Alex Delvecchio: The NHL’s True Ironman?

It was that little bit of info on the back of Alex Delvecchio’s 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee NHL hockey card that started the cogs in my brain moving a bit faster. “Alex has missed just two games in the last 11 years.”

Just two games in eleven years! Those two were during the 1964-65 season. Give Delvecchio back those two games and that’s a 770 game streak between 1954-55 and 1967-68. Depending on when he missed his single game in 1953-54 and when he missed his pair of games in 1968-69, that number could be a fair bit higher.

Consider that most of that was done in the days of just a 70 game schedule. Consider that most of that was done without the medical and training staff of today’s hockey teams. That’s simply quite impressive. As it stands, Alex’s 548 consecutive streak ranks him among the best all-time.

Comparing Apples And Oranges

So, how do you compare Alex Delvecchio to the record holder Doug Jarvis or the previous ironman Garry Unger or even the number three man Steve Larmer? Let’s look at the percentages.

If we take a crude look at it, using number of games played versus potential games that could have been played considering the number of seasons in action, it gets interesting.

Delvecchio played in 1,550 of a potential 1,728 regular season NHL games. That equates to 89.7%. Doug Jarvis comes in at 92.7%. Garry Unger falls back at 87.8% and Steve Larmer is just behind at 85.5%.

But, calling the 1950-51 and 1973-74 seasons full seasons for Alex is simply not right. He appeared in one game in 1950-51 while still a junior. He appeared in just eleven games in his final season with the Detroit Red Wings.

The same goes for Garry Unger who played just 28 games in his first season in the NHL and just 16 in his final campaign. Steve Larmer appeared in four games while still a junior in 1980-81 and three games the following year while mostly playing in the AHL. Doug Jarvis jumped right out the gate and played a full 80 games in his rookie season. He appeared in just the first two games of the 1987-88 season before retiring.

With Delvecchio, if you take away the first and last seasons, he played in 97.3% of potential games. Unger follows fairly closely at 96.1% when you take away 1967-68 and 1982-83. With Larmer, if you get rid of 1980-81 and 1981-82, he jumps up at 98.3%.

Then, there’s Doug Jarvis. The only reason I still try and give Delvecchio credit as the true ironman is the longevity factor. 1,550 games during a career when teams mostly played just 70 games per season is incredible. But, Doug’s steak is legendary.

What Still Makes Jarvis The Undisputed Ironman

Doug Jarvis jumped right from a stellar junior career to crack the powerful Montreal Canadiens lineup in 1975-76. An amazing feat, considering the depth of a squad about to go on a four year tear through the NHL. But, not only did he crack the lineup, he played in all 80 games.

Jarvis played in every game through the 1986-87 season. In 1987-88, he played the first two games of the season for the Whalers before ending the streak and his career. In 1985-86, he took it a step further, appearing in two extra games after a trade from the Capitals to the Whalers came with a scheduling imbalance. Meaning, if you take away his last season, Doug played in OVER 100% of his potential games.

The Streaks

Doug Jarvis – 964

Garry Unger – 914

Steve Larmer – 884

Alex Delvecchio – 548

More On These Players

Alex Delvecchio

Alex Delvecchio played in the National Hockey League from 1950-51 to 1973-74, all with the Detroit Red Wings. Over 1,550 regular season games, he scored 456 goals and assisted on 825 for 1,281 points. In 121 Stanley Cup playoff games, he added 35 goals and 69 assists for 104 points.

The Detroit team captain from 1962-63 to 1972-73 helped the club to three Stanley Cup championships. He was twice a Second Team All-Star and three times won the Lady Byng Trophy.

Delvecchio’s number 10 was retired by the Red Wings in 1991. In 1977, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

In what is a common thread between these four players, Alex was a standout in the OHL (OHA Junior A at the time). With the Oshawa Generals in 1950-51, he scored 49 goals and assisted on 72 for 121 points in just 54 regular season games. He also appeared in his first NHL game that season.

