Alex Ovechkin, Other Stars Chase NHL Milestones In 2025-26 Season

Forbes

3 days ago

Alex Ovechkin celebrates after setting a new all-time record for NHL goals on April 6, 2025. (Photo ... More by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Last April, Alex Ovechkin made history when he surpassed Wayne Gretzky with 895 NHL goals. But that's not the end of the story. Turning 40 in September, Ovechkin has more NHL milestones in sight in the 2025-26 season.
The celebrations for those markers won't be as dramatic as the one we saw at UBS Arena on Apr. 6. But Ovechkin is just three goals away from becoming the first NHL player ever to score 900. He's nine games away from hitting 1,500. And he's 47 points away from passing Marcel Dionne to move into the top 10 all-time in total points combined in the regular season and playoffs.
Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux on opening night of the 2005-06 season (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty ... More Images)
In that category, he's second among active players behind his long-time rival, Sidney Crosby. Now at 1,888 combined regular-season and playoff points, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain is eight points away from passing his former teammate, landlord and current Penguins minority owner Mario Lemieux to move into seventh-place all-time and first in Pittsburgh franchise history.
With 1,687 regular-season points and counting, Crosby is also 37 points away from passing Lemieux to move into eighth-place all-time in that category.
Lemieux should maintain a firm grip on the Penguins' all-time goals record for at least one more season. At 690, he's 65 goals ahead of Crosby's 625 in that category.
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Here's what to watch in 2025-26 in some of the NHL's other key statistical categories:
NHL Milestones: Games Played
Officially, Ryan Suter is the NHL's active leader in games played at 1,526, which ranks him 19th all-time. The 40-year-old defender has 20 years under his belt and hasn't missed a regular-season game since the 2017-18 season. But Suter was scratched for two of the St. Louis Blues' first-round playoff games against the Winnipeg Jets last spring, and remains without a contract for the new season.
If Suter doesn't return, Brent Burns will become the league's longest-tenured player as he joins his fourth team, the Colorado Avalanche, for his 22nd NHL season. Burns is three games away from 1,500, when he'll pass Mike Modano to move into 23rd place all time. And as the league's reigning consecutive-games leader at 925 games, Burns could also succeed Phil Kessel as the second player ever to reach 1,000. He'll pass Keith Yandle to move into second place all-time in that category if he gets to 990 consecutive games this season.
Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar is also set to reach 1,500 games in 2025-26. He's currently at 1,454.
Kopitar's new teammate, Corey Perry is now eight games away from 1,400 and Crosby is 48 games away, while Jamie Benn (1,192) and John Tavares (1,184) are closing in on 1,200.
The 1,000-game threshold is always a cause for celebration. Players who should hit that milestone this season include Adam Henrique (993), Tyler Seguin (989), Nazem Kadri (985), Roman Josi (962) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (959) — who's set to be the first player from his 2011 draft class to reach the mark.
NHL Milestones: Goals
Look for Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers and Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars to score their 400th career goals early in the new season: they're both currently at 399.
In Boston, David Pastrnak sits at 391, tracking to easily eclipse 400 before he turns 30 next May. Connor McDavid should do the same. He turns 29 in January and currently has 361 goals, 39 away from 400.
Meanwhile, John Tavares (494) and Patrick Kane (492) are closing in on 500 goals and Steven Stamkos (582) needs 18 to get to 600. He's third among active players, behind only Ovechkin and Crosby.
NHL Milestones: Points
After becoming the fourth-fastest player to hit 1,000 career points last November, McDavid should crack 1,100 early in 2025-26. He ended last season at 1,082.
Ahead of him, Crosby needs 13 points to reach 1,700 while his teammate Evgeni Malkin needs 54 to get to 1,400. Kopitar also is 22 points away from 1,300 while Stamkos is 10 away from 1,200.
Closing in on the 1,000-point plateau, 2024-25 scoring champion Nikita Kucherov is now at 994. New Florida Panther and two-time Stanley Cup champ Brad Marchand sits at 980 points, and Draisaitl and Benn are both at 956.
NHL Milestones: Goaltending
With the retirement of Marc-Andre Fleury, two goalies now stand well above the rest in the key categories among active goaltenders. Jonathan Quick moves into first place as the NHL's active games-played leader at 804 games. Another two-time Cup winner, Sergei Bobrovsky, is second at 754 games but has the upper-hand in the win column: Bobrovsky has 429 victories compared to 404 for Quick.
The quest for new NHL milestones will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 7, when the 2025-26 season kicks off with the Florida Panthers raising their second Stanley Cup banner at Amerant Bank Arena before hosting the Chicago Blackhawks.