30 Years Ago Today, Current NHL GM Surpassed 1000 Games While in Dallas Stars Sweater

On this day in 1996, the Dallas Stars beat the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 3-2 in a game remembered mostly for what it meant to one of the league's most durable players. 

Veteran forward Pat Verbeek stepped on the ice for the 1,000th game and would go on to be one of the most memorable moments of his career. Verbeek would spend four of his last six seasons with the Stars, a stretch in which the franchise went on to win the Stanley Cup. In 305 games over four seasons in Dallas, the Sarnia, Ontario native recorded 72 goals and 92 assists for 164 points.

Verbeek's best individual season came earlier, with the Hartford Whalers, the franchise he became most closely associated with. In 1989-90, he scored 44 goals and added 45 assists for 89 points in 80 games. The total was impressive, but it came in a high-scoring era of the NHL, and 89 points didn't place him among the league's top 25 scorers that year.

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Verbeek was a solid scorer but also one of the most notable physical presences of his time, finishing his career with 1,063 points and 2,905 penalty minutes. Despite those numbers, Verbeek has not been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

His time in hockey did not end with his playing career as he would go to take on an even bigger presence in the hockey world through the executive space. Verbeek traded his skates for a pro scout's role just one season later, joining the Detroit Red Wings. 

He worked his way up the executive ranks, including a stint as assistant general manager and director of player personnel with the Tampa Bay Lightning, one of his longtime teams, and held several other roles along the way.

During the 2021-22 season, the 62-year-old left the Red Wings organization to become general manager of the Anaheim Ducks, the same franchise Dallas faced on the night he reached 1,000 games. Verbeek still holds the role today and has helped the Ducks rebuild from a bottom tier team into a young, playoff contender.

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