Long-Timers: James Patrick

In the 102-year history of the National Hockey League, 348 individuals have played 1,000 or more regular season games. 44 of them, or 12.6%, have played some part of their career with the Atlanta or Calgary Flames. We call these players Long-Timers.

Let’s take a look at James Patrick.

A Manitoba kid, Patrick headed to college and played two seasons with the University of North Dakota. While he was there, he won both an NCAA championship and a World Junior gold medal. He was the ninth overall selection in the 1983 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers. He signed with the Blueshirts in 1983, but spent most of that year with the Canadian National Team prepping for the 1984 Winter Olympics. (Canada finished fourth.)

Joining the Rangers full-time in 1984, he spent the better part of a decade in Manhattan and became known as one of the most consistent and reliable offensive producers of his time. He was, in a sense, a poor man’s Phil Housley – he wasn’t quite as good offensively as Housley, but he was more well-rounded. Patrick received Norris votes in three different seasons (1986-87, 1987-88, 1990-91) but never finished higher than sixth in balloting.

1993-94 was a year of transition for him, as Patrick was traded twice and played for three different teams. A month into the season he was traded with Darren Turcotte to Hartford for Steve Larmer, Nick Kypreos, Barry Richter and a sixth round pick. He spent 48 games with the Whalers before being swapped again. At the trade deadline he was traded with Zarley Zalapski and Michael Nylander to Calgary for Gary Suter, Paul Ranheim and Ted Drury.

Patrick was already 30 by the time he landed in Calgary. He played four seasons with the Flames and his production tailed off some from his time in New York, but he was still quite useful. He signed with Buffalo as a free agent in 1998 and settled in as a reliable two-way defender who was more of a secondary offensive threat (if that). After sitting out the 2004-05 lockout he couldn’t find an NHL gig, so he played a season in Germany before retiring.

Once he hung up his skates, he rejoined the Sabres and began a coaching career. He was an assistant with the Sabres from 2006 to 2013, then joined the Dallas Stars as an assistant from 2013 to 2017. After that he got his current gig in the WHL with the Kootenay/Winnipeg Ice.

While Patrick may not be a Hall of Famer, he’s had a tremendous run in hockey. He played parts of 21 seasons in the NHL and played in the Spengler Cup, the NCAA championship, the Stanley Cup Final, the Olympics, the Canada Cup, the World Championship, and the World Juniors. Aside from the Memorial Cup and the World Cup, there wasn’t a big tournament he didn’t play in. (His nephew, Nolan, carries on the family tradition with the Flyers.)