Nathan MacKinnon always jokes about how he would have hit certain milestones sooner if he hadn’t had a bit of a slower start to his career. That slow start seems like ancient history now, because he’s been an elite player for about seven seasons now. Given how the last two seasons of his career have been his best, it would seem likely that he’ll join some elite company next season.
MacKinnon currently sits at 127th in the NHL record books with 899 points in 791 games. There’s a very real chance he moves into the top 100 with similar numbers to what he’s produced the last two years. Coming off 140 and 111 point seasons, he needs just 101 points to hit the 1,000 point marker in his career. As of right now, only 98 players have hit that number in NHL history.
He probably won’t be the only player to accomplish that feat next season, as Connor McDavid needs just 18 points to get there. Given how that guy can score in bunches, he might hit 1,000 points by the end of October.
The Avalanche superstar is also likely to move past Michel Goulet to become the third highest scoring player in franchise history. Goulet picked up 946 points in 816 games with the franchise, and MacKinnon needs just 47 points to tie him. If he does pick up those 101 points, he’ll become just the third player in franchise history to score 1,000 points in an Avalanche or Nordiques jersey, joining Joe Sakic and Peter Stastny. Not bad company to join at all.
He’s also likely to crack the top 100 in assists at some point next season. He currently has 564 in his career, and Glenn Anderson sits at 100 right now, as he finished his career with 601 assists. MacKinnon has combined for 158 assists over the last two seasons, so yes, I’d say he’s got a pretty good shot at getting there. If he continues at the same pace he has the last two seasons, he could enter the top 50 in points and assists by the end of the 2025-26 season.
Not bad for a guy who still has plenty of years left in him. Like a lot of players around the league, MacKinnon takes care of his body, and he’s someone who thinks that the prime of an NHL players career is likely to last longer these days because of that.
With seven years left on his current contract, Avalanche fans will likely witness him passing a lot NHL greats in the record books before his career comes to an end.
