DENVER — It does not seem to matter which milestone he reaches or which summit he climbs—Nathan MacKinnon carries himself with a quiet, almost disarming humility. He is a player who never assumed he would reach these heights, and on Monday night’s 6–1 win over the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena, he added his name to one of the NHL’s most exclusive lists, becoming just the 114th player in league history to score 400 career goals. In more than a century of hockey at its highest level, fewer than 9,000 individuals have ever appeared in an NHL game. Of them, only 114 have reached the 400-goal mark—a distinction that places MacKinnon in a group representing just over one percent of all players in league history. Nathan MacKinnon addresses the media after making history once again at Ball Arena. MACKINNON’S RISE TO SUPERSTARDOM MacKinnon was selected first overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, just weeks after helping lead the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads to their first Memorial Cup championship. Despite missing time during the tournament, he finished as its leading scorer, recording seven goals and six assists in four games. Despite entering the league amid tremendous fanfare, MacKinnon’s first four NHL seasons were far from earth-shattering. He wasn’t bad—he was solid—but he averaged roughly 52 points per season, a performance that was respectable yet unremarkable for a first overall pick. But MacKinnon grew restless with being average. He didn’t want to be good—he wanted to be super human. And MacKinnon has done exactly that. Over the past nine seasons, he has risen to the upper echelon of NHL stardom, transforming from a player who struggled to reach a point-per-game pace into one of the league’s most consistent and prolific scorers, averaging over a point per game since the 2017–18 season. He is a Stanley Cup champion, having hoisted hockey’s ultimate prize with the Avalanche in 2022, and he has been recognized individually as well: the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the league’s most valuable player, and the Ted Lindsay Award, voted on by his fellow players as the NHL’s most outstanding performer. And yet, even with a championship, league-wide honors, and a resume most players can only dream of, MacKinnon remains insatiable—hungry for more, driven by a desire to push past every milestone, every expectation, and redefine what is possible on the ice. THE BRAINS BEHIND THE RESURGENCE Marcin Goszczynski has been a key force behind MacKinnon’s relentless drive, guiding, challenging, and pushing him to elevate both his game—and his body—to new heights. The 43-year-old is a performance and rehabilitation specialist who uses a blend of techniques to mobilize soft tissue, accelerate recovery, and help elite athletes perform at their peak. His roster of clients reads like a who’s who of professional sport. Alongside MacKinnon and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, Goszczynski helped a five-time major singles tennis champion overcome chronic shoulder issues in 2019, enabling her to mount one final competitive run before retirement. He has also worked with Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse, who would go on to claim two Olympic gold medals. By now, it’s clear that MacKinnon is the kind of player who prefers the spotlight to shine anywhere but on him. So when The Hockey News asked him—given that he never expected to reach this level of production early in his career—to name some of the inspirational figures who have helped him get to this point, he seemed momentarily taken aback. After a pause, Goszczynski was the first person to come to mind. “There’s been a few people who have inspired me. The guy who’s with me every day, Marcin (Goszczynski), who gets my body going,” MacKinnon stated. “We do a lot of different, weird things together. I think he’s been the biggest thing for my career.” “Obviously, there’s a lot of people—my parents, my sports psychologist, my wife (Charlotte), a lot of people. Like you said, I really didn’t ever expect to be here, but it’s fun, and obviously, I’m just trying to be the best player I can for this team. We got a Cup three years ago, and it’d be nice to get another one.” ANOTHER STANLEY CUP RUN?! With the Avalanche became the first NHL team to reach 30 wins this season, marking the third time in the past six campaigns that the Avalanche were the fastest team to hit the milestone (also in 2020–21 and 2021–22). Historically, the fastest teams to reach 30 wins in NHL history are: * 35 games — 1929–30 Boston Bruins * 38 games — 2022–23 Boston Bruins * 38 games — 1944–45 Montreal Canadiens * 39 games — 2025–26 Colorado Avalanche * 39 games — 2012–13 Chicago Blackhawks * 39 games — 2018–19 Tampa Bay Lightning Statistically speaking, the Avalanche we’ve had the privilege of covering this season are one of the most dominant teams in the last century of the NHL. And considering how much faster the game has become, and how more skilled and versatile players are in every facet of play, their performance is all the more astounding—especially given the caliber of every player who steps onto the ice. And MacKinnon isn’t just on pace for the best season of his career—he’s on pace for one of the most remarkable seasons in modern NHL history. The 30-year-old center projects to finish with 72 goals and 76 assists for 147 points. No player has scored 70 or more goals in a season in more than three decades. The last to do it were Hockey Hall of Famers Alexander Mogilny and Teemu Selänne, who each scored 76 goals for the Buffalo Sabres and the original Winnipeg Jets, respectively, during the 1992–93 season. Nathan MacKinnon is delivering once-in-a-generation hockey, and even amid historic dominance, his eyes are fixed on one goal: winning another championship for the Avalanche. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/8f0d3358-64a8-476b-9e17-792da948baf1.jpeg]
