The 2024-25 NHL season begins Friday and in the coming days, weeks and months, there could be plenty of players reaching milestones. Here's a look at some that could occur.
GOALS
894: Alex Ovechkin -- The Washington Capitals captain enters the season with 853 goals, 42 from breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record. The 39-year-old scored 31 goals last season and 42 two seasons ago. He's scored at least 41 goals in 13 of his 19 NHL seasons.
600: Sidney Crosby -- The Pittsburgh Penguins captain needs eight goals to become the 21st member of the 600-goal club. Crosby scored 42 goals in 82 games last season and has at least 30 in three straight seasons.
500: Evgeni Malkin -- Only three active players have scored at least 500 goals (Ovechkin, Crosby, Steven Stamkos, 555). The Penguins center is two away.
POINTS
1,600: Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin -- Before he reaches 600 goals, Crosby will reach 1,600 points with four. Ovechkin has 1,550 points, so it's likely he and Crosby will become the 10th and 11th members of the 1,600-point club.
1,300: Evgeni Malkin, Patrick Kane -- Malkin enters the season four points from 1,300 and the Detroit Red Wings forward is 16 shy of the total.
1,000: Connor McDavid -- The Edmonton Oilers captain has 982 points in 645 games (1.52 points per game) over nine seasons and already ranks 10th among active players, so he could reach 1,000 quickly. Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins is 71 points away, and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche is 101 away after finishing second in the NHL with 140 last season.
GAMES PLAYED
1,500: Ryan Suter, Alex Ovechkin -- Suter is the League's active leader in games played (1,444) and needs 56 to become the 22nd player with at least 1,500. Ovechkin could play No. 1,500 in his 74th game this season.
1,000: There are at least 15 players who can reach the milestone, including a handful who are within 10. Nashville Predators defenseman Luke Schenn is four games away and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers is five away. Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund (10), Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Erik Johnson (13) and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (18) are the next closest.
GOALIE WINS
400: Sergei Bobrovsky, Jonathan Quick -- Marc-Andre Fleury of the Minnesota Wild is the active NHL leader in wins with 561. Next up is Bobrovsky, who has 396, won 36 games last season and helped the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup. New York Rangers backup Jonathan Quick, the all-time leader in wins among United States-born goalies (393) is seven away.
300: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck -- Four goalies are within striking distance of 300 wins. Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning, whose 286 wins lead the NHL since 2015-16, is seven away and Winnipeg Jets starter Hellebuyck, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner is 25 away. Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes (five wins away) and Semyon Varlamov of the New York Islanders (14) are also likely to get there this season.
COACHING WINS
900: Paul Maurice, Lindy Ruff -- Only three coaches in NHL history (Scotty Bowman, 1,244; Joel Quenneville, 969; Barry Trotz, 914) have won at least 900 games and two more are on the verge of joining the club. Maurice of the Panthers is 31 away. Ruff, entering the first season of his second stint as Buffalo Sabres coach, needs 36.
