In its simplest form, hockey is a game of numbers.
Take Wayne Gretzky, for example—the league’s all-time leading scorer posted 2,857 points in 1,487 games, a daunting stat line across so few games.
Numbers sometimes speak for themselves in the NHL, as is the case when examining the career of Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov.
Kucherov scored his 900th career point with his first of three assists in his 743rd NHL game on Thursday, a 7-6 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Only 22 players in NHL history have reached 900 points in fewer games, a group that is led by Gretzky’s 900 points in 385 games and features 18 Hockey Hall of Famers.
The four non-HOFers to beat Kucherov to 900 points include Bernie Nicholls, Connor McDavid, Jaromir Jagr and Sidney Crosby.
Tampa Bay forward Jake Guentzel played parts of eight seasons with Crosby on the Pittsburgh Penguins. He sees similarities between his former and current linemates.
"They just all think the game at a high level. So it’s just trying to read off 'em and communicate as much as you can on and off the ice,” Guentzel said. “These guys have helped out a ton for me. You've got to play fast and just try and get open for them.”
Guentzel knew Kucherov had a dangerous shot, but seeing the release every day has brought him a new appreciation for the Russian winger’s skill.
"You see it from afar, but to see it up close, how skilled he is and the plays he makes, you catch yourself in awe every day.”
Guentzel isn’t the only Lightning player who is repeatedly impressed. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has seen plenty of Kucherov, as the duo has played together in Tampa for the past 11 seasons while also being teammates at multiple international events for Team Russia.
Kucherov became the fourth-fastest player born outside of North America to reach 900 points, beaten only by Peter Stastny (599 games), Jari Kurri (632) and Jagr (681).
“He’s just been consistent throughout his life, working really hard,” Vasilevskiy said of Kucherov. “He almost didn’t take any days off during the offseason. He basically started skating right away, like probably a week after the season last summer. So just that dedication to work hard, work honest, it's what makes him the best in the world.”
Vasilevskiy likes to remind his teammate and friend to keep his goal scoring for the netminders wearing other teams’ jerseys instead of sneaking pucks through Vasilevskiy during practice.
"I always tell him, 'Keep your goals for the other guys, for the games, not for me.' Each practice he's having mercy on me so I can feel that extra confidence (laughs)."
Kucherov is on pace for his fifth 100-point season for the Tampa Bay Lightning and is the only player in franchise history with multiple century seasons.
Only four players across the league have outscored Kucherov’s 29 points this year. He has 11 goals, tied for 11th-most in the league on Friday morning.
Gretzky pointed to Kucherov’s vision when asked about the player’s success, saying he works as hard as any player in the NHL.
"He relies on his teammates. He's not selfish whatsoever. And I think that without question you look at some of the top players–McDavid, MacKinnon, Matthews–but the one thing that Kuch has probably as good or better than anybody in the game is he sees the ice so well,” Gretzky said of Kucherov. “He sees the open man. His unselfish play is continuous each and every game, and that makes a guy like that fun to watch.”
Players Kucherov beat to the 900-point mark include Pat LaFontaine, Alex Ovechkin, Mark Messier, Teemu Selanne and Bobby Hull.
Former Lightning forwards Steven Stamkos and Dave Andreychuk each reached the mark in 869 games, tied for 58th-fastest among NHL players all-time.
Tampa Bay assistant coach Jeff Halpern believes Kucherov’s passing is among the best in NHL history. Halpern coaches the Lightning power play, an area Kucherov has long utilized to pick opponents apart.
Kucherov's 10 power-play points rank him in the NHL’s top 10 for 2024-25.
"The thing that sets him apart, not just from players in the league now but from kind of the history of the league, is how good of a passer he is. It's one thing to kind of sit there in those spots and make passes,” Halpern said. “It's another to break down whole teams and make reads away from not just the guy in front of you, but everywhere else. And he's able to make those reads and understand how to open up penalty kills.”
Halpern also has the option of setting up looks where Kucherov is the shooter on the power play.
"He's got as good a shot as most guys in the league,” Halpern said. “There's guys like Ovechkin and Stamkos that have that hammer of a one-timer. I would put Kuch in that group if you put him on that side. He's able to beat you in a lot of different ways.”
Hall of Fame member Phil Esposito has plenty of experience with Kucherov, working on the Tampa Bay Lightning broadcast after bringing the team to Florida.
Esposito gave a glowing review of No. 86 in Bolts blue, comparing him to the aforementioned Great One.
“He’s got so much talent that sometimes—I’m not saying all the time—he reminds me of Wayne (Gretzky) in that he’s ahead of everybody else in his mind of what’s going to happen,” Esposito said.
Kucherov already sits in the top 50 for career scoring by NHL right wings, sitting 36th with 902 points. Lightning alumnus Martin St. Louis is 21st with 1,033, and Jagr is first with 1,921 points.
“There’s nothing more that I like than watching Kucherov play,” Esposito said. “When he's on the ice, it gives me hope that something good is going to happen for the team.”
Esposito is one of the 22 players who beat Kucherov to 900 points, reaching the feat in 692 games–16th-fastest in NHL history. But when asked who would win in a 1-on-1 situation between Esposito and Kucherov if both players were at their best, the Hall-of-Famer gave Kucherov the advantage.
“Well, he’s faster than I was because there’s no interference and hooking,” Esposito said from the audio booth at AMALIE Arena. “But he’d (Kucherov) take it.”
