NHL milestones to watch: Iron man Brent Burns nears history

The NHL’s iron man record could change hands for a third time in five years. But this time the record could be permanent.

Brent Burns is back for a 23rd season and could become the NHL’s new record holder for consecutive games played in mid-February. The record currently belongs to Phil Kessel, whose streak of 1,064 ended in April of 2023.

If he does it, Burns should have a hold on the record for much longer, as no other active players are particularly close to him. Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki is second to Burns among active players, but he is barely halfway to the record with only 537 consecutive games played. No other active player is even at 500 games.

That’s just one of many milestones and records that could be hit this upcoming season. Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid can both cement themselves in extremely exclusive groups with another impressive year, while Sergei Bobrovsky and Connor Hellebuyck will both try to reach big milestones between the pipes.

Before the puck drops on another season, here are some milestones and records to watch out for.

Brent Burns: 58 games from setting new iron man record

Brent Burns hasn’t missed a game in 13 years and he needs to play in just 58 more to stand alone as the NHL’s iron man.

Burns was 28 when he missed 13 games in October and November of 2013 with a mouth injury, and since returning to the San Jose Sharks lineup on Nov. 21, 2013, he has suited up for 1,007 consecutive games. The streak survived two seasons impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a reduced role as Burns moved to the Hurricanes and then the Avalanche last season.

The now 41-year-old Burns is not the Norris Trophy candidate he was in his prime, but he still made an impact for the Avalanche last season with 12 goals, 35 points and a plus-33 rating in just under 19 minutes of ice time per game.

If he can stay in the lineup, Burns will break Kessel’s record on Feb. 15 at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets. For his part, head coach Jared Bednar says he won’t get in the way of Burns’ pursuit of the record.

“I’m not going to be the guy that breaks that streak. I’ve got way too much respect for (Burns), for what he’s done in his career and for what he’s doing for us on a daily basis,” Bednar said on Friday. “He’s proven to me that he deserves to be in our lineup.”

On top of the iron man record, Burns is also closing in on the top-10 of scoring by defencemen. He needs just 10 more points to pass Hall of Famer Chris Chelios for 10th all-time.

Sidney Crosby: Top five in all-time scoring

Sidney Crosby is now 39 and his career is closer to the end than the beginning, but there is still time to appreciate his greatness. And this season should provide plenty of reason to celebrate Crosby as he keeps climbing the NHL’s scoring list.

Crosby enters the season seventh all-time with 1,761 points and needs just 37 more to surpass Ron Francis for fifth. That should be doable, as 37 points is also the fewest Crosby has ever recorded in a season, which he did in just 22 games back in 2011-12. That was at a time when concussions upended Crosby’s career, costing him nearly two full seasons of his early prime. We’ll never know how many more points he would have had without those injuries.

Next on the list after Francis is Gordie Howe, whose 1,850 points are 89 more than Crosby’s current total. Crosby finished last season with 74 points but broke 90 in the three years before that, so he could get there this season if things click just right.

Looking even further ahead, Crosby begins the season only 239 points from becoming the NHL’s second 2,000-point player. He was asked about all these looming milestones during a recent appearance on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast and didn’t completely rule out the pursuit.

“Some work to do if I want to get there,” Crosby said with a chuckle. “Three pretty good seasons. That’d be nice. That’d be a nice number, but that feels so far away. That being said, I’m not gonna shut the door on that possibility. I think it’s good to be motivated. It’s good to have goals and milestones that you’d like to hit.”

Crosby isn’t the only future Hall of Famer looking to climb the all-time scoring list this season. Alex Ovechkin, already the NHL’s goal-scoring king, enters the season with 1,687 points, and he can pass Mario Lemieux for ninth all-time with 37 more. Meanwhile, Crosby’s longtime teammate Evgeni Malkin and Blackhawks legend Patrick Kane can both crack the top 20, a slot currently held by Adam Oates with 1,420 points. Malkin needs 13 more points to do it, while Kane needs 20.

Connor McDavid: 10 seasons with at least 100 points

Anytime a player can join a list that only includes Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux is notable, and McDavid can do just that this season.

If he reaches the century mark again, the Edmonton Oilers captain will become just the third player ever to have 10 seasons with at least 100 points. Lemieux did it 10 times and Gretzky a whopping 15.

This will be just McDavid’s 12th season in the NHL. The only times he hasn’t hit 100 points were in his rookie season, derailed by a fractured clavicle, and in the 2019-20 campaign when he had 97 points before the pandemic ended play early.

McDavid has led the NHL in scoring six times in his career, including last season when he had 138 points for his second-most ever. His 1,220 career points already have him 47th all-time, and with another 100 this season he could jump up nine more slots.

McDavid will turn 30 in January, so he has plenty of prime years left to keep piling up points.

Sergei Bobrovsky: Top five in wins

Sergei Bobrovsky has a lot to prove this season as he lands in Toronto after a split with the Panthers. Now 38, the Maple Leafs are counting on Bobrovsky to be the ace No. 1 starter who led the Panthers to two Stanley Cup wins.

If Bobrovsky puts together another elite season, he will officially move into the top-five for goaltender wins. He enters the season with 459 wins and can surpass Ed Belfour with 29 more.

To do that, Bobrovsky will need one more win than the 28 he had last season as the Panthers battled injuries and missed the playoffs. Bobrovsky will reunite with backup Anthony Stolarz, whose injury history could impact how much the two share the net. If the Maple Leafs successfully return to the playoffs this year, getting at least 29 wins from Bobrovsky isn’t out of the question.

If he catches Belfour, Bobrovsky would trail only Roberto Luongo (489), Patrick Roy (551), Marc-Andre Fleury (575) and Martin Brodeur (691) on the wins list. Next season, he should be in a good position to pass Luongo and possibly become just the fourth goalie ever to win 500 games.

Connor Hellebuyck: 50 shutouts

Connor Hellebuyck is just five shutouts away from becoming the 33rd goalie to have 50 clean sheets. However, he is coming off a season in which he posted zero shutouts across 57 starts as the Jets went from Presidents’ Trophy winners to out of the playoffs.

The 33-year-old made headlines this summer as his name circled in trade rumours, and he confirmed in late August that he has asked for a trade. If he is moved to a contender, he would — in theory — be playing behind a strong defence corps and be motivated to return to the level of play that helped him win three Vezina Trophies. That could be the edge he needs to start posting more shutouts.

Hellebuyck has recorded at least five shutouts four times in his career, most recently in 2023-24 when he had five on the way to winning the Hart Trophy. Time will tell if Hellebuyck can rediscover that form and hit this milestone this season. And which team he will do it with.