List of NHL players who spent their entire career with one franchise
The following is a list of retired National Hockey League (NHL) players who played their entire NHL career—in at least ten seasons—exclusively for one team. As of the end of the 2022–23 season, 127 players have accomplished this feat, of which the Montreal Canadiens have had the most, with 19. Of players who have spent their career with one franchise, Alex Delvecchio of the Detroit Red Wings holds the record of the greatest number of seasons, with 24. Delvecchio beat out former Detroit Red Wings teammate Gordie Howe for the record in the 1979–80 season when Howe’s World Hockey Association team, the Hartford Whalers, became an NHL team, thus disqualifying Howe from this list. Howe broke the old record in the 1966–67 NHL season by beating out Dit Clapper who spent 20 seasons with the Boston Bruins. Howe held the record for 13 seasons, extending the old record to 25 seasons until he played with Hartford.
List
- Key
* | Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame |
Seasons | Player | Team | Career | Games played | Cup Wins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | Syl Apps* | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1936–1943, 1945–1948 | 423 | 3 |
11 | Bob Armstrong | Boston Bruins | 1950–1951, 1952–1962 | 542 | 0 |
21 | George Armstrong* | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1949–1971 | 1,188 | 4 |
12 | Larry Aurie | Detroit Cougars/Falcons/Red Wings | 1927–1939 | 489 | 2 |
11 | P. J. Axelsson | Boston Bruins | 1997–2004, 2005–2009 | 797 | 0 |
12 | Bill Barber* | Philadelphia Flyers | 1972–1984 | 903 | 2 |
20 | Jean Beliveau* | Montreal Canadiens | 1950–1951, 1952–1971 | 1,125 | 10 |
19 | Patrice Bergeron | Boston Bruins | 2003–2004, 2005–2023 | 1,294 | 1 |
10 | Mike Bossy* | New York Islanders | 1977–1987 | 752 | 4 |
15 | Butch Bouchard* | Montreal Canadiens | 1941–1956 | 785 | 4 |
14 | Turk Broda* | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1936–1943, 1945–1952 | 629 | 5 |
18 | Dustin Brown | Los Angeles Kings | 2003–2004, 2005–2022 | 1,296 | 2 |
11 | Mud Bruneteau | Detroit Red Wings | 1935–1946 | 411 | 3 |
13 | Sergei Brylin | New Jersey Devils | 1994–2004, 2005–2008 | 765 | 3 |
17 | Wayne Cashman | Boston Bruins | 1964–1965, 1967–1983 | 1,027 | 2 |
20 | Dit Clapper* | Boston Bruins | 1927–1947 | 833 | 3 |
15 | Bobby Clarke* | Philadelphia Flyers | 1969–1984 | 1,144 | 2 |
12 | Neil Colville* | New York Rangers | 1935–1942, 1944–1949 | 464 | 1 |
11 | Bill Cook* | New York Rangers | 1926–1937 | 474 | 2 |
10 | Alain Cote | Quebec Nordiques | 1979–1989 | 696 | 0 |
16 | Yvan Cournoyer* | Montreal Canadiens | 1963–1979 | 968 | 10 |
14 | Corey Crawford | Chicago Blackhawks | 2005–2006, 2007–2020 | 488 | 2 |
13 | Jack Crawford | Boston Bruins | 1937–1950 | 548 | 2 |
10 | Floyd Curry | Montreal Canadiens | 1947–1958 | 601 | 4 |
20 | Ken Daneyko | New Jersey Devils | 1983–2003 | 1,283 | 3 |
14 | Pavel Datsyuk | Detroit Red Wings | 2001–2004, 2005–2016 | 953 | 2 |
12 | Bob Davidson | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1934–1946 | 491 | 2 |
11 | Eric Daze | Chicago Blackhawks | 1994–2004, 2005–2006 | 601 | 0 |
24 | Alex Delvecchio* | Detroit Red Wings | 1950–1974 | 1,549 | 3 |
11 | Rick DiPietro | New York Islanders | 2000–2001, 2002–2004, 2005–2013 | 318 | 0 |
21 | Shane Doan | Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes | 1995–2004, 2005–2017 | 1,540 | 0 |
16 | Woody Dumart* | Boston Bruins | 1935–1942, 1945–1954 | 772 | 2 |
20 | Patrik Elias | New Jersey Devils | 1995–2004, 2005–2016 | 1,240 | 2 |
16 | Ron Ellis | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1963–1975, 1977–1981 | 1,034 | 1 |
