PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby could set a couple major milestones during the 2023-24 NHL season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar and automatic Hall of Famer has a great shot at entering the top 10 on the NHL's all-time points leaders list this season, while also surpassing 1,000 assists for his career.
"Sidney Crosby, right now, is 15th on the NHL's all-time scoring list," notes Hunter Hodies of Locked on Penguins. "He's 17 points ahead of (Washington Capitals superstar winger) Alex Ovechkin and he's played about 150 games less. That's how good he's been."
Directly in front of him on the all-time list sits two fellow Penguins' legends, and a pair of Boston Bruins' legends, all of whom Crosby could pass this season.
Here's a look at the players directly ahead of Crosby on the list:
10. Phil Esposito - 1,590
11. Ray Bourque - 1,579
12. Joe Thornton - 1,539
13. Mark Recchi - 1,533
14. Paul Coffey - 1,531
15. Sidney Crosby - 1,502
Crosby, therefore, needs 89 points in order to pass Esposito and take sole possession of 10th on the all-time list.
That's a point per game pace of 1.08 over a full 82-game season, one year after recording 1.13 (93 total).
That seems totally doable for Crosby, who also only needs 48 assists to reach the 1,000 mark. Again, totally doable considering he hit 60 last season.
Health, of course, is a consideration, and playing a full 82 games at age 36 is no sure thing. It's important to note Crosby would already be much higher than 10th on the list had he not been limited to 41 games in 2010-11 and only 22 in 2011-12 due to injury, not to mention the lockout shortened season in 2013.
At any rate, here he stands, likely to hit these marks in 2023-24.
Whether he will be able to catch other Penguins legends like Mario Lemieux (1,723) or Ron Francis (5th place at 1,798) remains to be seen.