NHL Records: The 1,000-Game Wall—Goaltending’s Exclusive Quartet
Throughout the storied history of the NHL, only four goalies have played 1,000 games. Playing 1,000 games in the NHL crease demands more than elite talent; a goalie must average 50 games a season for 20 years just to sniff the milestone. In an era of managing "goalie tandems" and considering physical burnout (e.g., limiting back-to-backs), these four legends stand alone.
Martin Brodeur (1,266 Games): Martin Brodeur sits on a mountain that may never be climbed. The bedrock of the New Jersey Devils, his durability was superhuman, appearing in 70 or more games in 12 different seasons. Over 22 years, he became the gold standard for longevity, finishing with a games-played record that is effectively untouchable.
Hockey Hall of Fame (Martin Brodeur)
Marc-André Fleury (1,051 Games): The most recent addition to the club, Marc-André Fleury is a testament to resilience. Across four franchises—Pittsburgh, Vegas, Chicago, and Minnesota—he maintained a starting-caliber workload. As he concluded his final season in 2024-25, he remains the last active bridge to the era of the true 1,000-game workhorse.
Roberto Luongo (1,044 Games): Roberto Luongo’s journey was defined by consistency under fire. Whether facing a barrage of shots in Florida or leading Vancouver to the brink of a Cup, Luongo was a fixture. He recorded 70 or more games in four different seasons, retiring as one of only two goaltenders to record over 28,000 career saves.
Hockey Hall of Fame (Roberto Luongo)
Patrick Roy (1,029 Games): Before there was a 1,000-game club, there was Patrick Roy. "Saint Patrick" helped revolutionize the position with the butterfly style, but his fierce competitive drive kept him in the net for 1,029 NHL games. Split between Montreal and Colorado, Roy was the first to prove this 1,000-game plateau was even possible.
Hockey Hall of Fame (Patrick Roy)
Is the 1,000-Game Club Closed?
Modern hockey has shifted; coaches now prefer tandems to manage fatigue, meaning today’s stars rarely see 70-game seasons. Currently, the closest active leaders are:
Jonathan Quick: 824 Games
Sergei Bobrovsky: 794 Games
At 40 and 37 years old respectively, reaching the 1,000-game mark looks to be out of reach. Unless a new phenom dominates the crease for two straight decades, Brodeur, Fleury, Luongo, and Roy may remain the only members of this 1,000-game club forever.