Heading into the 2026-27 San Jose Sharks season, a number of players will be chasing various milestones. Some of those milestones will be major, career-defining ones, while others will mark an important stepping stone for future accomplishments.
The first player we’re going to spotlight for a potential milestone is veteran forward Tyler Toffoli. Toffoli, 34, has been around the NHL for a decade and a half at this stage, and he’s nearing a milestone that not many players are able to hit. Assuming he stays healthy and in the lineup on a nightly basis, he should play his 1,000th career NHL game in the Sharks’ 31st game of the season against the New York Rangers on December 3.
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A second round pick of the Los Angeles Kings during the 2010 NHL Draft, Toffoli spent the formative years of his career with the Sharks’ rival. He spent eight seasons, and 515 games, representing Los Angeles to start his career before he became somewhat of a journeyman. He’s gone on to play 119 games for the Calgary Flames, 89 for the Montreal Canadiens, 61 for the New Jersey Devils, 18 for the Winnipeg Jets, 10 for the Vancouver Canucks, and he’s currently at 157 games with the Sharks.
So far, there have been just 421 players in NHL history to record 1,000 career games played. A few active NHLers, namely Ian Cole of the Chicago Blackhawks, Taylor Hall of the Carolina Hurricanes, and unrestricted free agent Reilly Smith, have the possibility of hitting the 1,000 game threshold before Toffoli does though, as they’re very close to the milestone themselves.
Toffoli’s role with the Sharks heading into the season is a bit up in the air. Although he’ll likely be taking a bottom-six spot this time around, he should have no issues being in the lineup enough to play his 1,000th career game.
