PHILADELPHIA — For 16 years, Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle has never wavered from his pregame routine.
Whether he’s unwrapping a new pair of socks at his stall before each game — when he played for the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, he had to stretch each one out twice “all the way down the sock” before putting them on, according to former teammate Paul Bissonnette — or stickhandling in his corner of the neutral zone during warmups, Yandle’s pregame rituals have fueled him to play 965 consecutive games in the NHL.
But on Tuesday at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., on the cusp of passing Doug Jarvis for sole possession of the NHL’s iron-man record, Yandle strayed from his routine. As he warmed up with the Flyers, he looked up into the crowd.
Yandle’s gaze fixated on two little figures jumping up and down waving, one wearing a Marvel Iron Man mask — his daughters, Mila and Lola. In their orange and black Flyers Yandle jerseys, they and the rest of his loved ones stood out against the sea of Islanders blue.
“I knew my wife and kids were coming, my parents, and then to see the amount of support I had and people taking their time out of their lives to come and support me, it meant the world to me,” Yandle said.
When he saw those familiar faces in the crowd, Yandle replaced his unflappable gaze with a smile, waving back to those who made the trip to Long Island. Yandle’s wife, Kristyn, and daughters live in Florida. His parents, Buddy and Patti, brother Brian and sister Lauren all live in the Boston area. For the past five months, their husband, father, son, and brother, has been living hours away in Philadelphia.
From across the country and the world, his loved ones have followed his career and worried through numerous close calls. Afraid to jinx it, no one ever mentioned the streak to Yandle, who brushed it off every time he was asked about it. This season added extra stress with COVID and distance from family.
But when Yandle stepped on the ice for his 965th game and everyone was there to celebrate together, it made every moment of stress worth it.
Developing in the desert
Long before Yandle became the NHL’s all-time iron man, he took the long route to break into the league.
After the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes drafted him in the fourth round, 105th overall in 2005 out of Cushing Academy in Massachusetts, Yandle first played for the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League before making the transition to the AHL the following year.
At the request of family friend and U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Keith Tkachuk, then-Coyotes captain Shane Doan — a “second father” figure, per Bissonnette — took Yandle under his wing. As Yandle spent time in the organization with Doan and veteran defenseman Derek Morris, he learned “not to be a teenager with a pocketful of cash and going crazy,” according to Yandle’s father.
“All of a sudden, he became a man,” his father said. “That kid that could be a pain in the neck to a lot of people growing up. Even my friends would say, ‘Wow, has he become a great young man!’”
That young man became a regular in the Coyotes’ lineup by the 2008-09 season, playing in 69 games for coach Wayne Gretzky. At 22, Yandle’s iron-man streak began on March 26, 2009 against the Edmonton Oilers.
“Most 22-year-olds on weeknights ... they’re running around and going out and drinking and partying,” said his brother, Brian. “I think at that time, especially by 22, he had really started to become a pro and realize that he wanted to do this, play in the National Hockey League for the rest of his life.”
Yandle, who in 2008 as an active NHL player once attended and painted his face at a Stanley Cup Finals game in support of former Pittsburgh Penguin and close friend Ryan Whitney, has learned to balance having fun and being a professional over the years.
“I’m just so proud of him, and it sounds kind of goofy because I’m just a good friend of his, but playing so many games in a row is just so beyond comprehension for me,” said Whitney. “In 2007-08 he was a really immature kid, probably partying a little bit too much. And he just grew up, got older, more mature, more professional, trained so hard and to do this. To break an NHL record is so awesome and for me to be a lifelong friend, I mean I think we consider each other like family, it just makes it so special to me.”
Yandle spent nine years in the Coyotes organization from 2006 to 2015, highlighted by leading the team in scoring twice, earning two All-Star nods and reaching the Western Conference finals in 2012. But above all else, Yandle sharpened his leadership skills with the Coyotes and earned the respect of his teammates.
“Yands has figured out probably as well as anyone that the best way to be respected is to give it away, and to give your respect to those around you,” Doan said. “And he respects people so well with his ability to hone in on them and give people his undivided attention, that then people feel like they respect him for the way that he’s showing them the respect.”
Some of the ‘funnest times’
On March 1, 2015, Yandle was traded to the New York Rangers, where he joined former Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault and current Flyers Kevin Hayes and Derick Brassard. After a slow start, Yandle finished with 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 21 games..
During the Rangers’ run that season to the Eastern Conference finals — still some of the “funnest times” Yandle said he’s had playing hockey — he suffered a shoulder injury.
