Larmer was willing to give up a chance to set the NHL's ironman record for a chance to win the Stanley Cup.

The right wing from Peterborough, Ontario, played in 884 consecutive regular-season games from 1982-83 through 1992-93, all with the Chicago Blackhawks, who selected him in the sixth round (No. 120) of the 1980 NHL Draft and watched him evolve into one of the most consistent scorers in NHL history -- he scored at least 70 points in each of the 11 seasons during his consecutive-game streak. Larmer won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 1982-83 and scored at least 40 goals five times.

But when he was 32 years old, Larmer didn't feel the Blackhawks were on track to win a championship; they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 1992 before being swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins and made major changes during the following year. Though he was 80 games from equaling Doug Jarvis' NHL record of 914 consecutive games played, Larmer didn't report for the start of the 1993-94 season and was traded to the New York Rangers on Nov. 2, 1993.

Larmer fit in seamlessly with a Rangers team that was pursuing a championship. He scored 21 goals and 60 points and was plus-14 in 68 games, and helped New York win the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's regular-season champion. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Larmer scored nine goals and 16 points in 23 games for the Rangers, who won the Cup for the first time since 1940.

After one more season with the Rangers, Larmer retired in 1995 with 1,012 points (441 goals, 571 assists) in 1,006 games. He scored 56 goals and 131 points in 140 Stanley Cup Playoff games.