Winnipeg acquired Dubois from the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this season in a blockbuster trade that sent Patrik Laine the other way. He only appeared in two games with his new team before being sidelined and was held pointless in both contests.
The Jets enter Sunday's game with a 10-6-1 record, good for third place in the North Division.
Henrique was free for any team to grab over a 24-hour period, but he'll now continue his season with the Ducks. He's the club's second-highest paid forward, carrying a $5.83 million cap hit through the 2023-24 season.
The 31-year-old led Anaheim with 26 goals and 43 points last campaign. However, he's off to a slow start in 2021 while managing only four points in 16 contests for the last-place Ducks.
After 1,000 career games, the moniker can be contributed to Sidney Crosby's evergreen love for the game and his elite ability at 33 years of age. Hockey fans everywhere still hold on to parts of that rosy-cheeked wunderkind from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, that became the face of hockey 16 years ago.
The Penguins blue-chip pivot is the first player in franchise history to reach the millennium mark in games played, and his accomplishments along the way have formed a body of work unmatched by most.
Before we get into the numbers, let's briefly revisit what's been a remarkable ride for No. 87 thus far.
Crosby's rise to greatness
Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Crosby burst onto the scene with 102 points in his rookie season. He then captured both his first Hart Trophy as MVP and first Art Ross Trophy with a league-best 120-point sophomore campaign. The Penguins made Crosby the youngest captain in NHL history ahead of Year 3, and by Year 4 he had led the franchise to the Stanley Cup. He accomplished all of this by the 290-game mark of his career.
In Year 5, Crosby potted 51 goals to win the "Rocket" Richard Trophy. Well-documented concussion issues kept him sidelined for the better part of the three seasons to follow, but in 2013-14, Sid had a remarkable rise back to the top. He captured both his second career Hart and Art Ross that season after breaking the 100-point mark for the fifth time.
With Crosby at the helm, the Penguins became the first team in 19 years to win back-to-back Stanley Cups (2016, 2017), with the captain collecting the Conn Smythe Trophy each time. In 2018-19, Crosby hit the 100-point mark once again - 14 years after doing it for the first time. Despite being in the latter half of his career, something tells us that "Sid the Kid" isn't done quite yet.
Leader of an era
Dave Sandford / National Hockey League / Getty
Let's take a moment to appreciate how incredible Crosby's first 1,000 games have been relative to his peers still playing today.
Rank
Player
G
A
Pts
1
Sidney Crosby
468
810
1278
2
Alex Ovechkin
603
515
1118
3
Joe Thornton
307
697
1004
4
Ryan Getzlaf
268
666
934
5
Jason Spezza
326
570
896
6
Anze Kopitar
311
575
886
7
Eric Staal
349
486
835
8
Phil Kessel
357
467
824
9
Corey Perry
374
406
780
10
Patrice Bergeron
307
473
780
It's clear Crosby's body of work through 1,000 career games is superior. He also trumps every player on that list in both Stanley Cups and most of them in major individual awards, too.
It's worth mentioning players like Patrick Kane (992 games played) and Crosby's longtime teammate Evgeni Malkin (923 games played) are on track to be near the top of that list once they reach 1,000 games. Malkin projects to reach around 1,176 points, which would still put him 100 back of Crosby.
Legend among legends
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty
When looking at Crosby's illustrious career to date from a historical perspective, there's no questioning his status as one of the greatest players to ever lace up a pair of skates.
The 33-year-old is surrounded by Hall of Famers at this stage of his career both statistically and in terms of hardware. Below shows statistics from each player through 1,000 career games as well as how many Stanley Cups, Hart Trophies, and Art Ross Trophies they collected during that span.
Rank
Player
GP
G
A
Pts
SC
Hart
Art Ross
1
Wayne Gretzky
1000
749
1516
2265
4
9
9
2
Mario Lemieux
915
690
1033
1723
2
3
6
3
Steve Yzerman
1000
533
790
1323
3
0
0
4
Jaromir Jagr
1000
523
760
1283
2
1
5
5
Jari Kurri
1000
558
721
1279
5
0
0
6
Sidney Crosby
1000
468
810
1278
3
2
2
7
Dale Hawerchuk
1000
470
795
1265
0
0
0
8
Paul Coffey
1000
339
910
1249
4
0
0
9
Joe Sakic
1000
480
765
1245
2
1
0
10
Peter Stastny
977
450
789
1239
0
0
0
*Mario Lemieux and Peter Stastny never reached the 1,000-game mark but remain in the top 10 in terms of points among players who did
Crosby sits sixth in points and fourth in assists, which is impressive enough, but his greatness truly shines through when we understand which era each player played in. Using Hockey Reference's era-adjusted formulas, we can say with some reason Crosby has had the third-best career through his first 1,000 games in NHL history.