“That whole Rangers defense was banged up that year, Ryan McDonagh and the Staal kid [Marc] were also hurt,” Buddy Yandle said. “So the three of them were playing wounded. Yet they still continued to play.”
In his second season with the Blueshirts, Yandle continued to build his reputation as one of the league’s top offensive defenseman, leading the team’s blueliners with 47 points as the Rangers made the playoffs. For the seventh straight season, he did not miss a single game.
“It wasn’t until he was maybe in New York that I kind of started noticing like, ‘Holy crap, OK, he’s kind of popping up that list there,’” Bissonnette said. “Like, he never missed a game when we were playing together in Arizona? Oh, OK. It’s bizarre because I didn’t look at his hockeyDB [page] but to see 82, 82, 82, 82, it’s like, what? Even the healthiest guys miss maybe one or two a season.”
Yandle’s toughness tested ... twice
After the Rangers traded his rights to the Florida Panthers in 2016, Yandle signed a seven-year, $44.45 million contract with Florida, where he faced some of the closest calls to having his streak snapped. The first came while he was playing in his hometown of Boston with his family and friends watching.
On Dec. 5, 2016, Yandle got caught by friendly fire, as teammate Aaron Ekblad’s shot attempt hit him in the ankle. Yandle left the ice, and then called his mom.
“He basically said, ‘I’m not going to be able to see anyone after the game,’ " Patti Yandle said. “And he was quite disappointed in that and I’m like, ‘Oh God, Keith. That’s the least of your problems. How’s your foot? What is it, your foot?’ "
Six hours ahead in Germany, Chris Bourque, son of Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque and a prep school teammate of Yandle’s, typically wakes up and checks NHL highlights. He hasn’t missed a single one of Yandle’s games. When he checked on Dec. 6, 2016 while a member of the AHL’s Hershey Bears, he saw people on Twitter talking about how bad Yandle’s injury was and how they didn’t think he’d return the next game, a worry shared by Yandle’s friends and family.
“The very next night he was playing in Philly, and none of us expected him to be in the game,” Buddy Yandle said. “But sure enough, who comes walking up for the warmups but Keith Yandle? That one near shocked me.”
But Yandle’s craziest recovery, which sister Lauren calls the “infamous puck to the face” incident, came three years later.
Growing up, Yandle hated the dentist so much. Lauren said she “was holding his hand till he was God knows how old.” After he took a shot in the mouth against the Carolina Hurricanes, he skated off with a broken jaw and holding nine teeth in his hand. He returned that game but spent more than 20 hours in the dentist’s chair the next day.
“Always kind of been a fear of mine, going to the dentist,” Yandle said. “But Marty Robbins, the guy who did all of my work, was unreal.”
Yandle’ return was inspired by Bruins great Bobby Orr, who was at the game.
“He said, ‘Oh, well, if you can skate, you can play,’ " Yandle said. “So it was kind of one of those things when a legend like that saying you’ve got to suck it up and play.”
Yandle lived to tell the tale, and now he “gets the movie teeth,” Bissonnette joked. “The nice fake jibs.”
‘Not a normal reaction’
On Jan. 15, 2021, an article on NHL.com headlined “Yandle’s 866-game streak expected to end in Panthers season opener” sent a shock wave through the hockey world.
Yandle wasn’t injured, sick, suspended or experiencing a family emergency. The team wanted to scratch him because he had “fallen out of favor with the Florida Panthers,” according to hockey insider Frank Seravalli, then with TSN.
Then-Panthers coach Joel Quenneville confirmed three days after the opener that he had planned to scratch Yandle before he changed his mind.
While Yandle wasn’t concerned so much about his streak, Bissonnette recalls he didn’t like that his character had been called into question.
The hockey world stepped up to defend Yandle, whom multiple former teammates called “everybody’s favorite teammate they’ve ever had.” Even basketball coach Rick Pitino chimed in with a tweet: “I can’t understand why anyone would try and sabotage his iron man streak. Despicable and disappointing!” Yandle’s family was touched by how people rallied around him, something Bissonnette said is impressive in such a “cut-throat industry.”
It made a statement about the impact Yandle has left on the league.
“The fact that all of his teammates in Florida went crazy when there was a chance they were going to end it?” Doan said. “That doesn’t happen for anybody. If the coach makes a decision to take you out or a GM makes a decision to take you out, the team doesn’t rally around you. That’s not a normal reaction.”
