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PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a few players hit 1,000 career games in recent memory, and it seems like they’ve worked out a traditional way to honor the accomplishment. To celebrate Lars Eller hitting his 1,000th career game, every member of the Penguins wore his No. 20 for warmups and let him lead in stretches.
The Penguins pulled the same trick when each member of their core hit the milestone, but even for Eller, who could still be seen as ‘the new kid in town,’ the tradition stuck.
Eller’s 1,000th game is just his 46th in a Penguins uniform, but this is the kind of milestone that is always worthy of celebration, no matter the count with a particular team. Currently in his 15th NHL season, Eller also played seven games with the St. Louis Blues, 435 with the Montreal Canadiens, 488 with the Washington Capitals, and 24 with the Colorado Avalanche.
The Penguins also honored Eller with a video tribute and the crowd reacted with playful boos when his former Capitals teammates were shown.
Lars Eller: the first Danish-born player in NHL history to play 1,000 games.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 28, 2024
Proud to call you a Penguin, Lars! pic.twitter.com/IsXUiTPLB8
Those boos turned to cheers when clips were shown of him in a Penguins uniform. Captains Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang also presented Eller with an honorary silver stick.
In his first 999 career games, Eller has scored 171 goals and 214 assists for 385 total points. As a member of the Capitals, Eller was a crucial piece to their success. Eller played a huge role in bringing the Capitals their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2017.
Eller is making history by becoming the first ever player from Denmark to reach the 1,000 game milestone.
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