Shane Doan happy for Coyotes’ Loui Eriksson on joining 1,000 games club

Arizona Coyotes forward Loui Eriksson played in his 1,000th career NHL game Monday against the Dallas Stars.

It was an achievement 16 years in the making spent with four different teams including the Stars, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and Coyotes.

He is one of 357 players to ever reach that 1,000 games mark.

Another on that list at No. 17 is Shane Doan, who played each one of his 1,540 contests with the Coyotes from 1995-2017.

“You don’t appreciate it as a player,” Doan told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta Tuesday. “Playing 1,000 games is so difficult and not very many guys get the opportunity to do it. It’s huge when you reach that accomplishment. It is something that every player who does it is very proud of.”

Eriksson is in his first year with the Coyotes, so he’s played just 23 of his games for Arizona.

More than half of his games were with the team he reached his 1,000th against, the Stars.

“I was pretty happy for King Loui as they call him,” Doan told Bickley & Marotta. “It’s pretty cool that it was against Dallas, and he played for Dallas for so long. It’s amazing how those stories align.

“Happy for him and his family.”

Eriksson may not be too far from his next milestone.

He is three points away from reaching 600. Only 344 players in NHL history have hit that mark.

Arizona hosts the Florida Panthers on Friday at 7 p.m.

That game will air on ESPN 620 AM and 98.7 FM HD-2.

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