The 2024-25 NHL season could be full of milestones

The 2024-25 NHL season begins on Friday and there could be many players reaching milestones in the coming days, weeks and months. Here’s a look at some that might occur.

GOALS

894: Alex Ovechkin – The Washington Capitals captain enters the season with 853 goals, 42 of which surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record. The 39-year-old scored 31 goals last season and 42 two seasons ago. He has 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 scored at least 30 goals in three straight seasons.

500: Yevgeny Malkin – Only three active players have scored at least 500 goals (Ovechkin, Crosby, Steven Stamkos, 555). The Penguins center is 29 km away. He has scored at least 29 goals six times in his NHL career.

POINTS

1,600: Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin – Before he reaches 600 goals, Crosby will reach 1,600 points with four points. Ovechkin has 1,550 points, so it’s likely that he and Crosby will become the 10th and 11th members of the 1,600-point club.

1,300: Evgeni Malkin, Patrick Kane – Malkin starts the season with four points out of 1,300 and the Detroit Red Wings forward is 16 points below 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 is already ranked 10th among active players, so he could quickly reach 1,000. Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins has 71 points and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche has 101 points after finishing second in the NHL with 140 points 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 be playing in his 74th game this season at No. 1,500.

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 games away. Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund (10), Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Erik Johnson (13) and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (18) are closest.

GOALKEEPER WINS

400: Sergei Bobrovsky, Jonathan Quick – Marc-Andre Fleury of the Minnesota Wild is the active NHL leader with 561 wins. Next up is Bobrovsky, who has 396, won 36 games last season and helped the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup. New York Rangers reserve Jonathan Quick, the all-time U.S.-born goaltender (393), has been away seven times.

300: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck – Four goalkeepers are within striking distance of 300 wins. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Vasilevskiy, who has led the NHL with 286 wins since 2015-16, is away seven times and Winnipeg Jets starter Hellebuyck, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, is away 25 times. Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes (five away wins) and Semyon Varlamov of the New York Islanders (14) should also 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 Despite, 914) have won at least 900 games and two more are close to joining the club. The Panthers’ Maurice is 31 away. Ruff, entering the first season of his second term as Buffalo Sabers coach, needs 36.