 1985 | 1521 | 1594 | 95.4% |
Red Kelly | 1948 | 1316 | 1380 | 95.4% |
John Bucyk | 1957 | 1400 | 1470 | 95.2% |
Joe Thornton | 1999 | 1511 | 1606 | 94.1% |
Jaromir Jagr | 1994 | 1480 | 1574 | 94.0% |
Wayne Gretzky | 1980 | 1487 | 1584 | 93.9% |
Harry Howell | 1953 | 1338 | 1434 | 93.3% |
Brendan Shanahan | 1988 | 1490 | 1600 | 93.1% |
Billy Harris | 1958 | 1390 | 1498 | 92.8% |
Dave Andreychuk | 1985 | 1476 | 1594 | 92.6% |
Doug Gilmour | 1984 | 1474 | 1592 | 92.6% |
Rod Brind'Amour | 1990 | 1484 | 1604 | 92.5% |
Raymond Bourque | 1982 | 1465 | 1588 | 92.3% |
Ron Stewart | 1953 | 1320 | 1434 | 92.1% |
Tim Horton | 1953 | 1317 | 1434 | 91.8% |
Stan Mikita | 1960 | 1374 | 1500 | 91.6% |
Shane Doan | 1996 | 1466 | 1606 | 91.3% |
Bill Gadsby | 1947 | 1248 | 1370 | 91.1% |
Glen Wesley | 1988 | 1457 | 1600 | 91.1% |
Mike Modano | 1990 | 1459 | 1604 | 91.0% |
Zdeno Chara | 1999 | 1460 | 1606 | 90.9% |
Matt Cullen | 1999 | 1455 | 1606 | 90.6% |
Phil Housley | 1983 | 1437 | 1590 | 90.4% |
Dean Prentice | 1954 | 1299 | 1442 | 90.1% |
Pat Verbeek | 1983 | 1424 | 1590 | 89.6% |
Scott Mellanby | 1987 | 1429 | 1598 | 89.4% |
Doug Mohns | 1954 | 1287 | 1442 | 89.3% |
Mark Messier | 1980 | 1413 | 1584 | 89.2% |
Chris Chelios | 1987 | 1420 | 1598 | 88.9% |
Roman Hamrlik | 1993 | 1395 | 1576 | 88.5% |
Luke Richardson | 1988 | 1415 | 1600 | 88.4% |
Teemu Selanne | 1993 | 1387 | 1576 | 88.0% |
Al MacInnis | 1984 | 1397 | 1592 | 87.8% |
Paul Coffey | 1981 | 1391 | 1586 | 87.7% |
Larry Robinson | 1973 | 1384 | 1596 | 86.7% |
Steve Yzerman | 1984 | 1378 | 1592 | 86.6% |
Dit Clapper | 1928 | 833 | 964 | 86.4% |
Henri Richard | 1956 | 1259 | 1460 | 86.2% |
Joe Sakic | 1989 | 1378 | 1602 | 86.0% |
Teppo Numminen | 1989 | 1372 | 1602 | 85.6% |
Allan Stanley | 1950 | 1204 | 1412 | 85.3% |
if he had any respect for the history of the game, he should not pursue it and leave it to Howe
If he breaks Howe's record, he will become a legend. Fact.
You don't have to be on par to be a legend. Brad Park is a legend. Bob Probert is a legend. Glenn Hall is a legend. Should Patrick Marleau break that record, he will be remembered for a long time. Might be a very long time until someone can get to his numbers. A couple of generations, possibly.He'll be a HOFer. But nobody in the game today will be on par with Howe's legacy. Not even Crosby or Ovechkin.
Made up record stolen from an actual legend.