The Bruins’ captain isn’t done yet. Over the weekend Boston announced it signed defenseman Zdeno Chara to a one-year extension that confirms he’ll take the ice for a 22nd NHL season. A week removed from his 42nd birthday, the new deal will take the former Norris winner and six-time All-Star through his 43rd birthday next March.
As you could guess, the list of players to take the ice past the age of 40 isn’t very long, but hockey has more than you would think. In fact, Chara has some work to do and a few seasons to tack on if he wants to even crack the top handful of players. There have been 10 in history to play in an NHL game past the age of 44, and here they are:
Gordie Howe (52):
Plenty of Howe’s NHL records have been broken since his retirement, but this one may stand for a long while. After 25 seasons with the Red Wings, Howe retired the first time at age 42. But with the chance to play with his sons Marty and Mark, he returned to hockey three years with the Houston Aeros of the WHA. Eventually he wound up with the New England Whalers, and when they were absorbed into the NHL in 1979 Howe played one final NHL season in Hartford at age 52, scoring 41 points in 80 games.
Chris Chelios (48):
When the Red Wings traded for the future Hall of Famer in March of 1999, they probably hoped to get a couple of years max out of the then 37-year-old.
He played in Detroit for a decade.
The Hall of Famer appeared in two All-Star games, finished second in Norris Trophy voting in 2002 and helped the franchise win two Stanley Cups. Also noteworthy is that he appeared for Team USA in the Olympics in both 2002 and 2006, at ages 40 and 44, respectively.
Jaromir Jagr (45):
The long and winding career path of Jagr saw the legend suit up for nine NHL teams over a 24-year career. He left the NHL once, after the 2008 season at age 35 to play in Russia, where he spent the next three seasons. He returned in 2011 and had a journeyman-type career in his 40s until last season scoring just one goal in 22 games with Calgary.
Though his NHL days are over, his career isn’t. He’s currently playing in the Czech Republic with HC Kladno.
Moe Roberts (45):
For someone who only played in 10 NHL games, the Waterbury native Roberts has two very unique distinctions. His debut with the Bruins in 1925 at age 20 made him the youngest player at the time to ever appear in goal in an NHL game. Fast forward 26 years to 1951, and Roberts was the assistant trainer for the Black Hawks when he had to play the third period as an emergency. So two weeks shy of his 46th birthday and 18 years since his last NHL appearance, Roberts held down the fort in a loss to Detroit.
Johnny Bower (45):
Bower didn’t debut in the NHL until he was 29, but he still enjoyed a long, Hall of Fame career. His final game came in his only contest of the 1969-70 season, a Toronto loss to Montreal. For most of his career the goaltender’s age was a bit of a mystery – he lied about it to enlist in the Canadian military during World War II, he looked older than he was and he seemed to find humor in the obsession. Finally he secured a birth certificate upon discovering that at age 45 he’d be eligible for pension.
Gump Worsley (44):
The Hall of Fame goaltender broke through with the Rangers in 1952 and remained in the league for the next two decades, splitting time with New York, Montreal and Minnesota. A pulled hamstring looked like it might end his career in 1972-73, but he recovered enough to play one final season with the North Stars the following year, making 29 starts. His 860 career starts was third-most all-time upon his retirement.
Doug Harvey (44):
The Montreal legend looked like his NHL career was over in 1964 with the Rangers, where he served as a player-coach before traipsing through the AHL for five seasons. The seven-time Norris winner made a brief return with Detroit in 1966-67, then played 70 games for the expansion Blues in his final season in ’68-69 at age 44.
Lester Patrick (44):
By the time the NHL was formed Patrick was past his playing days, retiring in 1922. One of the great builders of the game, Patrick was the coach of the Rangers in 1928 when, in the Stanley Cup Final his starting netminder Lorne Chabot took a puck to the eye. Without a backup and with Ottawa refusing to allow the Rangers to use a couple of available emergency options, the 44-year-old Patrick – a defenseman in his playing days – went between the pipes himself, stopping 18 of 19 shots and helping New York win in overtime.
Jacques Plante (44):
The Hall of Famer originally retired in 1965 at age 36, and sat out the next three seasons. Upon the NHL’s expansion, however, a few jobs opened up, and St. Louis convinced the 40-year-old to come out of retirement, and he spent five more years in the league with the Blues, Maple Leafs and Bruins. His last NHL appearance came with Boston in 1973 at age 44, though he did play 31 times with the Oilers in the WHA at 46 years old.
Tim Horton (44):
The Toronto legend spent 20 seasons with the Maple Leafs, winning four Stanley Cups before finishing the last years of his career with the Rangers, Penguins and Sabres. All records indicate he would have returned to Buffalo for another season when, in February 1974, while driving home from a Buffalo game against (of all teams) Toronto, he died in a single-car accident.