In some ways it is unfair that most people only talk about one thing in Cogliano's long NHL career.

Yes, he is an energetic player who checks hard at both ends of the ice, is an exemplary penalty-killer and is more than capable of chipping in offensively. But above all else, Cogliano is defined by his streak of consecutive games played.

During the 2015-16 season, he became just the second player play in more than 700 consecutive games to begin his NHL career -- Doug Jarvis, who played 964 straight, was the first -- and he would run the streak to 830 games before it ended Jan. 15, 2018. It was the fourth-longest consecutive games streak in NHL history.

Selected by the Edmonton Oilers with the No. 25 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft, Cogliano made his NHL debut in the Oilers' season opener on Oct. 4, 2007. He recorded assists in each of his first two NHL games before scoring his first NHL goal against Hall of Fame goalie Dominik Hasek on Oct. 8, 2007. In March 2008, Cogliano became the first player in NHL history to score an overtime goal in three consecutive games.

Edmonton's co-rookie of the year with Sam Gagner in 2007-08, Cogliano ranked fifth on the Oilers and sixth among NHL rookies with 45 points, and his 18 goals ranked fourth among first-year players.

During the 2008-09 season, Cogliano earned an invitation to the NHL YoungStars Game at All-Star Weekend in Montreal, where he won the fastest skater event as part of the skills competition. In each of his four seasons with the Oilers, Cogliano reached double digits in goals while also finishing among the team's top 10 scorers.

Cogliano began a new chapter in his career when Edmonton traded him to the Anaheim Ducks on July 12, 2011. His 13 goals in 2011-12 included his first NHL hat trick in a 4-1 win against the Phoenix Coyotes on Jan. 31, 2012. All three goals came in a 6:51 span during the second period, making it the second-fastest hat trick in Ducks history. (Bobby Ryan scored three times in a span of 2:21 in 2009.)

His second season with the Ducks saw Cogliano named the team's nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Cogliano also made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut that season, appearing in all seven games of Anaheim's first-round series with the Detroit Red Wings and recording his first postseason point with an assist in Game 4.

On April 18, 2014, Cogliano scored his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal, in Game 2 of Anaheim's first-round series against the Dallas Stars. In the 2015 playoffs, he scored three goals and nine points, with a team-leading plus-9 rating over 16 games, helping the Ducks reached the Western Conference Final.

Midway through his eighth season with Anaheim, Cogliano was traded to the Dallas Stars on Jan. 14, 2019.

An all-conference rookie at the University of Michigan in 2005-06, Cogliano won back-to-back gold medals representing Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2006 and 2007.

Cogliano (1,140 games played) became the 18th player in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup after playing 1,000 games when he helped the Colorado Avalanche win their first NHL championship since 2001 with a six-game victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final.

Cogliano announced his retirement June 21, 2024 after 17 NHL seasons to join the Avalanche front office and assist in a variety of roles, including player development, professional and amateur scouting, as well as working with the Colorado of the American Hockey League.