The NHL is perhaps the most physically gruelling of North America’s major league sports, particularly if you’re a highly skilled and durable player.
High-speed body checks, firing the puck at around 90 miles per hour, and needing to balance on a blade that’s about 1/8’’ wide are just a part of the sport; so, in theory, it’s a young person’s game.
That hasn’t stopped over 90 skaters and goaltenders from playing past their 40th birthdays, and one legend into his 50s. These are the NHL stars who laugh in the face of Father Time.
Top 10 Oldest Players in NHL History
The oldest player in NHL history is Mr Hockey himself, Gordie Howe. The famed No. 9 was quite possibly the best all-around player to take to the ice and managed to endure the rigours of the league for 26 seasons.
Howe made his NHL debut in the 1946/47 campaign and finished in 1979/80 with the Hartford Whalers, compiling 801 goals and 1850 points in 1767 regular season games and 160 points in 157 postseason appearances.
In his final NHL game, Gordie Howe was aged 52 years and 11 days, which is over four years older than the next oldest NHL player in history. Here’s how the top ten oldest NHL players list shakes out:
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Gordie Howe, Right Wing (52 years, 11 days)
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Chris Chelios, Defenseman (48 years, 71 days)
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Maurice Roberts, Goaltender (45 years, 345 days)
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Jaromír Jágr, Right Wing (45 years, 319 days)
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Zdeno Chára, Defenseman (45 years, 42 days)
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Johnny Bower, Goaltender (45 years, 32 days)
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Gump Worsley, Goaltender (44 years, 323 days)
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Doug Harvey, Defenseman (44 years, 100 days)
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Lester Patrick, Defenseman (44 years, 99 days)
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Jacques Plante, Goaltender (44 years, 78 days)
Oldest Goaltender in NHL History
Maurice “Moe” Roberts ranks as the oldest goaltender to play in the NHL, just shy of his 45th birthday, but when he debuted, he was also the youngest goaltender in the league at 19-years-old.
However, Roberts would only finish with ten NHL appearances, hopping between the Boston Bruins, the New York Americans, and then the Chicago Black Hawks between 1925/26 to 1951/52.
Roberts dons the record as the oldest NHL goalie, but just playing a game looked to be against the odds.
The shot-stopper from Connecticut was only 5’9’’ and would be towered over by the Bruins’ current 6’2’’ and 6’4’’ netminders, who’re at +1100 to guide Boston to the title in the NHL odds.
Who are the Oldest Active NHL Players?
The oldest active player in the NHL is Mark Giordano, who was born on October 3, 1983. At the time of writing, the defenseman was aged 40 years and 183 days and still putting up points.
Right now, he’s on the lines of the Toronto Maple Leafs, which puts him at fair odds in the sport betting to win the Stanley Cup at +1600.
In July this year, if they play another season afterwards, Joe Pavelski and Zach Parise will join the list of 40-year-olds to play in the NHL, as may Marc-André Fleury if he features past November 28, 2024.
Player safety has come a long way over the decades, but even so, it seems incredibly unlikely that a player will ever surpass Gordie Howe’s record as the oldest NHL player to take to the ice.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to Alamy*
