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This old man does his rocking at the rink

The Lightning's Grant Ledyard, at 40, will play in his 1,000th game tonight. Only 165 others have played that many.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
© St. Petersburg Times,
published December 12, 2001

[Times photo: Dan McDuffie] Defenseman Grant Ledyard may not be hip, but he can hit.

CALGARY -- When Grant Ledyard's 9-year-old son Jacob wanted to listen to a CD by raunchy rap/rock star Kid Rock, the 40-year-old Lightning defenseman turned to 23-year-old teammate Cory Sarich.

Sarich, a fellow defenseman and Tampa Bay's music chef, just happened to have a CD handy.

"I heard the whole CD and said, 'Wow, I can't have him listening to that stuff,' " Ledyard said.

Okay, so Ledyard isn't hip, never mind hip-hop. That doesn't mean he can't school the pups a few tricks.

"He fills me in when we're on the oldies channel," Sarich said with a smile.

Defenseman Pavel Kubina, 24, nodded toward his elder.

"Old school," he said.

When Ledyard steps on the ice tonight against the Flames at the Canadian Airlines Saddledome, it will be his 1,000th game.

Only 165 others have played that many, and he will be just the 12th undrafted player to reach the milestone since the entry draft began in 1969.

"Right now, it hasn't really sunk in," Ledyard said Tuesday. "I'm pretty proud of it. That's a pretty good deal."

"It's pretty awesome, that would be a better word," Sarich said. "It's amazing a guy's body can withstand that kind of abuse."

Not only has Ledyard withstood the abuse through 18 seasons, he has thrived.

The 6-foot-2, 197-pounder from Winnipeg has 89 goals, 274 assists and 760 penalty minutes in stints with the Rangers, who in 1982 signed him as a free agent, the Kings, Capitals, Sabres, Stars, Canucks, Bruins, Senators and Lightning.

Ledyard, signed by the Lightning as a free agent, struggled early this season and was minus-6 after his first four games. Since then he is minus-1 in 20 games and is averaging 16:45 of ice time.

He played one of his best games of the season in Monday's tie at 1 with the Canucks. His plus/minus was even, and his two shots on goal marked the first time this season he has gotten more than one.

Ledyard's worth is not measured in offense, but in how he leads in the locker room and from the wisdom he shares with teammates.

"I'm an old man trying to fit into a young man's world," Ledyard said. "But the pureness of the game I don't think will ever change."

Helping Ledyard is a commitment to physical fitness. He also is aware of how his game and skills have changed, and tries to stay within himself.

"It's a good life," Ledyard said. "I've never taken it for granted, not one time."

"That's a lot of hockey," Lightning coach John Tortorella said of 1,000 games, "and a lot of time being yelled at by coaches. It's just a tremendous accomplishment."

Ledyard admitted there are few surprises left. Of the "tingles" that used to be a pregame fixture, "They don't come quite as often," he said.

He said he will decide whether to play next season after this season ends. Family is important. Ledyard's wife Liza, whom he calls "the glue," and sons Jacob, Ryall, 7, and Taggart, 6, live outside Buffalo.

"The boys deserve to have a father," Ledyard said. "Liza deserves a husband."

Whether he knows who Kid Rock is or not.

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