Alex Delvecchio Career Stats

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1950-51	Oshawa Generals	OHA	54	49	72	121	36
1950-51	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	1	0	0	0	0
1951-52	Indianapolis Capitals	AHL	6	3	6	9	4
1951-52	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	65	15	22	37	22
1952-53	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	16	43	59	28
1953-54	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	69	11	18	29	34
1954-55	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	17	31	48	37
1955-56	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	25	26	51	24
1956-57	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	48	16	25	41	8
1957-58	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	21	38	59	22
1958-59	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	19	35	54	6
1959-60	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	19	28	47	8
1960-61	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	27	35	62	26
1961-62	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	26	43	69	18
1962-63	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	20	44	64	8
1963-64	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	23	30	53	11
1964-65	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	68	25	42	67	16
1965-66	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	31	38	69	16
1966-67	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	17	38	55	10
1967-68	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	74	22	48	70	14
1968-69	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	72	25	58	83	8
1969-70	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	73	21	47	68	24
1970-71	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	77	21	34	55	6
1971-72	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	75	20	45	65	22
1972-73	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	77	18	53	71	13
1973-74	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	11	1	4	5	2
_	NHL Totals	_	1550	456	825	1281	383

Garry Unger

Garry Unger played in the NHL from 1967-68 to 1982-83 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Atlanta Flames, Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers. Over that time, he scored 413 goals and assisted on 391 for 804 points in 1,105 regular season games. In 52 playoff games, he added 12 goals and 18 assists.

Unger was team captain for the Blues in 1976-77. He starred in junior with the London Nationals (later to become the London Knights). In 1966-67, he scored 38 and assisted on 35 for 73 points in 48 games.

Garry Unger Career Stats

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1966-67	Rochester Americans	AHL	1	0	0	0	0
1966-67	London Nationals	OHA	48	38	35	73	60
1966-67	Tulsa Oilers	CPHL	2	2	0	2	2
1967-68	London Nationals	OHA	2	4	1	5	2
1967-68	Tulsa Oilers	CPHL	9	3	5	8	6
1967-68	Rochester Americans	AHL	5	1	3	4	6
1967-68	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	15	1	1	2	4
1967-68	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	13	5	10	15	2
1968-69	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	76	24	20	44	33
1969-70	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	76	42	24	66	67
1970-71	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	51	13	14	27	63
1970-71	St. Louis Blues	NHL	28	15	14	29	41
1971-72	St. Louis Blues	NHL	78	36	34	70	104
1972-73	St. Louis Blues	NHL	78	41	39	80	119
1973-74	St. Louis Blues	NHL	78	33	35	68	96
1974-75	St. Louis Blues	NHL	80	36	44	80	123
1975-76	St. Louis Blues	NHL	80	39	44	83	95
1976-77	St. Louis Blues	NHL	80	30	27	57	56
1977-78	St. Louis Blues	NHL	80	32	20	52	66
1978-79	St. Louis Blues	NHL	80	30	26	56	44
1979-80	Atlanta Flames	NHL	79	17	16	33	39
1980-81	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	58	10	10	20	40
1980-81	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	13	0	0	0	6
1981-82	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	46	7	13	20	69
1982-83	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	16	2	0	2	8
1982-83	Moncton Alpines	AHL	8	2	3	5	0
1985-86	Dundee Rockets	BHL	35	86	48	134	64
1986-87	Peterborough Pirates	BHL	30	95	143	238	58
1987-88	Peterborough Pirates	BHL	32	37	44	81	116
_	NHL Totals	_	1105	413	391	804	1075

Doug Jarvis

Doug Jarvis played in the NHL from 1975-76 to 1987-88 with the Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals and Hartford Whalers. In 964 regular season games, he scored 139 and assisted on 264 for 403 points. In 105 playoff games, he added 41 points.

With Montreal, Jarvis was an integral part of their four consecutive Stanley Cup championships between 1975-76 and 1978-79. He was the recipient of the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 1983-84 as a member of the Capitals. In 1986-87, he was honoured with the Bill Masterton Trophy as a member of the Whalers.

Jarvis was also a star in the OHL. With the Peterborough Petes, he was team captain in 1973-74 and 1974-75. He broke out offensively in his final season with 45 goals and 88 assists for 133 points in 64 games.

