THN.com/podcast. From THN On The 'Dub': WHL's Surprise Risers and Fallers at the NHL Draft Phil Kessel [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwMTkwNzg1MjE0MjI3ODMy/usatsi_20491308_168400847_lowres.jpg] Phil Kessel Last season, Steven Stamkos, Patrice Bergeron, Claude Giroux, and Joe Pavelski all hit 1,000 career points. They were the 2022-23 milestone men. This season, another cohort of players is approaching career milestones that deserve celebration. Whether it’s points, goals, wins, penalty minutes or games played, the list of NHL players aiming to achieve a career moment in 2023-24 is long and star studded. Here’s a look at some of the potential milestones to be reached and surpassed this coming season. WHO WILL HIT 1,000 POINTS? No one is closer than Phil Kessel, but perhaps no one is farther than Phil Kessel from perhaps the most significant career milestone any player can hit. Kessel sits only eight points shy at 992 after scoring 36 points last season for the Vegas Golden Knights and winning his third career Stanley Cup. Kessel however, is the only player in range of 1,000 points who is currently unsigned. Fans will want to see ‘Phil the Thrill’ hit the milestone, which he certainly will if an NHL team takes him on. Without Kessel signed, the player certain to hit 1,000 points first during the 2023-24 NHL season is Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares who currently sits 25 points away at 975. It’s a milestone only six players have ever accomplished while wearing a Maple Leafs’ jersey. Tavares will likely join this group of Doug Gilmour, Mats Sundin, Alexander Mogilny, Norm Ullman, Larry Murphy and Glenn Anderson before the calendar turns to 2024. Mogilny was the last to achieve the mark for the Leafs in March 2004. Barring a miracle season from Blake Wheeler, finding the form he had several seasons ago, the 36-year-old who needs 78 points this season likely won’t eclipse the 1,000-point mark this year. Wheeler is signed to a one-year $800,000 contract with the New York Rangers this season. That leaves only one other player in range. And also, that range is a massive 150 points out. If anyone can compile that total, it’s the best player on the planet, Connor McDavid. McDavid enters this season with 850 career points, all in an Edmonton Oilers uniform. For an average mortal, 150 points would seem outrageous, but for McDavid, who notched 153 last season, anything is possible. MARCHAND COULD HIT A QUADRUPLE MARK Without Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, things will not be easy this season for Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand. That said, the Bruins still have plenty of firepower, and Marchand has four milestones within range, three of which he’s almost certain to hit. First, Marchand is only 10 assists away from 500 and 27 penalty minutes from 1,000 in his pesky career. If he stays healthy, Marchand will also eclipse 1,000 career games, as he currently sits only 53 games shy of the mark. Finally, Marchand is 28 goals shy of 400. Last season, Marchand saw his goal total slip to 21. He could easily rebound from that total, his first in eight years of not hitting at least 28 goals, and have a quadruple-milestone campaign. FLEURY CONTINUES TO CLIMB THE ALL-TIME LADDER Marc Andre Fleury already sits fourth all-time among NHL goalies in games played. If the 38-year-old who played 46 games last season appears in 15 more, he’ll also become only the fourth goalie in NHL history to ever play 1,000 games. If he can duplicate his starts total from last year, Fleury would also pass Patrik Roy into third all-time in games played by a goalie, breaking Roy’s 1,029-game mark. It’s not the only total Fleury is threatening to leapfrog of Roy’s, either. Should Fleury win a very achievable eight games this year, he’d pass Roy into second all-time in wins by an NHL netminder. WILL THERE BE A 500-GOAL SCORER THIS SEASON? Scoring 500 career goals is becoming more rare. Currently, only three active NHL players – Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and Steven Stamkos – have surpassed the mark. Only one player in the NHL has a chance to join that club this season, and that player is Evgeni Malkin. Considering the 37-year-old scored 27 goals last season, it’s not out of reach for Malkin to hit the 500-goal mark this season. He currently sits at 471. OTHER MILESTONES SET TO BE ATTAINED Beyond this group, dozens of NHL players are expected to hit significant career milestones this season. Ryan O’Reilly is only nine games shy of 1,000 and will likely hit the mark in a Nashville Predators uniform instead of a Leafs jersey as many in Toronto had hoped. Beyond O’Reilly and Fleury, there’s a long list of players who could and should crack the 1,000-game plateau this season if they remain healthy. That list includes Kyle Okposo (984), Matt Duchene (976), Victor Hedman (974), T.J. Oshie (958), Lars Eller (954), Alex Pietrangelo (952), Brad Marchand (947), Jordan Eberle (940), James Van Riemsdyk (940), Anton Stralman (938), Luke Schenn (933), Jeff Skinner (932), Nick Leddy (929), Logan Couture (927), and John Carlson (927). Erik Karlsson and Erik Johnson will both need almost perfect health, as each needs 80 games to hit 1,000. and Tyler Myers would need to play all 82 games. Karlsson has another milestone to be toppled, which is hitting 600 career assists. He needs 17, which, given his output last year, shouldn’t take long. Another offensive defender closing in on the same mark is Brent Burns, who needs only seven helpers to hit 600. While 1,000 penalty-minute players used to be a dime a dozen, it’s becoming more of a rarity as the age of the enforcer is fading away. Marchand is the closest, but he could be beat to the punch by Patrick Maroon, who led the NHL last season with 150 penalty minutes. Maroon sits 70 minutes from the mark.
