The Florida Panthers better have some sharpies and tape ready for the upcoming season.
With the 2020-21campaign set to get underway in just a little over two weeks, more than a few players on the team are on the verge of reaching some impressive career milestones, moments that will be immortalized with a post-game photo and a taped-up puck to mark the big occasion.
Milestone Watch: Panthers Numbers to Keep an Eye on in 2020-21
In terms of recent milestones, the Panthers had plenty in 2019-20.
Leading the team in scoring, Jonathan Huberdeau re-wrote the history books in a hurry as he swiftly moved past the 400-point plateau en route to finishing out the season as the franchise's all-time leader in points (437) and assists (289). Not far behind him, linemate Aleksander Barkov also surpassed 400 points and currently sits just 20 behind Huberdeau for the top spot with 407.
In net, Sergei Bobrovsky became the 75th goalie in NHL history to appear in 500 games.
Outside of those big numbers, there was of also a wealth of smaller moments to enjoy. From players making their NHL to debut to those reaching their 100th game, from unforgettable first goals to piling up points, there always seemed to be a reason to save a puck after most games.
Keeping that in mind, here's a list of key milestones within reach for Panthers players this season.
POINTS
• Jonathan Huberdeau is 63 points away from his 500th NHL point.
• Patric Hornqvist is 20 points away from his 500th NHL point.
• Brett Connolly is 12 points away from his 200th NHL point.
GOALS
• Anthony Duclair is 21 goals away from his 100th NHL goal.
• Brett Connolly is 2 goals away from his 100th NHL goal.
• Keith Yandle is 1 goal away from his 100th NHL goal.
ASSISTS
• Keith Yandle is 26 assists away from his 500th NHL assist.
• Jonathan Huberdeau is 11 assists away from his 300th NHL assist.
• Brett Connolly is 10 assists away from his 100th NHL assist.
• Anthony Duclair is 17 assists away from his 100th NHL assist.
• Radko Gudas is 6 assists away from his 100th NHL assist.
GAMES PLAYED
• Keith Yandle is 21 games away from his 1,000th NHL game.
• Aaron Ekblad is 42 games away from his 500th NHL game.
• Radko Gudas is 21 games away from his 500th NHL game.
• Aleksander Barkov is 21 games away from his 500th NHL game.
• Brett Connolly is 4 games away from his 500th NHL game.
• Anthony Duclair is 47 games away from his 400th NHL game.
• Noel Acciari is 54 games away from his 300th NHL game.
• Frank Vatrano is 26 games away from his 300th NHL game.
• MacKenzie Weegar is 28 games away from his 200th NHL game.
GOALTENDING
• Sergei Bobrovsky is 22 wins away from his 300th NHL victory.
• Sergei Bobrovsky is 6 shutouts away from his 40th NHL shutout.
FRANCHISE RECORDS
• Aaron Ekblad needs 4 power-play goals to surpass Robert Svehla (26) for the most by a defenseman in franchise history.
• Aleksander Barkov needs three goals to surpass Scott Mellanby (158) for the second-most in franchise history.
• Aleksander Barkov needs 13 points to surpass Olli Jokinen (419) for the second-most in franchise history.
• Jonathan Huberdeau needs 3 goals to surpass Olli Jokinen (115) for the most even-strength goals in franchise history.
OTHER INTERESTING MILESTONES
• With six more blocked shots, Aaron Ekblad will join Dmitry Kulikov as the only two players to record 500 blocks and 500 hits with the Panthers.
• Aleksander Barkov needs one takeaway to reach 400 in his career.
• Jonathan Huberdeau (9,567:01) and Aleksander Barkov (9,529:04) could each surpass 10,000 career minutes with the Panthers this season. They would become just the sixth and seventh players in franchise history to reach that milestone.
• Patric Hornqvist is 29 shots away from 2,500 in his NHL career.