11 | Tobias Enstrom | Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets | 2007–2018 | 719 | 0 |
13 | Jonathan Ericsson | Detroit Red Wings | 2007–2020 | 680 | 1 |
10 | Jan Erixon | New York Rangers | 1983–1993 | 556 | 0 |
16 | Bob Gainey* | Montreal Canadiens | 1973–1989 | 1,160 | 5 |
17 | Ryan Getzlaf | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim/Anaheim Ducks | 2005–2022 | 1,157 | 1 |
18 | Rod Gilbert* | New York Rangers | 1960–1978 | 1,065 | 0 |
14 | Ebbie Goodfellow* | Detroit Cougars/Falcons/Red Wings | 1929–1943 | 554 | 3 |
16 | Johnny Gottselig | Chicago Black Hawks | 1928–1941, 1942–1945 | 589 | 2 |
11 | Ted Green | Boston Bruins | 1960–1969, 1970–1972 | 620 | 1 |
16 | Ron Greschner | New York Rangers | 1974–1990 | 981 | 0 |
14 | Bill Hajt | Buffalo Sabres | 1973–1987 | 854 | 0 |
10 | Craig Hartsburg | Minnesota North Stars | 1979–1989 | 570 | 0 |
14 | Milan Hejduk | Colorado Avalanche | 1998–2004, 2005–2013 | 1,020 | 1 |
15 | Ott Heller | New York Rangers | 1931–1946 | 647 | 2 |
11 | Bryan Hextall* | New York Rangers | 1936–1944, 1945–1948 | 449 | 1 |
15 | Tomas Holmstrom | Detroit Red Wings | 1996–2004, 2005–2012 | 1,026 | 4 |
12 | Red Horner* | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1928–1940 | 490 | 1 |
11 | Rejean Houle | Montreal Canadiens | 1969–1973, 1976–1983 | 635 | 5 |
14 | Jimmy Howard | Detroit Red Wings | 2005–2006, 2007–2020 | 543 | 0 |
16 | Aurele Joliat* | Montreal Canadiens | 1922–1938 | 655 | 3 |
10 | Dennis Kearns | Vancouver Canucks | 1971–1981 | 677 | 0 |
14 | Ted Kennedy* | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1942–1955, 1956–1957 | 696 | 5 |
11 | Cliff Koroll | Chicago Black Hawks | 1969–1980 | 814 | 0 |
16 | David Krejci | Boston Bruins | 2006–2021, 2022–2023 | 1032 | 1 |
15 | Niklas Kronwall | Detroit Red Wings | 2003–2004, 2005–2019 | 953 | 1 |
14 | Elmer Lach* | Montreal Canadiens | 1940–1954 | 664 | 3 |
12 | Jacques Laperriere* | Montreal Canadiens | 1962–1974 | 691 | 6 |
10 | Edgar Laprade* | New York Rangers | 1945–1955 | 500 | 0 |
14 | Jere Lehtinen | Dallas Stars | 1995–2004, 2005–2010 | 875 | 1 |
12 | Jacques Lemaire* | Montreal Canadiens | 1967–1979 | 853 | 8 |
17 | Mario Lemieux* | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1984–1994, 1995–1997, 2000–2004, 2005–2006 | 915 | 2 |
13 | Pit Lepine | Montreal Canadiens | 1925–1938 | 526 | 2 |
11 | Herbie Lewis* | Detroit Cougars/Falcons/Red Wings | 1928–1939 | 483 | 2 |
20 | Nicklas Lidstrom* | Detroit Red Wings | 1991–2004, 2005–2012 | 1,564 | 4 |
15 | Henrik Lundqvist* | New York Rangers | 2005–2020 | 887 | 0 |
11 | Keith Magnuson | Chicago Black Hawks | 1969–1980 | 589 | 0 |
14 | Chico Maki | Chicago Black Hawks | 1961–1974, 1975–1976 | 841 | 1 |
13 | Georges Mantha | Montreal Canadiens | 1928–1941 | 498 | 2 |
17 | Mush March | Chicago Black Hawks | 1928–1945 | 759 | 2 |
15 | Don Marcotte | Boston Bruins | 1965–1966, 1968–1982 | 868 | 2 |
16 | Andrei Markov | Montreal Canadiens | 2000–2004, 2005–2017 | 990 | 0 |
10 | John Marks | Chicago Black Hawks | 1972–1982 | 657 | 0 |
12 | Nick Metz | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1934–1942, 1944–1948 | 518 | 4 |
10 | Rudy Migay | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1949–1950, 1951–1960 | 417 | 0 |
22 | Stan Mikita* | Chicago Black Hawks | 1958–1980 | 1,396 | 1 |
12 | Mike Milbury | Boston Bruins | 1975–1987 | 754 | 0 |
12 | Armand Mondou | Montreal Canadiens | 1928–1940 | 386 | 2 |
10 | Ken Morrow | New York Islanders | 1979–1989 | 550 | 4 |
14 | Bill Mosienko* | Chicago Black Hawks | 1941–1955 | 710 | 0 |
11 | Murray Murdoch | New York Rangers | 1926–1937 | 508 | 2 |
15 | Bob Murray | Chicago Blackhawks | 1975–1990 | 1,008 | 0 |
11 | Lou Nanne | Minnesota North Stars | 1967–1978 | 635 | 0 |
