The Philadelphia Flyers have been in existence since 1967, and the fanbase has seen plenty of historic moments. There was the back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 1974 and 1975, the comeback in their playoff series against the Boston Bruins when they trailed 3-0, and the Flyers becoming the first NHL team to beat the Soviet Union's team in hockey in 1976. There were also some incredible individual accomplishments, like Reggie Leach's 61-goal season, Eric Lindros breaking the rookie goals record with 41, and Danny Briere's 30 points in the Flyers' run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010.
One thing that might fly under the radar, no pun intended, is that Flyers fans got to witness one of their players break a rare record. Of course, we're talking about the "iron man" record, which is for the mmost consecutive games played by an athlete in their career. It is an incredibly rare feat, given the wear and tear and injuries players deal with in their careers.
But in 2022, Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle broke a record that stood for more than three decades.
Keith Yandle breaks Doug Jarvis' 'iron man' record in 2022
Since 1987, no NHL player was able to reach the most consecutive games played record set by Doug Jarvis. The long-time NHL center played 964 consecutive games between his time with the Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals, and Hartford Whalers. Patrick Marleau was the closest to reaching Jarvis' milestone, but fell short in 2021 at 910 games.
But Yandle was every bit of the iron man throughout his lengthy career. He may have began his NHL journey during the 2006-07 season with the Phoenix Coyotes, but he would miss time. Yandle would begin his streak on March 26, 2009 and did not miss a single game since then. That was between his time with the Coyotes, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, and finally, the Flyers.
Yandle was only with the Flyers for the 2021-22 season. On Jan. 25, 2022, Yandle officially broke Jarvis' record by playing in his 965th career game, as the Flyers took on the New York Islanders. Yandle logged 11:58 of ice time in the 4-3 loss to the Islanders. Yandle continued his streak up until Apr. 2 that year, where he was listed as a healthy scratch by interim head coach Mike Yeo. So, Yandle held the record, officially, at 989 games.
Keith Yandle's 'iron man' record was broken shortly after retirement
On Sept. 20, 2022, Yandle officially announced his retirement from the NHL, and was the active record holder for most consecutive games played. However, the record was broken one month later by Phil Kessel. Not only did Kessel break that record by playing in his 990th consecutive game, but he also scored his 400th career goal in that same game, where his Vegas Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-2.
Kessel still holds the record with 1,064 consecutive games played. That record is still active, as Kessel has yet to officially retire from the NHL, despite not playing in a game since the 2022-23 season with the Golden Knights.
Yandle was also passed on the record books by current Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns, who currently sits in second place all-time with 1,007 games, and counting. Burns is under contract with the Avalanche for the 2026-27 season, so he has a chance to pass Kessel on the all-time list.
It's incredibly rare to watch any professional athlete never miss a game for over double-digit seasons. For Flyers fans, they got to watch Yandle break the "iron man" record while wearing their uniform.
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