Two of the Nashville Predators' top moments last season featured captain Roman Josi and forward Steven Stamkos.
The first was Stamkos, who became the 22nd player in NHL history to score 600 goals
with his first-period power play goal against the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 31. It was a remarkable moment for Stamkos, whose first 555 career goals came with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and his Predators teammates appropriately celebrated the moment on the ice at T-Mobile Arena.Less than a month later, Josi skated in career game No. 1,000, becoming the first player to do so entirely with Nashville. As his teammates wore No. 59 jerseys on the ice during warmups, Josi was showered with praise before, during and after the game, a 5-3 win over the Ottawa
Senators on Jan. 22.
Both moments could be categorized as "when, not if" milestones going into last season. Stamkos needed just 18 goals to reach 600, Josi needed only 38 games to get to 1,000. But that hardly lessened the celebration.
While there's admittedly less impressive milestones ahead for Nashville this season, here are a few we could see unfold.
Filip Forsberg pushing for 400 goals
Filip Forsberg is already the Predators' all-time leading scorer with 358 goals. Reaching the 400-goal mark would require a 42-goal season, something he has done twice in his career (2021-22 and 2023-24). As long as Forsberg sticks with Ryan O'Reilly on the top line, he has a good chance to get there.
Reaching 400 goals would also solidify Forsberg's legacy among Swedish NHL players. Only two other Swedish-born players have reached the 400-goal mark: Mats Sundin (564) and Daniel Alfredsson (444).
More career goal marks for Steven Stamkos
Unsurprisingly, Stamkos has more milestones ahead. With 624 goals, he continues to climb the all-time goal-scoring list. Here's who he could pass this season, and how many goals he needs to do so:
- Two goals to pass Jarome Iginla and Joe Sakic (625 goals)
- 17 goals to pass Dave Andreychuk (640 goals)
- 33 goals to pass Brendan Shanahan (656 goals)
- 45 goals to pass Luc Robitaille (668 goals)
Also, with eight power play goals, Stamkos would become the fifth player ever to reach 250 career power play goals.
Juuse Saros nears win No. 250
Goaltender Juuse Saros is no longer an annual Vezina Trophy candidate, but he's still a workhorse for Nashville. He needs just 20 wins to reach the 250-win mark, something only 67 other goaltenders have done in NHL history.
That should be manageable for Saros, who has won at least 20 games each season since becoming the full-time starter in 2021.
Other milestones to watch for include O'Reilly reaching 900 points (needs two); Josi reaching 600 assists (needs 24); defenseman Nicolas Hague reaching 500 games played (needs 74); and Jonathan Marchessault reaching 300 career goals (needs 37).
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com, follow him on X at@alexdaugherty1 or check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Milestones ahead? Some Predators pushing for career moments this season
