Because the New Jersey Devils get set to tackle the Washington Capitals on Saturday evening, veteran defenceman — Brenden Dillon — will lace up his skates for his 900th profession common season recreation within the NHL towards one in every of his former golf equipment.
Dillon, an undrafted defenceman, kicked off his NHL profession in 2011-12 as a 21-year-old with the Dallas Stars. That season, he performed only one recreation however suited up for 48 video games in 2012-13 and has since constructed a status as one of many more durable defenceman within the league right now.
Now, 14 seasons later and on the age of 34, Dillon is about to go well with up in a milestone recreation and develop into simply the 185th defenceman in NHL historical past to achieve 900 video games performed. Not dangerous for an undrafted participant. It’s price noting that he will even be simply the a hundred and first NHL participant who was undrafted to achieve the 900-game milestone and simply the thirty second undrafted defenceman to take action.
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Over his profession, Dillon has made stops with the Stars, the San Jose Sharks, the Washington Capitals, the Winnipeg Jets and, now, the Devils.
By means of his first 899 profession video games, Dillon has 37 objectives and 198 factors to associate with 869 profession penalty minutes. He’s performed practically 17,000 minutes throughout his rugged profession and completed tenth in Calder voting his 2012-13 and a non-offensive defenceman.
Whereas not a great stat, Dillon has additionally been suspended twice over his profession, with the newest one coming in February of 2024 — and that was later lifted by the league.
Dillon signed as a free agent with the Devils on July 1, 2024, on a three-year contract that carries and annual common worth of $4 million.