In his first 18 NHL seasons, the most time he missed consecutively was 18 games. Never mind his age – Sakic turned 38 in July – since Jan. 6, 2004, he played in 232 consecutive games through Nov. 30 of this season.

That's the last time Sakic played. The native of Burnaby, B.C., hoped rest and treatments would take care of what he thought was a bad groin pull. Further tests revealed Sakic needed hernia surgery, which he underwent on Dec. 28.