Jarvis happy to see Yandle on verge of breaking his ironman record
Records are made to be broken, and the owner of one of the most impressive NHL benchmarks welcomes the possibility of being surpassed this week.
Doug Jarvis is all for Keith Yandle breaking his record for consecutive games played. The Philadelphia Flyers defenseman tied it Monday against the Dallas Stars and will now look to establish a new standard Tuesday.
"My emotion is I'm just happy for him," Jarvis told Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli on Sunday. "A lot of people have said to me, 'That record will never be broken.' And I'm like, 'Why won't it be?' I'm really surprised that it's been 35 years."
"I wanted to play every game," added the retired center and current senior adviser for the Vancouver Canucks. "And before I knew it, they added up and I'm kind of like, 'Well, why can't that happen for anyone else?'"
Jarvis played an all-time best 964 straight games from Oct. 8, 1975, until Oct. 10, 1987. Yandle has now also suited up for 964 in a row in a run that began on March 26, 2009.
"It's one of those records that you just, at least for me - I'm just speaking for myself - I don't feel you can set out to break or pass,” the 66-year-old Jarvis said. "There's so many things. It's not just injuries. There's been a number of players that have gotten close over the years that ended apart from injuries."
Phil Kessel also has a shot at passing Jarvis, as the Arizona Coyotes forward has played 940 consecutive contests. Patrick Marleau sits at 910, but he remains unsigned this season. Andrew Cogliano was previously in the mix as well, but his streak ended at 830 when the NHL suspended him for two games in 2018.
Yandle's run almost ended last January, when then-Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville nearly made him a healthy scratch before changing his mind. The rearguard scored in the game, and his streak remained intact even though the Panthers ultimately sat him during the playoffs.
Jarvis intends to get in touch with Yandle to laud him for the achievement.
"I'd just say congratulations and well done," Jarvis said. "I'm really happy for him and the career he is having and it's great that he's basically been able to stay injury free through it."
The Flyers signed Yandle to a one-year, $900,000 contract in July. The 35-year-old previously played for the Panthers, the New York Rangers, and the Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes.