2020-21 NHL season could be filled with milestones

The 2020-21 NHL season will begin Jan. 13, and in the coming days, weeks and months there could be plenty of players and coaches reaching milestones. Here's a look at some that could occur during the 56-game season.

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GOALS

709: Alex Ovechkin - The Washington Capitals forward needs three goals to pass Hall of Famer Mike Gartner (708) for seventh on the NHL list. Ovechkin is 11 behind Phil Esposito for sixth (717) and 25 behind Marcel Dionne (731) for fifth. Ovechkin is also 48 games from 1,200 in his NHL career.
400: Patrick Kane, Zach Parise, Jeff Carter -- Kane is 11 goals away after the Chicago Blackhawks forward scored 33 last season. He has scored at least 21 in each of his 13 NHL seasons. Parise is 14 from the milestone after the forward scored 25 with the Minnesota Wild last season. Carter, who scored 17 goals with the Los Angeles Kings last season, needs 18 goals; the forward hasn't scored that many in a season since 2016-17 (32).

POINTS

1,000: Ryan Getzlaf, Anze Kopitar -- Getzlaf, the longtime Anaheim Ducks center, scored 42 points (13 goals, 29 assists) last season and needs 35 for 1,000. He also needs 24 points to pass Teemu Selanne (988) for first in Ducks history. Kopitar needs 50 points, a total the Kings center has surpassed in all 13 of his full NHL seasons.

GAMES PLAYED

1,768: Patrick Marleau -- If he plays at least 45 games this season, Marleau will pass Gordie Howe (1,767) for first in NHL history. The San Jose Sharks forward, who is entering his 23rd NHL season, has not missed a game during the past 11 seasons; the last time he did not play was April 7, 2009.
1,600: Zdeno Chara -- The 43-year-old defenseman, the oldest player in the NHL, is entering his 23rd season and is 47 games from becoming the 13th player with at least 1,600 games played. He agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Capitals on Dec. 30 after 14 seasons with the Boston Bruins.
1,000:There are about a dozen players who could reach the milestone this season. The closest are New Jersey Devils forward Travis Zajac (nine away) and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber (10). Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (16), Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle (24) and Kane (27) are also closing in.

GOALIE WINS

485: Marc-Andre Fleury - Entering his fourth season with the Vegas Golden Knights, Fleury has 466 wins and is 19 from passing Ed Belfour (484) for fourth on the NHL list. Fleury, who has won at least 27 games 10 times in the past 12 seasons, needs 34 wins to become the third goalie with at least 500 (Martin Brodeur, 691; Patrick Roy, 551).
400: Ryan Miller -- After signing a one-year contract with the Ducks on Dec. 23, Miller enters his 18th NHL season with 387 wins and needs 13 to become the 14th goalie to reach 400. He had nine wins for Anaheim last season and last won at least 13 games (18) with the Vancouver Canucks in 2016-17. If he plays 20 games, Miller also can become the 17th goalie to play 800.

COACHING WINS

700: Alain Vigneault -- Entering his second season with the Philadelphia Flyers, Vigneault is 689-456-105 with 35 ties in 1,285 games during 17 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Canucks, New York Rangers and Flyers. Vigneault needs 11 wins to become the ninth coach with at least 700.

GAMES COACHED

1,700: Barry Trotz -- The New York Islanders coach is 845-618-151 with 60 ties in 1,674 games during 21 seasons with the Nashville Predators, Capitals and Islanders. He is 26 games from joining Scotty Bowman (2,141) and Joel Quenneville (1,705) as the only coaches in NHL history with at least 1,700 games.
1,500: Lindy Ruff -- Prior to becoming coach of the Devils on July 9, Ruff hadn't coached in the NHL since he was with the Dallas Stars in 2016-17. He enters the season with a record of 736-554-125 with 78 ties in 1,493 games during 19 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres and Stars, and ranks sixth in wins.