Some NHL history was made on Saturday night when the Detroit Red Wings hosted the Calgary Flames.
It was then that defenseman Marc Staal became the 363rd player in league history to appear in 1,000 NHL regular season games. By doing so, he joins his brothers, Eric and Jordan, in that 1,000 game club as they become the first trio of brothers in league history to each reach that milestone.
Jordan, who has spent his career playing for Pittsburgh and Carolina, appeared in his 1,000th game in April, 2021, while Eric, a member of the Hurricanes, Rangers, Wild, and Canadiens, appeared in his 1,000th game in March of 2017.
Marc has spent his career playing for the Rangers and Red Wings.
The fourth Staal brother, Jarerd, appeared in two games for the Hurricanes during the 2012-13 season. He spent most of his playing career in the ECHL and American Hockey League, and currently works as an assistant coach for the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears.
In total, the four brothers have appeared in 3,354 games and counting (Marc and Jordan are still active in the NHL).
At different times different Staal brothers have been teammates with one another, with Jordan, Eric, and Jared spending time together in Carolina, while Marc and Eric were briefly teammates with the Rangers.
There have been several sets of brothers to reach the 1,000 game club (Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Kevin and Derian Hatcher, Russ and Geoff Courtnall among them) but the Staals are the first trio.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.