The NHL just recently passed an incredible milestone over the weekend. On Sunday, the NHL officially celebrated their 100th anniversary, as the league was founded in Montreal a century ago to the date.

While the NHL’s celebrations will span the entire season, the weekend was one of reflection on the league’s last 100 years. One such reflection came from Twitter user Jonathon Jackson, who astutely pointed out the NHL can be traced back through five players over the league’s first 100 years of operation.

Fun Fact: The history of the @NHL, founded 100 years ago today, can be tracked through five players.



Jaromir Jagr played against Guy Lafleur, who played against Gordie Howe, who played against Dit Clapper, who played with/against Cy Denneny, who played on opening night. #NHL100 pic.twitter.com/vYM5UGLI4q — Jonathon Jackson (@jonathonj1970) November 26, 2017

The five players in question are Jaromir Jagr, Guy Lafleur, Gordie Howe, Dit Clapper, and Cy Denneny, with the connection being that at one point or another during their careers, they played against or with the next person down in the line.

Jagr, who has been in the NHL since 1990, played against Lafleur in one of his first seasons in the league. From there, Lafleur and Howe played against one another in the early 1970s before the latter played his final NHL game in the 1979-80 season. Howe and Clapper had only one season to play against the other in 1946-47, as the former was just entering the league while the latter was set to retire after that season.

And finally, Clapper played with Denneny in Boston for a season back in 1928-29 before Denneny himself retired after being with the NHL since the first puck drop in 1917.

The literal five degrees of separation between current NHL player Jagr and Denneny, a player who was with the league at the very beginning of it all, is an incredible testiment to the longevity of each of these players careers. That it only takes a chain of five hockey players to connect today’s NHL with the start of the league 100 years ago is quite something indeed. What a find!