The 2026-27 NHL season begins Sept. 29 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
950: Alex Ovechkin -- The Washington Capitals captain already holds the record for most goals in the regular season (929), and is 21 from 950. He also enters the season with 1,006 goals in the regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs combined, 10 from tying Wayne Gretzky's all-time mark (1,016).
700: Sidney Crosby -- The Pittsburgh Penguins captain ranks second in goals among active players with 654, and could get to 700 with 46, although he's only scored that many in a season once in his 21 seasons (51, 2009-10). If he gets 36, he'd tie Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux for the Penguins all-time lead with 690.
400: Matt Duchene (387) is among five players who could reach 400 goals this season. The Dallas Stars forward is 13 away. Claude Giroux of the Ottawa Senators (379) needs 21 goals, Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets (372) is 28 away, Tyler Seguin of the Stars (376) is 33 away, and Filip Forsberg of the Nashville Predators (358) is 42 from the milestone.
ASSISTS
900: Three future Hall of Famers can reach 900 assists this season. Patrick Kane, back with the Chicago Blackhawks (892), needs eight, and Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins (874) needs 26. Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (811) needs 89 assists; he had 90 last season and has reached 89 in a season three times in his 11 NHL seasons.
POINTS
1,800: Crosby ranks seventh in NHL history with 1,761 points; he's 10 points from tying Marcel Dionne (1,771) for seventh and 37 points from tying Ron Francis (1,798) for fifth. He could become the fifth player with 1,800, joining Gordie Howe (1,850), Mark Messier (1,887), Jaromir Jagr (1,921) and Gretzky (2,857).
1,700: Ovechkin (1,687) needs 13 points to become the 10th player ever with 1,700 points. He also could climb the list, passing Lemieux (1,723) and Steve Yzerman (1,755) to reach eighth all-time.
1,000: There could be as many as eight players reaching 1,000 points this season. Jamie Benn of the Stars (992) is eight points away, and Corey Perry of the Los Angeles Kings (972) needs 28 points. Perry's teammate, Artemi Panarin (954), is 46 away, and David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins (933) is 47 away. Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns (945) needs 55 points, Duchene (936) and Erik Karlsson of the Penguins (936) each need 64 points and Scheifele (907) needs 93 points.
GAMES PLAYED
1,600: Burns (1,579) and Ovechkin (1,573) rank 14th and 15th, respectively, all-time in games played. Burns is entering his 23rd NHL season and has played 1,007 consecutive games, second all-time behind Phil Kessel (1,064). Ovechkin, entering season No. 22, also has been very durable throughout his career, playing at least 80 games eight times.
1,000: There are 23 players who enter the season within 84 games of 1,000, including two within 11 games. Ian Cole of the Blackhawks (990) is 10 away, and Taylor Hall of the Stanley cup champion Carolina Hurricanes (989) is 11 from 1,000. Casey Cizikas of the New York Islanders (978) is 22 games away, Zach Bogosian of the Minnesota Wild (970) is 30 games away, and Elias Lindholm of the Bruins (969) and Tyler Toffoli of the San Jose Sharks (969) each are 31 games away.
GOALIE WINS
500: Sergei Bobrovsky -- The Toronto Maple Leafs goalie has an outside chance to become the fourth in NHL history with 500 wins. He enters the season with 456, three behind Henrik Lundqvist (459) for sixth all-time, 28 behind Ed Belfour (484) for fifth and 33 behind Roberto Luongo (489) for fourth. Bobrovsky has won at least 30 games eight times in his 16 NHL seasons, but has only topped 40 wins once (41, 2016-17), so the milestone could be on hold until the 2027-28 season.
400: Andrei Vasilevskiy -- His 370 wins are 21st all-time and put him 30 wins from 400. Vasilevskiy has won at least 30 games in nine straight seasons, so if he stays healthy, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner (2019, 2026) should become the 16th goalie in the 400-win club this season.
GAMES COACHED
2,000: Lindy Ruff -- The longtime NHL coach enters the season with 1,938 games, 62 from becoming the third coach with 2,000 (Scotty Bowman, 2,141; Paul Maurice, 2,012). Ruff has a record of 950-741-169 with 78 ties in 25 seasons with the Sabres, New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars.
COACHING WINS
1,000: Ruff, who ranks fourth all-time in the NHL in wins, needs 50 -- a total he reached last season with the Sabres -- to get to the milestone. Maurice, coach of the Florida Panthers, is 956-805-152 with 99 ties in 28 seasons with Florida, the Winnipeg Jets, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Hartford Whalers. He ranks third all-time in wins.
