Each and every season, players hit career milestones and are celebrated for reaching those milestones. Obviously some milestones are more impressive than others, but games played is one of the better ones in our opinion.
One of the most difficult things to do in any sport is last, so a milestone like 1000 NHL games, for example, is all the more impressive because the average career doesn't last long. Earlier this season, Dion Phaneuf hit the 1000-game mark and Erik Karlsson gave him an awesome gift for reaching the milestone.
Karlsson and Phaneuf were teammates in Ottawa and clearly formed an incredible friendship.
That friendship has carried on since Phaneuf was traded from Ottawa and that's what sports are all about because at the end of the day, athletes have these friendships they make for life.
(H/T: Dion Phaneuf)