Doug Jarvis Career Stats

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1972-73	Peterborough Petes	OHA	63	20	49	69	14
1973-74	Peterborough Petes	OHA	70	31	53	84	27
1974-75	Peterborough Petes	OHA	69	45	88	133	39
1975-76	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	80	5	30	35	16
1976-77	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	80	16	22	38	14
1977-78	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	80	11	28	39	23
1978-79	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	80	10	13	23	16
1979-80	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	80	13	11	24	28
1980-81	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	80	16	22	38	34
1981-82	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	80	20	28	48	20
1982-83	Washington Capitals	NHL	80	8	22	30	10
1983-84	Washington Capitals	NHL	80	13	29	42	12
1984-85	Washington Capitals	NHL	80	9	28	37	32
1985-86	Washington Capitals	NHL	25	1	2	3	16
1985-86	Hartford Whalers	NHL	57	8	16	24	20
1986-87	Hartford Whalers	NHL	80	9	13	22	20
1987-88	Hartford Whalers	NHL	2	0	0	0	2
1987-88	Binghamton Whalers	AHL	24	5	4	9	4
_	NHL Totals	_	964	139	264	403	263

Steve Larmer

Steve Larmer went about his borderline Hall of Fame career between 1980-81 and 1994-95 with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers. In 1,006 regular season NHL games, Larmer scored 441 and assisted on 571 for 1,012 points. Five times, Steve topped the 40 goal plateau.

In the playoffs, he scored 56 and assisted on 75 for 131 points in 140 games. In 1993-94, he helped the New York Rangers to a Stanley Cup championship.

Larmer is one of seven Calder/Calder players in hockey history. He won the Calder Cup as AHL playoff champs in 1981-82 with the New Brunswick Hawks. The following year, 1982-83, he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. See the full seven here: 7 To Win Calder Cup And Calder Trophy.

Like the other three, Steve was a great junior player in the OHL. With the Niagara Falls Flyers, he totaled 114 points in 1979-80. In his final season, 1980-81, he scored 55 goals and totaled 133 points over just 61 games.

Steve Larmer Career Stats

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1977-78	Peterborough Petes	OHA	62	24	17	41	51
1978-79	Niagara Falls Flyers	OHA	66	37	47	84	108
1979-80	Niagara Falls Flyers	OHA	67	45	69	114	71
1980-81	Niagara Falls Flyers	OHL	61	55	78	133	73
1980-81	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	4	0	1	1	0
1981-82	New Brunswick Hawks	AHL	74	38	44	82	46
1981-82	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	3	0	0	0	0
1982-83	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	80	43	47	90	28
1983-84	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	80	35	40	75	34
1984-85	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	80	46	40	86	16
1985-86	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	80	31	45	76	47
1986-87	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	80	28	56	84	22
1987-88	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	80	41	48	89	42
1988-89	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	80	43	44	87	54
1989-90	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	80	31	59	90	40
1990-91	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	80	44	57	101	79
1991-92	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	80	29	45	74	65
1992-93	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	84	35	35	70	48
1993-94	New York Rangers	NHL	68	21	39	60	41
1994-95	New York Rangers	NHL	47	14	15	29	16
_	NHL Totals	_	1006	441	571	1012	532

Final Opinion

Final opinion. Because, that’s all it really is is opinion. What Doug Jarvis did was unthinkable. As one of the league’s top defensive forwards, the going would not have been easy, especially in the 1970’s. Doug Jarvis is the ironman and likely will be for as long as most of us are around.

However, Delvecchio played almost double the time over his career through some pretty tough times in the NHL. Alex is recognized for a lot during his career but he should also be noted as an ironman.

Unger had a great career but still going underrated is Larmer. 884 straight games. Most seasons, his goal total was in the 30’s and 40’s. A Stanley Cup championship. A Calder Cup, a Calder Trophy, Canada Cup gold, World Championship silver, a pair of NHL All-Star Game appearances and, I believe, he still holds the record for most game winning goals by a rookie.