There was no shortage of milestones for the Kings during the 1998-99 season. That season, four Los Angeles players reached 1,000 games, marking the first time in NHL history that four players from the same time accomplished the feat.
Defenseman Doug Bodger was the first through the gate on October 25, 1998, with Garry Galley, Russ Courtnall, and Ray Ferraro all reaching the benchmark in February 1999.
Twenty years later, all four reflected on what it meant to play their landmark game and how unique it was that they all achieved it in the same season on the same team.
For all the players, they could only dream of playing in 1,000 NHL games.
Doug Bodger: You hoped you’d get to it, but you’re never sure you’d get to it. As the games piled up, you realized it’s a reality, but not many guys get to do that, so it’s a big accomplishment. I never thought I’d make it, but as it got closer, I thought I would. Barely, but I made it.
Making reaching the milestone even more special for Russ was the fact that his brother, Geoff, had already accomplished the feat.
RC: The most exciting thing for my family and me was that my brother Geoff and I were the first two brothers to play 1,000 games each in the NHL, which is a great trivia question.
Although it was exciting, it created some added pressure for Courtnall.
RC: Twenty games before my 1,000th, the media started talking about how Geoff and I would be the first two brothers to make it to 1,000, and it started affecting me. Larry Robinson said, ‘What the hell is wrong with you? You’ve not played the way you’ve been playing.’ I said, ‘Get me to 1,000, and I’ll be fine.’ I broke my ankle and came back and got to 1,000.
Garry Galley: The 1,000th game is a surreal moment. When you start playing, you only want to play one game. You want to be in the National Hockey League. You want to play in that one game to say all your hard work has paid off, so you never really think about that 1,000th game. It still is to this day. I’m just super proud that Geoff and I did that.
Making the game even more significant for Galley, who was back for his second tour of duty with the Kings, was against the Flyers in Philadelphia, where he spent an important stretch of his career.
GG: Felt like my game came full circle in Philadelphia. That’s where I had my best personal years, put up some excellent numbers, and played quite a bit. So, I felt I was a nice place to play my 1,000th game. Le to play my 1,000th for Los Angeles was very special. I played my first game at the Forum.
For Ray Ferraro, who struggled with knee injuries and staying in the lineup for the first half of the season, reaching the milestone meant even more to him.
Ray Ferraro: I was always proud of my ability to be durable, stay in the lineup, and produce. And then I went through a time in LA where I was just getting racked with a knee injury after a knee injury, and I couldn’t stay in the lineup. To get to the 1,000 games, you can see it on the horizon, and you know it’s a big number. It did mean a lot to me. I wanted to get there.
Reaching the 1,000-game mark demonstrates a player’s endurance and perseverance, but it is also a testament to the support they have had over the years.
GG: It means a lot to you for several reasons. Number one is for your family, the people who support you, and your teammates over the years who helped you along the way. It was an important 1,000 game, not just for me. I met my wife in high school, and she went through all the ups and downs, so it was 1,000 games for the family. It takes a village, so for all the people who helped me, that 1,000th game represented that. I wouldn’t have been there without the important people in my life.
The Kings gave each player and their family a trip to Hawaii to mark their accomplishments, while the players contributed to buying each of them a gift. According to Courtnall, Captain Rob Blake gave each of them a choice of what they wanted to get.
RC: They presented me with a beautiful gold watch that the players bought. I wanted something I could hand down to my son that meant something.
Galley felt the same way as Courtnall and chose a watch as well.
GG: I wanted to get something I could have forever and pass on to my kids. Something that, after I’m gone, reflects something I’ve accomplished. I would never be a guy who scored 500 goals or would win the Norris. I tried to win the Stanley Cup for the 17 years I played, but unfortunately, I never got that. Still, I think for my kids, that watch will represent something that was really important to me and something I put a lot of time off or blo, od, sweat, and tears into.
When Galley returned home from the game, another special gift awaited him.
GG: I remember coming home from Philadelphia, and it was fairly late. I walked into the house, trying to be quiet, and my wife had got 1,000 roses. The house had 1,000 roses in little vases with candles and stuff. I remember walking in and being blown away. It was such a beautiful-looking room. For many years, we kept the roses, and she sprayed them with stuff, put them on top of our kitchen cabinets, and made a wreath out of some of them.
While Courtnall and Galley remember picking what gifts they wanted, Bodger has a different recollection.
DB: They never gave me an option [laughs]. They just gave me some Sea-Doos, which was awesome. I think Russ and Luc were behind that mostly, and probably Blakey. Instead of a Rolex, I have a Timex that keeps the same time, so it doesn’t matter. The Sea-Doos were quite fun; my kids had a blast with them for a few years.
Regardless of what they received, they all appreciated the sentiment and generosity from the locker room.
GG: No one blinks; no one says a word. Everybody chips in. That’s what made it special.
And, of course, the uniqueness of the situation wasn’t lost on the players.
RC: We each put in a set amount of money, and it was kind of funny because the young guys were like, ‘another $500?’ Four in the same year!
It was weird because a couple of the guys had just arrived, and we were all chipping in for gifts; it was pretty funny. Most guys don’t get to the 1,000 games, so there’s no payback down the road.
When NHL players reach the 1,000-game mark, they are presented with a silver stick, but that wasn’t always the case. He doesn’t remember anybody receiving a silver stick in 1998-99, but he recently got his hands on one.
A friend of mine, Steve Matthes, contacted the Kings and said, ‘Do you know that Ray doesn’t have a silver stick?’ And they didn’t know, so the Kings stepped up and got in contact with the guy who makes the sticks. So last year, I got the 1,000-game stick, which was pretty cool.
While they each have different memories of their 1,000th game, the same thing is true: all the achievement still is to them, even two decades later.
Although it seemed the Kings’ four players reaching the milestone in the same season would have stood the test of time, just 10 years later, the Anaheim Ducks matched the feat.