15 | Chris Neil | Ottawa Senators | 2001–2004, 2005–2017 | 1,026 | 0 |
14 | Bob Nystrom | New York Islanders | 1972–1986 | 900 | 4 |
14 | Terry O'Reilly | Boston Bruins | 1971–1985 | 891 | 0 |
10 | Lynn Patrick* | New York Rangers | 1934–1943, 1945–1946 | 455 | 1 |
10 | Marty Pavelich | Detroit Red Wings | 1947–1957 | 634 | 4 |
10 | Steve Payne | Minnesota North Stars | 1978–1988 | 613 | 0 |
11 | Johnny Peirson | Boston Bruins | 1946–1954, 1955–1958 | 545 | 0 |
11 | Jim Peplinski | Calgary Flames | 1980–1990, 1994–1995 | 711 | 1 |
17 | Gilbert Perreault* | Buffalo Sabres | 1970–1987 | 1,191 | 0 |
17 | Chris Phillips | Ottawa Senators | 1997–2004, 2005–2015 | 1,179 | 0 |
13 | Michal Pivonka | Washington Capitals | 1986–1999 | 825 | 0 |
10 | Barclay Plager | St. Louis Blues | 1967–1977 | 614 | 0 |
15 | Denis Potvin* | New York Islanders | 1973–1988 | 1,060 | 4 |
15 | Claude Provost | Montreal Canadiens | 1955–1970 | 1,005 | 9 |
10 | Don Raleigh | New York Rangers | 1943–1944, 1947–1956 | 535 | 0 |
14 | Craig Ramsay | Buffalo Sabres | 1971–1985 | 1,070 | 0 |
15 | Tuukka Rask | Boston Bruins | 2007–2022 | 564 | 1 |
20 | Henri Richard* | Montreal Canadiens | 1955–1975 | 1,258 | 11 |
18 | Maurice Richard* | Montreal Canadiens | 1942–1960 | 978 | 8 |
14 | Mike Richter | New York Rangers | 1989–2003 | 666 | 1 |
15 | Pekka Rinne | Nashville Predators | 2005–2006, 2007–2021 | 683 | 0 |
20 | Joe Sakic* | Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche | 1988–2004, 2005–2009 | 1,378 | 2 |
16 | Milt Schmidt* | Boston Bruins | 1936–1942, 1945–1955 | 776 | 2 |
15 | Brent Seabrook | Chicago Blackhawks | 2005–2020 | 1,114 | 3 |
17 | Daniel Sedin | Vancouver Canucks | 2000–2004, 2005–2018 | 1,306 | 0 |
17 | Henrik Sedin | Vancouver Canucks | 2000–2004, 2005–2018 | 1,330 | 0 |
10 | Jim Slater | Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets | 2005–2015 | 584 | 0 |
12 | Sid Smith | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1946–1958 | 601 | 3 |
13 | Stan Smyl | Vancouver Canucks | 1978–1991 | 896 | 0 |
14 | Thomas Steen | Winnipeg Jets | 1981–1995 | 950 | 0 |
12 | Brian Sutter | St. Louis Blues | 1976–1988 | 779 | 0 |
17 | Dave Taylor | Los Angeles Kings | 1977–1994 | 1,111 | 0 |
14 | Walt Tkaczuk | New York Rangers | 1967–1981 | 945 | 0 |
13 | J. C. Tremblay | Montreal Canadiens | 1959–1972 | 794 | 5 |
12 | Mario Tremblay | Montreal Canadiens | 1974–1986 | 852 | 5 |
10 | Steve Vickers | New York Rangers | 1972–1982 | 698 | 0 |
10 | Jimmy Watson | Philadelphia Flyers | 1972–1982 | 613 | 2 |
14 | Kenny Wharram | Chicago Black Hawks | 1951–1969 | 766 | 1 |
11 | Art Wiebe | Chicago Black Hawks | 1932–1933, 1934–1944 | 414 | 1 |
22 | Steve Yzerman* | Detroit Red Wings | 1983–2004, 2005–2006 | 1,514 | 3 |
15 | Henrik Zetterberg | Detroit Red Wings | 2002–2004, 2005–2018 | 1,082 | 1 |
Honorable mention
- Georges Vezina played 16 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens, from 1910 to 1925, appearing in 190 NHL games (not included in NHA years).
Counts by franchise
Potential future candidates
The following active players have played at least ten seasons exclusively for one team to date. Table updated as of the 2023–24 season[update].
Disqualified from the list
See also
- List of one-club men in association football
- List of one-club men in rugby league
- List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise
- List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise
- List of National Football League players who spent their entire career with one franchise
References
"Most NHL Games Played with Single Franchise". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ Researched through Hockey Reference website (https://www.hockey-reference.com)
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