Normally we’d be in the midst of starting up another hockey season now, but we’re in a different world. Last Word on Hockey is still going to look back at each date’s historical significance to the game. We’ll remember the moments that shaped the sport of hockey that happened on this day. Here’s our look at this date in hockey history for December 13th, featuring Paul Coffey.
Today in Hockey History
Paul Coffey Hands Out 1,000th Assist
1995: The Detroit Red Wings blueliner becomes the first defenceman to get 1,000 career assists. Coffey dishes out the milestone helper in 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. He joins Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Marcel Dionne as the only players with 1,000 assists.
Coffey finishes his career with 396 goals and 1,135 assists for 1.531 points in 1,409 games. The Weston, Ontario native wins three Norris Trophies, including the 1994-95 season. He retires in the 2000-01 season with the Boston Bruins.
Other Notable Events
1958: Gordie Howe scores his 400th goal in a 2-2 tie with the Montreal Canadiens. He joins Maurice Richard as the only players with at least that many goals.
1983: Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scores his 300th goal in an 8-5 loss to the New York Islanders. He gets to 1,200 points three years later in a 6-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets. The Great One gets to the mark with two goals and two assists. He reaches another milestone three years later with the Los Angeles Kings to set a club record with at least one assist in 17 games. Gretzky sets up Luc Robitaille‘s goal in a 5-2 win over the Hartford Whalers.
1992: The New York Rangers finally get their first double digit game against Montreal in a 10-5 win. Doug Weight and Sergei Nemchinov get a pair of goals in the victory.
2006: The Anaheim Ducks set a mark for the best road record to start a season at 12-1-2. Teemu Selanne gets both goals as the Ducks beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 2-1.
2014: Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals gets his first regular-season hat trick in a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
2015: Chicago’s Patrick Kane sets a record point-streak for an American. He gets an assist in a 4-0 shutout of the Vancouver Canucks to extend his run to 26 games.
2017: Henrik Sedin becomes the second Swedish player to get 800 assists in a 7-4 Vancouver victory over the Nashville Predators. He joins Nicklas Lidstrom as the only players from that country to get that many assists.
2018: Andrei Vasilevskiy ties a franchise-record for most saves with 48 in Tampa’s 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Happy Birthday to You
1933: Doug Mohns
1953: Bob Gainey
1969: Sergei Fedorov
1975: Bates Battaglia
1982: Dan Hamhuis
1984: Kevin Klein
1991: Vladimir Tarasenko