Two days later, the Panthers opened their season with Yandle in the lineup. If not for his character, his friends and family think he might have been scratched.
“People make mistakes, and the right decision prevailed,” Bissonnette said.
That night, Yandle went out and scored his 100th career goal. While he later said he didn’t know it was his 100th, it was an emotional goal for him.
Two months later, Yandle played in his 1,000th NHL game, for which his family and current Flyer Kevin Connauton were on hand. It was his 890th straight game, but the milestone was significant, even outside of the iron-man streak.
“For me, it’s definitely special, a guy that’s played over 1,000 games,” said Cam Atkinson, who became his teammate this season with the Flyers. “There’s not really too many guys that have done that in their career.”
From bought out to Broad Street
During the Panthers’ first-round matchup against the Lightning in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Yandle was a healthy scratch for three games.
Yandle said he found it “awful” not to be able to contribute as the Panthers were eliminated in six games.. The team then bought out the remaining two years of Yandle’s contract on July 15, 2021. He wasn’t out of a job for long — a week-and-a-half later, Yandle agreed to a one-year, $900,000 deal with the Flyers, much to both the excitement and chagrin of his father.
“If [Chuck Fletcher] sat him the first week of the season, I really don’t think Keith would have cared,” his dad said. “I mean, it’s an accomplishment and everything, but tough for a Boston guy to cheer for these Philly people, you know? I grew up in the Bobby Orr era where the Broad Street Bullies used to beat us up.”
Of all the team’s offseason additions, Yandle’s arrival excited captain Claude Giroux the most.
“I always liked his game, how he moves the puck, and he’s a veteran,” Giroux said. “The whole story of him, consecutive games, I think that’s just amazing. That’s something that’s very hard to do in this league. I respect that a lot.”
In December and early January, the COVID-19 omicron variant permeated the Flyers’ locker room and posed a threat to Yandle’s streak. Sixteen Flyers wound up in COVID protocols during that stretch, including defenseman Ivan Provorov, who saw his own iron-man streak end at 403 games.
Yandle’s roommate Hayes also tested positive on Dec. 20. On that day, Yandle’s mother, his wife and two daughters were in Philadelphia visiting before Christmas.
“We were with his girls and his wife and I saw how worried he was,” his mother said. “He’s really not a guy that you think that he looks too stressed about much. But I can honestly say I felt it as a mother.”
With a little luck and a lot of preventative measures, Yandle is one of just two Flyers defensemen to not wind up in COVID protocols this season.
A ‘chef’s kiss’ on an amazing career
Breaking the iron-man streak is a “chef’s kiss on [Yandle’s] amazing career,” Bissonnette said. To this point, Yandle has played 1,075 games. Going into Tuesday’s game, he had scored 102 goals, 16 of which were game-winners, and had 613 points. He’s been an All-Star three times, and reached both the Eastern Conference and Western Conference finals. He’s also left a lasting impact everywhere he’s gone.
“Players like Yands, guys still talk about him in the other organizations that he played in,” said Connauton.
“He shows people how to really be,” Doan said. “He shows people like, this is how you should act in a locker room and this is how a locker room should be. So if you took Yands out, like, I think the Florida Panthers are benefiting now as much from Yands as they did before, when he was there.”
Bissonnette said Yandle’s NHL career is probably drawing to a close. And if he “rode off into the sunset” after pouring so much into it, he wouldn’t blame him. But no one who knows Yandle thinks he’d be able to sit still for too long.
“Selfishly,” Bissonnette would love to see him join the media because he thinks he could be a “star” with his personality. Bourque could see him working for a team, either as a coach or in the front office. Lauren said their cousin wants him to go on "Dancing with the Stars" because he’s got serious moves. (When he was younger, he loved to do the “Dougie,” Doan said.)
Whether he retires this year or next, whether he’s injured, suspended, or scratched, Yandle’s record might not hold up for long. The Coyotes’ Phil Kessel is right on his heels, just 24 games behind. But Yandle has never been too concerned about the streak. Those who love him, though, think that it’s an appropriate way to celebrate his career.
“I feel he touched so many people in the NHL, like so many teammates, so many guys in a positive way that I think what’s so cool about him doing this is every time that streak gets put on the screen, whether it’s broken in a few years or down the road, chances are his name will always pop up,” Bissonnette said. “And it just kind of puts a smile on your face. It’s a nice reminder like, ‘Oh my goodness, man, Yands went on that crazy run.’ "
