As the NHL has progressed more toward speed and skill, it seems as though the league has also progressed toward youth, with younger players taking up a bigger chunk of NHL rosters. This season, 174 players younger than 24 started the season with NHL teams, a sizeable increase from past seasons. From 2012-13 through 2015-16, fewer than 140 players per season under the age of 24 managed to stick with an NHL roster for opening night.
As a result, the league's average age has been declining. The 2015-2016 season was the first since 1993-94 where both defensemen and forwards had an average age under 27 years old.
Despite the youth movement, veteran skaters have found ways to be successful. The most prominent, of course, is 44-year-old Jaromir Jagr. At this point in his career, he is a living legend; teammates such as Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov, and Jonathan Huberdeau weren't even born when Jagr made his NHL debut in 1991.
Jagr isn't the only old-timer still enjoying success at the NHL level, either. Here's a look at the top 10 players in the NHL who are 34 and older: