John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images

While defenseman Erik Gustafsson will not be in the Washington Capitals’ lineup against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night, Center Lars Eller will suit up in his 30th game of the season and the 900th game of his NHL career.

A former first-round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues (13th overall in 2007), Eller, who signed his entry-level contract on the same day as now-Washington teammate T.J. Oshie (a 2005 Blues first-round pick), played just seven games for the Blues before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens in June 2010 as part of a deal for goaltender Jaroslav Halak. He would spend six seasons in a Habs sweater, recording 134 (71 G, 83 A) in 435 Games Played before he was dealt to the Caps on June 24, 2016 at the NHL Entry Draft.

Eller has played 458 of his 900 NHL games in a Caps sweater (50.8%) and played an integral role in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring the Cup-clinching goal for Washington in Game 5 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.

Congrats on 9️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ career games, Tiger!#ALLCAPS | @LeidosInc pic.twitter.com/CoYO234U2b

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 11, 2022

Eller is the seventh player of his draft class to reach the nine century mark in Games Played in the NHL, and is second among all Danish-born NHL players in Games Played behind Frans Nielsen (925).

The 33-year old is in the final season of a five-year contract extension signed in February 2018. After a regressive performance last season, and with young centers such Connor McMichael in the wings, Eller has five goals and 11 Points in 29 Games Played this season, with a minus-3 rating.

By Michael Fleetwood