Flyers make Keith Yandle a healthy scratch, ironman streak ends at 989 games

For the first time in over a decade, Keith Yandle will be watching his team play rather than suiting up.

Philadelphia Flyers coach Mike Yeo said on Saturday morning that Yandle will be a healthy scratch for the team’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, ending his ironman streak of consecutive games played at 989.

Barring any changes, I’m told @NHLFlyers D Yandle’s @NHL record Ironman streak of 989 consecutive games played will end tonight. Only 11 games from 1000, with Flyers out of playoff picture this is an odd decision to sit the highly respected veteran. #HockeyTwitter

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) April 2, 2022

Filling in on the blueline for Yandle will be Ronnie Attard, who will be making his NHL debut. The Flyers selected Attard in the third round of the 2019 draft and he scored 36 points in 39 games in his junior season for Western Michigan University this year.

The Florida Panthers bought out the final two seasons of Yandle’s seven-year, $44.45 million contract back in June. He inked a one-year, $900k deal with the Flyers a couple of weeks later.

It’s been a difficult season for Yandle, as he ranks dead last in the league in terms of plus-minus with a minus-39 rating. Despite his poor play, the Flyers kept Yandle’s streak alive long enough for him to break Doug Jarvis’ record for consecutive games played in the NHL.

Back in January as he was set to break Jarvis’ record, Yandle told reporters in Philadelphia that he’s never used the streak to jockey for playing time…

“That’s not my job,” Yandle said. “Every guy wants to play in every game. I’ve never been a guy to mention it to a coach. Not one player is bigger than the team. I just hope to be in the lineup every day and help my team.”

While Yandle will wind up coming just shy of being the first NHLer ever to play in 1,000 consecutive games, there’s no denying how incredible his streak is.

It started on March 26, 2009, when Yandle was 22 years old, playing under head coach Wayne Gretzky with the Phoenix Coyotes, and it lasted for 13 years, taking him through five coaching changes, one trade, one lockout, two free-agent signings, and the COVID-19 pandemic all the way to the age of 35.

Jarvis’ ironman streak also ended with a healthy scratch while playing for the Hartford Whalers in October of 1988. He never played in the NHL again after that.

The limelight will now turn to Phil Kessel, who owns the longest active ironman streak at 968 games. Kessel is an unrestricted free agent this summer and can become Mr. 1,000 if he continues playing next season.

Back in March, Kessel suited up for the Coyotes, played one shift, and left so that he could return to Arizona for the birth of his child while keeping his streak alive…

phil kessel took one shift, got a shot on goal, and promptly left the ice with fist bumps from teammates so he could return to arizona for the birth of his child. the coyotes set up a private charter so he could do so.

his ironman streak lives on. pic.twitter.com/2Xy95CxRVv

— zach laing (@zjlaing) March 9, 2022

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