2023-24 NHL Milestone Watch: Crosby, Fleury to climb prestigious leaderboards

Credit: Sidney Crosby (© Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

Will Phil the Thrill Kessel soon skate off into the sunset, hot dogs and Stanley Cup rings in hand? It remains to be seen if the veteran right winger will get scooped up for one more ride this NHL season. He’s tried to make himself easier to sign by indicating he’s willing to halt his NHL record ironman streak, which sits at 1,064 games.

Kessel broke the record early last season when he played in a 990^th consecutive contest, eclipsing Keith Yandle’s mark. It was a foregone conclusion that Kessel would do so, so it was probably the most anticipated milestone entering 2022-23. Many others fell last season, however. Alex Ovechkin blew past the 800-goal mark and jumped Gordie Howe to claim second place on the all-time goals list. Steven Stamkos crossed the 500-goal and 1,000-point threshold.

What about 2023-24? Which major individual milestones should we watch for?

The Connor McDavid Category

The normal rules of milestone trajectories don’t really apply for No. 97. Case in point: he’s 150 points away from reaching 1,000 for his career. He’s the only player in three decades who is a realistic bet to cover that much ground in one season. He had 153 in 2022-23, after all. If McDavid reaches 1,000 points this season, it will mean doing so in 651 games or fewer. That would tuck him inside Mike Bossy (656) to become the third-fastest player to reach 1,000, trailing only Wayne Gretzky (424 games, LOL) and Mario Lemieux (513 games).

McDavid could also set some milestones depending on which hardware he takes home for 2023-24. An Art Ross Trophy would be his sixth and place him alongside Gretzky, Lemieux and Gordie Howe as the only players to win the scoring title that many times. A Hart Trophy would make McDavid just the fourth player to win four MVPs.

The Sidney Crosby Category

Crosby sits at 1,502 career points, 89 away from surpassing Phil Esposito for 10^th on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. Also, should Crosby rack up 52 assists this season, he’ll become just the 14^th player ever with 1,000 helpers. He still has meat on the bone to get to both those milestones, but Crosby has (a) Has scored at better than an 89-point pace in 17 of his 18 seasons and (b) eclipsed 52 assists in each of his past four non-shortened seasons. He he continues to play borderline elite hockey at 36 years young. Also: if Crosby manages to defy the laws of aging enough for a 98-point season, he’ll reach 1,600 career points.

One more for you: Crosby’s 18 seasons averaging a point per game or better place him second all-time. If he averages a point per game in 2023-24, he’ll match Gretzky for the most ever at 19. No player has ever recorded 20 seasons at a point per game.

Marc-Andre Fleury: 552 WINS (2^nd all-time)

‘Flower’ appeared on the Milestone Watch a year ago for his pursuit of this same number, but he didn’t quite reach it after falling into a timeshare with breakout teammate Filip Gustavsson. Fleury sits at 544 victories and needs just eight to leapfrog Patrick Roy for second-all time on the goaltender leaderboard. Fleury won’t be denied a Hall of Fame call after his career wraps up.

Alex Ovechkin: 1,500 POINTS

It’s remarkable that, 18 seasons into their generationally awesome careers, Ovechkin and Crosby are separated by just 17 points. That’s less than a point per season! Crosby surpassed the 1,500-point barrier last season, and Ovechkin needs just 16 to get there in 2023-24. He’ll become the 16^th NHLer to get there.

As for the goals chase: Gretzky’s all-time mark of 894 is well within reach at this point, but Alexander the GR8 won’t beat it in 2023-24. He sits at 822, meaning he’s 73 away from breaking the record. Next season is a genuinely realistic target, though. Astounding.

Evgeni Malkin: 500 GOALS

I’ll beat this point into the ground every chance I get: Evgeni. Malkin. Was. Not. Included. On. The. NHL’s. Top. 100. Players. Of. All. Time. List. In. 2017. The man has two scoring titles, an MVP, a Calder Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy, three Stanley Cup rings, more than 1,200 points…and he may tick the 500-goal box in 2023-24. Can ‘Geno’ muster up 29 goals? It’ll be close. He had 27 last year during an uncharacteristically healthy season in which he played all 82 games. He hasn’t reached 29 since 2017-18, but he’s scored at a 29-goal pace or better in seven of his past 10 seasons. At worst, he’ll get there early next season.

Phil Kessel and John Tavares: 1,000 POINTS

Kessel has his ironman streak but could add another meaningful milestone if some NHL team gives him a look this season. At 992 points, Kessel needs just eight for 1,000. Meanwhile, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Tavares sits at 975 points, just 25 away.

Other milestones to watch in 2023-24

– Anze Kopitar: 400 goals
– Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov + many others: 300 goals
– Frederik Andersen and Andrei Vasilevskiy: 300 wins
– Peter Laviolette: 800 coaching wins
– Lindy Ruff: 850 coaching wins (would make him fourth all-time)

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