Two streaks define Unger's NHL career.

The Edmonton native set an NHL record for consecutive games played with 914 from Feb. 24, 1968, through Dec. 21, 1979, breaking the previous mark of 630 held by Andy Hebenton. The streak, still the second-longest in NHL history behind Doug Jarvis' 964, ended when he was benched by Atlanta Flames coach Al MacNeil, the only game he missed that season. Unger said the inspiration for his durability was watching his younger sister, who had polio and was wheelchair-bound.

The other streak came from 1971-72 through 1978-79, when Unger scored at least 30 goals in eight consecutive seasons for the St. Louis Blues. The Blues acquired the long-haired, free-spirited center in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 5, 1971, after he scored an NHL career-best 42 goals in 1969-70.

But Unger and Red Wings general manager Ned Harkness didn't mesh. The trade that brought him to the Red Wings from the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 3, 1968 came before Harkness was hired and Unger, then 23, was sent to the Blues with Wayne Connolly for center Red Berenson and forward Tim Ecclestone. The trade gave the Blues a reliable, consistent scorer for most of the decade.

However, the Blues struggled for much of the 1970s. After missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1977-78 and 1978-79, St. Louis traded him to the Flames on Oct. 10, 1979.

Unger dropped from 30 goals for the Blues in 1978-79 to 17 with the Flames in 1979-80, then was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on June 24, 1980. He scored 10 goals in 58 games before being traded again, this time to the Edmonton Oilers on March 10, 1981.

The Oilers were a young, up-and-coming team, and though Unger's days as a scorer were behind him, he passed on the lessons he learned earlier in his career to future stars such as Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Paul Coffey.

Unger retired from the NHL in 1983. He played in 1,105 games, finishing with 413 goals and 804 points, and 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 52 Stanley Cup Playoff games. However, he returned in 1985, playing in Great Britain, where he scored 218 goals in 97 games before retiring for good.