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In a way, the milestone Roman Josi recorded on Tuesday night was the easiest he’ll probably ever achieve.

All he had to do was step onto the Bridgestone Arena ice shortly after puck drop against Ottawa to officially receive credit for appearing in the contest. And with that, Nashville’s captain instantly became the Predators franchise leader in all-time regular-season games played with 957, quite an achievement.

And while the feat itself required minimal effort in the moment, what it took to get there should not be overlooked.

Yes, a franchise’s games-played record may not have the visual appeal of a goals or points milestone, but somehow, this one feels just as impressive.

Selected by the Predators in the second round (38th overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Josi made his debut a few years later on Nov. 26, 2011 in Detroit. He appeared in 52 games as a rookie, and since then, Josi has been about as consistent as they come.

The Bern, Switzerland, native has skated in all 82 games on two different occasions, but he’s hit at least 80 in five seasons and, excluding his first campaign, has never dressed in fewer than 67 outings in a full 82-game slate.

In some ways, the 34-year-old can feel that he’s in the midst of his 14th season - all with Nashville - as the normal wear and tear of a professional hockey player appears from time to time. But on the contrary, that November night in Detroit doesn’t feel that far gone.

“It feels like it flew by, but at the same time, when you look back, there's so many different years and different things to happen over the course of my career,” Josi said Tuesday from his stall less than 24 hours after reaching the milestone. “But I think if you look back, it definitely flew by. It doesn’t feel like I've been here for 14 years and playing this many games. So time definitely goes fast.”

The number itself - 957 - doesn’t come with the same fanfare as, say, No. 1,000 might, a digit Josi will likely hit sometime next season, but to become the franchise leader in the category is still worth appreciating.

“It’s pretty cool,” Josi said of the feat. “As a kid, you always dream about playing in the NHL, and I’m very grateful that I was able to play this many games - and play this many games for this organization. This place has become home for me, and there have been so many different emotions throughout my career, and so many great memories by playing here and just being in the community. I feel very fortunate that I was able to play this many games here, and hopefully many more to come.”

Josi passed David Legwand to become the club leader in the category, a player who, up until recently, held just about every Preds franchise record not reserved for a goaltender. Nashville’s first-ever draft pick, Legwand also spent the first 14-plus seasons of his career with the Predators, more than enough time to rack up goals, assists, points and games played, among other records.

But then players like Josi and Filip Forsberg began to establish themselves as faces of the franchise, and slowly but surely, the records started to fall.

Forsberg is now the team leader in goals (305), power-play goals (81) and game-winning goals (55), while Josi is tops in assists (531), points (721) and, of course, games played, facts that aren’t lost on the captain.

“I think it's really cool, because Fil, me and him, we kind of grew up together here,” Josi said. “And a lot of guys, even guys like [former Preds defenseman Mattias Ekholm], [goaltender Juuse Saros], [forward Colton Sissons], those are guys you kind of come up with… The record books are going to keep growing the longer the franchise is around, and the more that happens, the better for the organization.”

Josi says of all those days and nights under the bright lights across the NHL, his first one remains special, as does an overtime win against Vegas last season that saw the Preds come back to keep their point streak alive.

There are some he’d probably like to forget as well, but not every moment is going to be perfect. That’s not how life works, especially in the NHL, as Josi and his teammates have realized during the current iteration.

But Josi believes there will continue to be brighter days ahead. He knows he’s on the back half of his career by now, but he’s still got plenty of hockey left in him.

So, how does he view the future? With an anticipation and passion that has remained though all 957 games thus far with at least a few more to come.

“Every year has its challenges, and this year certainly does,” Josi said. “I think you're always growing as a person, as a player, and we're all growing this year. It’s a really challenging time, and it's been frustrating this year at times, but you're learning a lot of things out of these situations, which I think will help us going forward. That's kind of how I try to approach every season. You’re always learning something.

“You want all the success on the ice, and you want to win a Stanley Cup before you’re done. That’s definitely my goal, but I think the older you get, you might have to adjust your game a little bit. You learn different things away from the rink, and there's young kids you probably want to leave a mark and inspire in certain ways. So, there's all kinds of challenges, but I'm excited for it.”