10 staggering on-pace stats to track so far in 2025-26 NHL season

It’s a fun juncture in the NHL calendar for stat heads and milestone aficionados. With every team having played between 28 and 32 games, the sample sizes are meaningful. At the same time, it’s still early enough that we’re seeing some teams and individuals producing at torrid paces, threatening to accomplish historic things.

Who is on track for amazing feats so far in 2025-26? Let’s have some fun with on-pace numbers.

Can Avalanche become greatest regular-season team of all-time?

At 22-2-7, the Colorado Avalanche hold a points percentage of .823, which places them fifth in NHL history. But the top two teams, the 1929-30 Boston Bruins and 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens, played seasons of 44 and 50 games, respectively. The wins and points record belong to team with the No. 4 points percentage all-time: the 2022-23 Bruins, who went 65-12-5. The Avs must win 44 of their 51 remaining games to break the wins record. Because they have the seven overtime losses, they have a stronger shot at the points record of 135, needing 85, which would mean playing .833 hockey the rest of the way.

Schaefer’s historic rookie campaign

With 22 points in 32 games, Matthew Schaefer’s excellent pace of 56 points doesn’t put him on track to challenge Larry Murphy’s rookie defenseman record of 76, but Schaefer has a real shot at Brian Leetch’s freshman blueliner goals record of 23, currently tracking for 21. And Schaefer has been legendary relative to age; he’s already in the top 10 all-time for 18-year-old defensemen in points, he’s on pace to finish second at worst behind Phil Housley’s mark of 66, and Schaefer is on track to score the most goals of any 18-year-old defenseman ever. All while playing great all-around defense for the New York Islanders to boot.

Crosby keeps rewriting Old Man record book

With 32 points in 29 games, Sidney Crosby is on track to extend his own league record with a 21^st consecutive point-per-game season. He’s also in elite company among the 38-and-older crowd. His goal-scoring pace of 51 would give him the highest single-season total ever for his age bracket, and his points rate has him pacing for second behind Gordie Howe’s 103-point season, completed one day before he turned 41.

Can Makar finally reach the century mark?

Last year, Cale Makar became the second defenseman this century to tally 30 goals in a season. Can he join Erik Karlsson and become the century’s second 100-point blueliner? Makar’s pace through 31 games is 98. One of these years, he’ll do it.

Will Sabres’ futility streak plummet to new depths?

The Buffalo Sabres’ 14-year playoff drought is already the longest in NHL history, so they’ll only extend their record if they miss the dance a 15^th consecutive time in 2025-26. But they’ll creep closer to a worse humiliation: all-time major sports futility. The longest modern-era streak of playoff misses among the ‘Big Four’ North American sports belongs to Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners, who went 21 seasons before qualifying in 2022. In the NFL, the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills share the (post-merger) mark at 17 seasons, while the Sacramento Kings own the NBA’s mark at 16 seasons. The Sabres remain stagnant enough that none of these records feels safe. Talk about a stain on owner Terry Pegula’s resume.

Could the dream of 1,000 goals keep Ovechkin in the NHL?

Ovechkin has the all-time record, having leapfrogged Wayne Gretzky for 895 late last season. Ovechkin became the NHL’s first 900-goal scorer earlier this season. He’s 40, and his contract with the Washington Capitals ends after this season. It stands to reason he’ll head home to Russia and finish his iconic career with the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow, his hometown team…but what if Ovi’s 2025-26 goal total gets him within, say, two years of 1,000? He’s at 911 right now, with 14 goals in 31 games, showing us he’s still playing at a high level. What if he gets to 930 by season’s end? Or 940? Would the allure of 1,000 keep him in North America another season or two?

Celebrini, all-time legendary teenager?

So there’s no touching teenage Gretzky, who was a 164-point scorer. But Celebrini is tracking to become, at worst, the third-most productive teenager the NHL has ever seen, with a torrid point-scoring pace of 113. That would easily vault the San Jose Sharks’ budding superstar ahead of 19-year-old Jimmy Carson’s 107-point campaign from 1987-88, and Crosby’s 120 points in 2006-07 are well within reach.

Will Chychrun join the 30-goal club on ‘D’?

Mike Green buried 31 goals in 2008-09 and was the century’s only 30-goal defenseman until Makar joined him last season. Will the club expand to three? Jakob Chychrun is on pace for 29. And before you bet against his pace: Chychrun has quietly been one of the top goal-scoring rearguards in the game for a while now. Over the past seven seasons, only Makar and Roman Josi have bulged the twine more.

Wallstedt’s freshman season for the ages in net

Jesper Wallstedt, 23, leads the NHL in goals-against average and shutouts (update) as a rookie and sits second in save percentage. His current mark of .936 puts him north of Tony Esposito’s .932 in 1969-70, the highest ever by a rookie (min. 25 games played). That came in a full season, of course, so the odds of Wallstedt maintaining it are low – but if Wallstedt continues to play at an elite level, could he enter not just the Calder Trophy conversation, but also the Vezina conversation? The last rookie goalie to win the award was Ed Belfour in 1990-91. The question is whether Wallstedt can earn enough starts to warrant serious consideration.

McDavid remains Mr. 100

Gretzky’s 15 100-point seasons are the most in NHL history, trailed by Mario Lemieux’s 10. Connor McDavid is on track for a ninth 100-point campaign, which would pull him out of tie with Marcel Dionne and place McDavid alone in third. Also deserving props: Edmonton Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl, who this season should tie Mike Bossy and Peter Stastny in the top five with seven 100-point campaigns.

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