Rank
Player
G
A
Pts
1
Wayne Gretzky
607
1245
1852
2
Mario Lemieux
616
924
1540
3
Sidney Crosby
548
924
1472
4
Jaromir Jagr
564
808
1373
5
Joe Sakic
485
773
1257
6
Alex Ovechkin
684
559
1243
What comes next?
With everything he's already accomplished, it's crazy to consider Crosby likely still has five-to-seven years of quality hockey left in him. The Penguins' perennial captain recently confirmed his desire to remain with the club for the remainder of his career, but whether or not the franchise can get back to being Stanley Cup contenders in that time remains to be seen.
Statistically, he currently ranks 37th on the NHL's all-time scoring list. It's impossible to say how long Crosby can keep pace with his career point per game average of 1.27 - which is currently seventh-best all time - but it's reasonable to believe he'll crack the top 10 when all is said and done.
If Crosby can average around 55 points for the next six seasons, which is extremely likely, he'll become just the 10th player ever to eclipse the 1,600-point mark.
The Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche hit the ice Saturday surrounded by the beautiful scenery of Lake Tahoe. After a rocky first period with players struggling to see and the ice taking a beating, the league made the decision to delay the rest of the game until midnight ET.
Let's take a look at some of the best snapshots from the game that took nearly 12 hours to complete from start to finish.
The officials reviewed the play and upheld the goal, but the Maple Leafs then used a coach's challenge, claiming there had been goaltender interference. Montreal forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi appeared to push Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen's pad into the net along with the puck.
The goal was reviewed for a second time, and the league overturned the initial call.
The NHL later issued an explanation but only referenced the goaltender interference challenge, saying it wiped out the goal because Kotkaniemi did indeed push Andersen's pad.
Kotkaniemi scored earlier in the second period to cut the Maple Leafs' lead to 2-1.
The Maple Leafs defeated the Canadiens 5-3, thanks in large part to Auston Matthews, who racked up two goals and two assists.
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby appeared in his 1,000th NHL game Saturday night against the New York Islanders. Prior to the game, his club and teammates celebrated the milestone.
When the team hit the ice pregame, everybody was wearing the famous No. 87 sweater with the "C" on it.
Throughout his career, Crosby's been known for his extremely specific pregame superstitions. A part of his routine is to undo his laces and retie them while on one knee, so the rest of the team joined in on the ritual.
Finally, Malkin and Kris Letang both presented Crosby with a special stick and picture to commemorate the feat.
.Penguins Evgeni Malkin hugs Sidney Crosby as Kris Letang looks after giving Crosby a special stick and photo for his 1000 NHL game played. pic.twitter.com/DujtyNRplG
The Nashville Predators have a roster seemingly built for success, but as the team continues to struggle, ownership is looking for answers.
"Whether you’re an owner of the team, if you’re (general manager) David Poile, if you’re me, if you’re a player, it feels the same way. Everyone’s angry and confused," team president and CEO Sean Henry said to The Athletic's Adam Vingan. "We all believed that this roster would produce more."
The Predators currently sit in seventh place in the Central Division with a 6-10-0 record. The team finished fourth in the division last season but ultimately failed to make the postseason after losing in the play-in qualifying round.
Poile has made quite a few big moves over the last few years and has earned a reputation around the league as a general manager not afraid to shake up his roster. Most recently, he made a big splash in free agency in 2019 by reeling in Matt Duchene and signing him to a seven-year, $56-million deal.
Despite some moves that may have not played out as expected, Henry reaffirmed the organization's faith in Poile moving forward. When asked if ownership has the appetite to make significant changes, including potentially moving along from Poile, he was quick to dismiss the notion.
"He is not afraid to make moves, but he doesn’t make them just to make them," Henry said. "He makes moves to be calculated, and it’s been a pretty good run that we’re on.
"If any of us weren’t seeing things the same way, we’d obviously have to look at different changes, but there is no discussion about, 'Oh, let’s get an axe right now,' because that’s what we’re seeing on Twitter."
Poile has been Nashville's only general manager since the team began playing in 1998.
The NHL delayed the resumption of Saturday's outdoor game featuring the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights until midnight ET due to poor ice conditions caused by extreme sun.
"We've played in rain, we've played in snow," the commissioner said while confirming the suspension of play on NBC, according to the Toronto Star's Kevin McGran. "Sunshine has always been our enemy."
The two teams completed the first period, with the Avalanche taking a 1-0 lead into the intermission. The start of the second frame was delayed for over an hour before Bettman made the announcement.
When play resumes, the game will air on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada. It will shift from NBC to NBCSN in the United States.
