2025-26 NHL season could be filled with milestones

The 2025-26 NHL season begins Oct. 7 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

900: Alex Ovechkin -- The Washington Capitals forward became the all-time NHL goals leader with No. 895 when he passed Wayne Gretzky on April 6 and can get to another milestone with his next three. He scored 44 goals in 2024-25 and has at least 30 in 19 of his 20 NHL seasons.

600: Steven Stamkos -- The Nashville Predators center is third among active players with 582 goals, trailing Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby (625). Stamkos is a 15-time 20-goal scorer and is also 10 points from becoming the sixth active player with 1,200.

500: Two No. 1 NHL draft picks, John Tavares (2009) and Patrick Kane (2007) are closing in on 500 goals. Tavares, a Toronto Maple Leafs center, is six goals away and Kane, a Detroit Red Wings forward, needs eight.

400: Forwards Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars and Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers each enter the season one goal shy of 400. Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak is nine away.

POINTS

1,700: Crosby and Ovechkin will be forever linked, so it's no surprise the two are each closing in on the same milestone. Crosby needs 13 points for 1,700, and Ovechkin needs 77. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain is a six-time 100-point scorer, and the Capitals captain had 73 points last season despite missing 17 games, so he could achieve the feat.

1,000: Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning has won the Art Ross Trophy as the top scorer in the League each of the past two seasons and is six points from 1,000. Brad Marchand of the Florida Panthers is 20 away, and Benn and Draisaitl are each 44 from the milestone.

GAMES PLAYED

1,500: Three players are on the cusp of 1,500 games, including defenseman Brent Burns of the Colorado Avalanche (three). Burns' 1,497 games are the most among active players and he has played 925 consecutive regular-season games. Ovechkin is nine games away, and Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar is 46 away.

1,000: There are 20 players who enter the season within 81 games of 1,000, including five within 20. Forwards Adam Henrique of the Oilers (seven), Tyler Seguin of the Stars (11) and Nazem Kadri of the Calgary Flames (15) are the closest. Marcus Johansson of the Minnesota Wild (17), Jeff Petry of the Panthers (19) and Justin Faulk of the St. Louis Blues (20) are next closest.

GOALIE WINS

450: Sergei Bobrovsky -- The two-time Stanley Cup champion is 10th in wins (429) and first among active goalies. Bobrovsky won 33 games for the Panthers last season and is 21 from 450. If he wins 31 games, he'll pass Henrik Lundqvist (459) for sixth in NHL history.

350: Two of the top goalies over the past decade, Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning and Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, are closing in on 350 wins. Vasilevskiy, who has won at least 30 games in eight straight seasons, needs 19 victories. Hellebuyck, who won 47 games and the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) and Hart Trophy (NHL MVP) last season, is 28 from the milestone.

GAMES COACHED

2,000: Paul Maurice -- The Panthers coach, who has won the Cup each of the past two seasons, is 70 games from joining Scotty Bowman (2,141) as the only coaches in NHL history to coach at least 2,000. Maurice's 916 wins are third in NHL history behind Joel Quenneville (969) and Bowman (1,244).

COACHING WINS

1,000: Quenneville, who was named coach of the Anaheim Ducks on May 8, hasn't coached in the NHL since 2021 but needs 31 wins to reach 1,000 victories. He's also fifth in games coached and needs 32 to reach 1,800.