Nine NHL franchise records that could be broken in 2024-25
There’s something fascinating about watching a player chase a record. It always feels like we’re witnessing greatness right in front of us, something that has been all the more relevant while watching Alex Ovechkin pursue Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal total.
Records confined to just one franchise also have a distinct fascination to me. While they aren’t as flashy as all-time records, franchise records help us appreciate what a players has done for a specific team and the city they play in.
Since franchise records aren’t talked about as much, I figured I’d take a look at all 32 teams and try to find some records to keep an eye on this season as it plays out. I’ll only be looking at the big records, which means it’s just goals, assists and points for skaters and wins for goaltenders, and I’ll also only be looking at records that aren’t held by players still playing for the team (ie. there’s no point in talking about Filip Forsberg being 81 points away from the Nashville Predators’ points record when it’s held by Roman Josi). Also, the Utah Hockey Club will be excluded from this discussion, as they’ve been given a “clean slate” for franchise records, so every player on the roster this year is in play for those records.
Anaheim Ducks – Most Wins
Likely Candidate: John Gibson
Current Record: 206 (held by Jean-Sebastien Giguere)
Gibson’s Career Totals: 193 (13 away)
Gibson’s career with the Ducks started off strongly, but over the past five seasons, it almost feels like it’s been withering away. That hasn’t been helped by the Ducks’ lack of success during this span, but Gibson has been far removed from the goaltender he was in the beginning. That’s why it may seem like a surprise that he’s as close as he is to the wins record in Anaheim, especially when the player ahead of him is one of Giguere’s quality and legacy with the team. Gibson has already played 30 more games than Giguere, so that plays a big part in it, but Gibson also had a five-year stretch where he was good for at least 20 wins a season. He had exactly 13 last season, so perhaps thinking 14 is easily achievable might be setting expectations a bit too high, but it’s certainly a possibility.
Columbus Blue Jackets – Most Assists
Likely Candidate: Zach Werenski
Current Record: 258 (held by Rick Nash)
Werenski’s Career Totals: 212 (46 away)
Werenski has put together a solid career for himself with the Blue Jackets and is already quite easily the best defenseman to play for the franchise. For a team that is still in its mid-20s, it shouldn’t be surprising that Columbus’ franchise records aren’t sky-high, so even as Werenski enters just his ninth season with the team, he’s quite close to surpassing the current franchise record for assists. That said, this might be the closest thing to a long shot on this list, considering he needs 47 and his total of 46 last season was a career high. That said, if he stays healthy all season, there’s a good chance it can happen.
Pittsburgh Penguins – Most Assists
Likely Candidate: Sidney Crosby
Current Record: 1,033 (held by Mario Lemieux)
Crosby’s Career Totals: 1,004 (30 away)
Now here’s a real record. While Crosby is still 98 goals and 127 points behind Lemieux for those respective Penguins’ franchise records, the assist record is well within reach, as Crosby needs just 30 to get there. That should be easy to reach, as there’s been only one season in his 19-season career where he hasn’t hit 30 assists, and that’s when he played just 22 games in 2011-12 due to his concussion – and he still had 29 that year. 127 points is also not unrealistic for a player of Crosby’s caliber, but he’s hit the 100-point mark only six times in his career, and only once reached 120, so we probably shouldn’t expect that from him at 37. No worries, with a two-year extension announced earlier this week, the goal and point totals should be his by the time that contract expires.
St. Louis Blues – Most Wins
Likely Candidate: Jordan Binnington
Current Record: 151 (held by Mike Liut)
Binington’s Career Totals: 145 (6 away)
If there’s any franchise record that feels like a guarantee to be broken this season, it’s this one. While Binnington is still third on the Blues’ all-time wins list, he’s just three wins behind Jake Allen for second and another three behind Liut for the record. Considering the fact that Binnington’s fewest wins in a season is 18, he should easily get there, and with the Blues playing 11 games in October (and only one back-to-back), there’s even a chance that he breaks the record before the end of the first month of the season. Say what you will about his chaotic career both on and off the ice, but it is fitting that the goaltender who backstopped the Blues to their only Stanley Cup in franchise history becomes their winningest goaltender.
