Five breakable NHL records that previously seemed out of reach

Credit: Dec 17, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) checks Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) in the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

It’s getting real now. No one knew if the Washington Capitals‘ Alex Ovechkin would start this season the way he did last, when he coughed and wheezed his way to eight goals in 43 games, sparking debates on whether he’d fail in his quest to break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals.

Question, answered: ‘Ovi’ has already buried seven goals in his first 11 games this season. At 39 years old, he has pulled to within just 34 of tying Gretzky’s mark and within 35 of breaking it.

A decade ago, with offense league-wide floundering and most of us assuming Ovechkin would age like a mortal, it didn’t seem possible that anyone could touch the goals record. Just like it didn’t seem possible anyone could touch Gretzky’s record for assists in a single postseason, which Connor McDavid broke by three last spring. The season prior, we saw Phil Kessel break the ironman streak record, which was set by Keith Yandle nine months earlier when he broke the seemingly untouchable mark held by Doug Jarvis for 35 years.

With the sport evolving, we’re suddenly seeing milestones fall that previously seemed out of reach. Which other NHL records might end up eclipsed in the not-too-distant future?

Here’s a look at some records to watch. We’ll restrict this list to the regular-season.

Wayne Gretzky’s 894 goals…twice

Ovechkin is 35 goals away from the record and has 71 games remaining this season plus 82 more in 2025-26 left on his contract. It’s looking like a lock at this point if he stays healthy. But the discussion of the record doesn’t end there. Through 575 career games, the Toronto Maple Leaf s’ Auston Matthews has 373 goals, good for 0.65 goals per game. Ovechkin through 575 games: 347 goals, 0.60 per game. On one hand, Matthews hasn’t proven nearly as durable as Ovechkin, and we can’t overstate how much Ovechkin defied the aging curve, leading the league in goals four times after turning 30. On the other hand: Matthews reached 575 games at 27, the same age as Ovechkin. Matthews is legitimately 26 goals ahead of Ovechkin’s pace. It’s not inconceivable that Matthews’ goal total creeps into the 800s in 10 or 11 years. It’ll largely come down to health.

Tim Kerr’s 34 power play goals in 1985-86

We know this record is in jeopardy because the Edmonton Oilers‘ Leon Draisaitl almost broke it just two seasons ago, sniping 32 power-play goals in 2022-23. If you look at the top-25 seasons in NHL history for league-wide power play efficiency, each of the past eight seasons makes the cut. The overall skill level has never been higher in the sport, as evidenced by save percentages sitting below .900 this season, something that hasn’t happened over a full campaign since 1995-96. In other words: Draisaitl’s run at the record two years ago was no anomaly, and we should see plenty more legitimate challengers to Kerr. In this young NHL season, we already have multiple players pacing for 30-plus power play goals.

Mario Lemieux’s 80 power play points in 1987-88

The same logic behind Kerr’s record being vulnerable applies here, albeit it’s more of a long shot. Lemieux owns four of the top five single-season power-play point totals in NHL history, and the lone other player to crack the top five only got within nine points of Lemieux’s record. But it was McDavid who did so, and it happened just two seasons ago. McDavid is still young enough to have a couple more supernova seasons in him, and we know Draisaitl is signed to remain McDavid’s running mate in Edmonton for another eight years, so we should see plenty more seasons of robust Oiler power play production.

Phil Esposito & Michel Goulet’s 16 game-winning goals in one season

Yes, star forwards stayed on the ice more when Esposito (1970-71, 1971-72) and Goulet (1983-84) set the record, and goals were never more plentiful than during Goulet’s peak years. And yet: the Boston Bruins’ David Pastrnak got 13 just two seasons ago, and Matthews got 12 in just 52 games in the shortened 2020-21 season. We’re seeing the highest peak for superstar snipers since the early 1990s. Considering there’s been talk about stretching the regular season to 84 games in the next collective bargaining agreement, the odds of someone burying 17 game-winners might soon improve.

Scotty Bowman’s 2,141 games coached

No one will ever touch Bowman’s 1,244 wins or nine Stanley Cups. He’s the greatest coach in NHL history and in the discussion for the best in any sport, period. But Paul Maurice is a name to watch for the games record. He already sits second on the NHL’s all-time list at 1,862 and, because he got into the business so young, he’s quietly still just 57 years old, younger than 10 active NHL head coaches. Maurice will be 210 games back by the end of this season, meaning he’ll only need to coach another 2.5 seasons in the league to catch Bowman. Job security isn’t an issue given Maurice just led the Florida Panthers to their first Stanley Cup and signed a multi-year extension a couple weeks ago.

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