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FORT LAUDERDALE — Tonight, before their game with the Devils, the Florida Panthers will present defenseman Jeff Petry with a silver stick to celebrate his 1,000th NHL game, which he played on Monday against Vancouver.
At 37, Petry is the 409th skater in NHL history to play 1,000 games.
He is also the 14th player to reach this milestone as a Panther — the last being Dmitry Kulikov, who did so on January 29.
Petry, who is from Michigan, is the latest player general manager Bill Zito has brought in hoping for a comeback.
Like Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Nate Schmidt before him, Petry joined the Panthers after a tough, injury-filled season, looking to prove himself again while chasing the Stanley Cup.
Last season, injuries limited him to just 44 games with the Detroit Red Wings.
Petry signed with the Panthers on the first day of free agency this summer.
“I talked to my agent leading up to it, and we said, ‘Let’s see what the morning brings.’ Florida was one that showed interest,’’ Petry said.
“For me, seeing what they’ve accomplished over the last few years and seeing the commitment of [Aaron] Ekblad coming back, [Sam] Bennett coming back – those free agents re-signing, keeping the whole team essentially pretty much together.
“When they called and talked it over with my agent, it seemed like an easy decision.”
Petry was drafted by Edmonton in the second round in 2006. He started his career with the Oilers, then was traded to Montreal, where he played some of his best hockey.
After that, he spent time with Pittsburgh and Detroit before joining Florida.
He rooted for the Wings as a youngster, and thought he would end his career in Detroit.
Only injuries intervened and Petry was not offered a new contract after the four-year, $25 million deal he originally signed with Montreal expired last season.
He called it a “lifelong dream, growing up a Red Wings’ fan, to wear that jersey one day. I had the opportunity to wear it for two seasons playing in front of my family on a consistent basis. That was special.”
He joined Florida on a league-minimum contract with some modest bonuses.
Like the many before him, a thousand games in the NHL was not something he could have imagined as a youngster.
“It’s something to be proud of. I never would have dreamed of playing a thousand games. It’s fortunate to play one. Just enjoy it. It’s a good personal accomplishment. I can be proud of that,’’ he said.
“Just make sure that – playing a team game – obviously there’s a lot of guys in here that have accomplished the ultimate dream (winning a Stanley Cup) and they want to do it again. That’s what I’m kind of building throughout this season – to reach that.”
From the perspective of coach Paul Maurice, 1,000 games is a remarkable accomplishment.
“A thousand games for a defenseman mean, first of all, you’ve made the best league in the world and you survived it,” Maurice said.
“You’ve played in pain. You played with separated shoulders, broken feet, all those kinds of hard things. You didn’t let your teammates down, and you played at a high enough level to play for a very long time. I think 1,000 games is still something in the room that’s cherished by the players among the players.”
In addition to Kulikov, Brad Marchand has also exceeded the 1,000 mark.
The closest Florida player who can reach the 1,000-game mark after Petry is Seth Jones at 879 games played. Sasha Barkov is at 804, and Ekblad has played 751.
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