Tampa Bay Lightning – Most Assists
Likely Candidates: Victor Hedman | Nikita Kucherov
Current Record: 588 (held by Martin St. Louis)
Hedman/Kucherov’s Career Totals: 572 (16 away) | 553 (35 away)
Steven Stamkos nearly had the hat trick of franchise records. While he already has the most goals by more than 150 and the most points by almost 200, Stamkos halted his Lightning career with 582 assists, just six shy of St. Louis’ record. With his departure to the Predators, that opens the door for Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov to take that spot. Hedman is closer to achieving the record and might even reach it first since he just needs 16 to get there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Kucherov is the one that holds the record by the end of the year. He would need to get 20 more assists than Hedman to do so, which is something he’s done thrice in his career, including the past two seasons. Kucherov is still several seasons away from breaking Stamkos’ goals and points record, but he and Hedman are well within reach of the most assists this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs – Most Goals
Likely Candidate: Auston Matthews
Current Record: 420 (held by Mats Sundin)
Matthews’ Career Totals: 368 (52 away)
I almost didn’t include Matthews because expecting a player to score 53 goals just feels insane. But, we’re talking about a player who just scored 69 last season, and he has actually been scoring at a pace of 53 goals per 82 games over the course of his entire career, so if there’s anyone that we can expect to score 53 in a season right now, it’s Matthews. Injuries will always be a concern with him, but even in his 60-goal season in 2021-22, he only needed 73 games to get there. Even if it takes Matthews all 82 games to get the 53 goals, he’ll still achieve the feat in less than two-thirds of the time it took Sundin.
Vegas Golden Knights – Most Assists/Most Points
Likely Candidates: Shea Theodore | William Karlsson
Current Record: 225 | 417 (both held by Jonathan Marchessault)
Theodore/Karlsson’s Career Totals: 223 assists (2 away) | 215 assists (10 away), 367 points (50 away)
Much like the Lightning, the Golden Knights also find themselves with a wide open playing field in terms of franchise records now that Marchessault has left for Nashville. The winger made an impact during his time with Vegas and as a result holds all three franchise records at the moment. However, all three are much closer to being broken than Stamkos’, especially assists and points. For assists, the Golden Knights have two players within 10 of the record, with Theodore only needing three to break the record. Heck, Mark Stone is 58 assists back of it himself, and while he’s never had more 42 in a season, that’s not an outrageous mark to hit in one season. As for points, Karlsson needs just 51 to take the record, which is a total he’s hit every time he’s played at least 70 games for Vegas. Even for goals, Karlsson is only 40 behind, but considering that he’s hit that mark just once in his career, and only just hit 30 for the second time in his career last year, that will probably happen next season.
Winnipeg Jets – Most Goals
Likely Candidate: Mark Scheifele
Current Record: 328 (held by Ilya Kovalchuk)
Scheifele’s Career Totals: 297 (31 away)
Ah, the beauty of relocated franchises. The Jets’ first draft pick since returning to Winnipeg has an opportunity to break the record for most goals in a season, which is currently held by a player that never wore a Jets jersey, as Kovalchuk’s time predates the relocation during the franchise’s time as the Atlanta Thrashers. While you can make a case that Kovalchuk is still the most skilled player to play for this franchise (he does have the record in 203 fewer games than Scheifele has currently played), it feels more fitting that Scheifele should hold the record considering the impact he’s had on the team. His goal-scoring is a bit inconsistent, so 31 goals might actually still not be possible this season, but he has usually hit the mark when he’s been healthy. He also sits 95 points behind Blake Wheeler’s points record, something that wouldn’t be outrageous to hit in a season, but considering that Scheifele has only hit 80 points twice with a career high of 84 points, that will probably wait until next season.
_____