The NHL is phasing out of offseason mode and slowly moving into new season mode, with most players signed and 2022-23 training camps just weeks away.
As the minds of the hockey world turn to the season ahead, what defining moments should we have on our radar? This is shaping up to be a momentous year for the record books. Here are some benchmarks to watch in 2022-23.
Alex Ovechkin: 800 GOALS and 802 GOALS
Ovechkin continued to defy time during his 36-year season, becoming the third player in NHL history to record nine 50-goal campaigns, tying the record shared by Wayne Gretzky and the late Mike Bossy. During his 2022-23 goalscoring spree, ‘Ovie’ went from 730 to 780 career goals, overtaking Marcel Dionne (731), Brett Hull (741) and Jaromir Jagr (766) to finish the season at No. 3 all the time. ranking.
Only Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801) stand in the way of Ovechkin for Goal GOAT status, and he will almost certainly pass ‘Mr. Hockey’ this season. Ovechkin 20e goal of 2022-23 will make him the third-highest 800-goal scorer in hockey. Its 22n/a the goal will be no. 802 and will blow it past Howe. Gretzky’s mark will remain safe for at least two more seasons. Even in back-to-back 50-goal best-case efforts, Ovechkin’s 37- and 38-year-old would still leave him behind «The Great One» by 14 goals.
Phil Kessel: RECORD IRONMAN
Keith Yandle’s reign as the NHL’s all-time ironman will likely prove very short. He broke Doug Jarvis’ record of 964 in January and then, after being unceremoniously scratched by the Philadelphia Flyers for an April game, ended his streak at 989.
It came with Kessel chasing him – bolstered by a controversial ‘continuation’ of his own streak which occurred when he played a single shift in a game on March 9 before returning home for the birth of his son. He finished the season having played 982 consecutive matches, so he only needs eight more in a row to set the new Ironman standard – The Kessel Run, for you. star wars Fans. Kessel is currently unsigned but some teams will surely give him a chance to continue his career at 34. He’s still young enough to increase a team’s offense in a depth role. Expect him to find a team in the coming weeks and prepare to break Yandle’s mark this fall, health permitting.
Marc-André Fleury: 552 VICTORIES
Fleury’s decision to re-sign with the Minnesota Wild, a Stanley Cup contender at best and a strong playoff contender at worst, bodes well for his continued rise up the goaltending winning list. Fleury’s 520 victories rank him third all-time, 31 behind Patrick Roy for second. Could we get a 32-win campaign from «Flower»? He has a shot. He has nine seasons of 30 or more wins under his belt. Only one of them has come in the past five years, but that was partially the product of (a) sharing the net with Robin Lehner, a viable 1B in Vegas and (b) last season playing for a bad Chicago Blackhawks team over which victories were difficult. . to get With the Wild trading Cam Talbot to the Ottawa Senators, Fleury has his best grip on a starting job in years, so he has a real shot at winning 32 or more this season.
Steven Stamkos: 500 GOALS
Even just a few seasons ago, Stamkos’ career was slipping into ‘What Could Have Been’ status. Now, he’s firmly back on a Hall of Fame track. He stayed healthy enough to post a career-high 106 points last season, he’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion and he’s on course to join the 500-goal club in 2022-23. He’s at 481, so a 19-goal season would be enough to make him 47e member.
Patrice Bergeron, Steven Stamkos and Phil Kessel: 1,000 POINTS
Bergeron already punched his imaginary ticket to the Hall of Fame a long time ago. Winning a record fifth Selke Trophy last season pretty much won it. Still, adding the 1,000 points would give his resume a nice symmetry. If he had retired this summer, he would have left 982 points on the board. Why not go into four figures this season?
Bergeron only needs 18 points and will reach 1,000 with Stamkos, who only needs 28 points. Kessel could also reach 1,000 points with a 44-point season, which seems achievable based on his landing spot and role.
Other players who could reach 1,000 points this season if they have big years: Joe Pavelski (924) and Claude Giroux (923), who need 76 and 77 points respectively.
The Connor McDavid category
McDavid isn’t on track to hit a classic stat benchmark this season, but should still pull off some amazing feats. Last season he became the sixth fastest player to reach 1,000 points. With three points in his first nine games, he will also be the sixth-fastest at 700, and a 103-point season in Game 60 would see him pass Jarri Kurri to become the fifth Fastest to reach 800 points.
If McDavid wins the Art Ross Trophy this season, he will become the sixth player to do so five times and the second youngest to win five Art Ross Trophies, behind Gretzky.
The Austin Matthews category
Matthews’ torrid goal-scoring pace and back-to-back Rocket Richard Trophies put him in contention to join his own elite ‘fastest’ and ‘youngest’ company. He’s sitting at 259 goals in 407 games, so he’s likely to hit 300 this season. Depending on how many games it takes to get the No. 41 goals, Matthews could finish sixth (Teemu Selanne, 464) or seventh (Ovechkin, 473).
Aged 25 in September, Matthews would become one of four or five youngest to reach 300 goals, landing somewhere between Bossy (25 years, 60 days), Steve Yzerman (25, 176) and Ovechkin (25,200).
Joe Thornton: 1,780 GAMES
It’s more far-fetched than it looks. Thornton needs just 66 games to catch buddy Patrick Marleau for the all-time mark. But 66 years old is a big challenge for «Jumbo», 43 years old, who is hanging by a thread. He’s played in 78 games over the past two seasons combined and was a solid takeout for the Florida Panthers in the playoffs in all but one game last year. He’s more likely to retire than break Marleau’s record.
Other milestones to watch in 2022-23…
– Paul Maurice and Lindy Ruff: 800 coaching victories
– Patrick Kane and Evgeni Malkin: 1,200 points
– Phil Kessel and John Tavares: 400 goals
– John Tavares, Blake Wheeler and Corey Perry: 900 points
– Jaroslav Halak: 300 wins (Braden Holtby has 299 but is not expected to play this season)
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