GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes held a pregame ceremony honoring forward Andrew Ladd for playing in his 1,000th NHL game.
The ceremony was before the Washington Capitals-Coyotes game Friday at Gila River Arena. Ladd played in his 1,000th game Wednesday against the Blackhawks.
Ladd is the 370th NHL player to play in 1,000 games and the 15th in Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets franchise history to play that game for them.
The 36-year-old Ladd has scored 550 points (256 goals, 294 assists) in 1,000 games with the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers, Jets, New York Islanders and Coyotes. He was a first-round pick (No. 4) by Carolina in the 2004 NHL Draft.
Ladd had two knee operations during the 2019-20 season with the Islanders and was limited to four games that season. He didn’t play in the NHL in 2020-21, but played in his 51st game with Arizona on Friday.
“What he achieved this year, overcoming an injury and playing through an injury, all of it is a testimonial to the character of this man and how much we respect him for that,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said.
“I would say most people would have a tough time coming back from that,” Ladd said. “I’m just proud of how I handled myself through the process and thankful for the people around me.”
Ladd played on Stanley Cup-winning teams with Carolina in 2006 and Chicago in 2010. He has scored 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 65 Stanley Cup Playoffs games.