Red Wings players, coaches celebrate with Marc Staal before his 1000th NHL game

Marc Staal will become the 366th player in National Hockey League history to suit up for 1,000 career regular-season games his Detroit Red Wings take on the Calgary Flames on Saturday night (7:00 p.m. ET, BSDET). Staal’s Red Wings teammates and coaches gave him a special welcome to their visiting dressing room at the Scotiabank Saddledome in the hours leading up to Saturday’s game. With everybody wearing special commemorative T-shirts, Staal’s peers lined the hallway leading to the Red Wings’ room and greeted him with a round of applause. A first-round pick of the New York Rangers back in 2005, Staal played in 892 games with the team between 2007 and 2020 before joining the Red Wings as a free agent prior to the 2020–21 season. The 36-year-old defenseman has racked up 47 goals and 208 points in his first 999 regular-season NHL games. Staal also appeared in 107 playoff games during his tenure in New York, with 25 of those coming during the Rangers’ run to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. Marc will become the third