While the NHL is a league built on teamwork and cohesion between the 20 skaters on the bench, marking individual accomplishments and milestones is equally important. For the Carolina Hurricanes, several players are approaching milestones for games, goals, assists, or points. For two players, we could see organization and team marks surpassed.
Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho are among the Hurricanes' most tenured players. Staal is heading into his 20th NHL season and his 14th as a Hurricane, while Aho will celebrate a decade this year, all with Carolina. With plenty of time to establish themselves as Hurricanes, they're about to sit atop the record books.
Jordan Staal is poised to pass his brother and his head coach this season
There are a few ways the captain can make history for the team this season. He's currently tied with Sylvain Turgeon for 10th in franchise history in goals (178), meaning his next goal breaks the tie. The goal after that, his 180th as a Hurricane, will be the 300th of his NHL career after scoring 120 in six seasons with the Penguins.
He's also chasing Rod Brind'Amour on the leaderboards, particularly in assists and points. With 11 points and 15 assists, Staal will pass Brind'Amour for the third-most as a Hurricane in each respect. I'm fairly confident he'll hit both this season. Staal has notched at least 20 assists in eight of his 13 seasons with the Hurricanes.
The big one this season for Jordan Staal is the Canes' record for games. He's on the road to 1,400 games, needing to play 72 of the team's 82 to reach it this season. By playing 13 games this season, he'll pass his older brother, Eric, for the most in Hurricanes history. A few shortened seasons allowed him to pass his brother for the most seasons with the Canes. Now, he gets the games record.
Sebastian Aho will need a career year to climb atop the team's goals chart
Where Staal's place in history is almost guaranteed with a healthy season, Sebastian Aho has a little more work to do. He's approaching personal marks, sitting 23 games and 69 points away from 700, and 17 goals from 300. All of these are very attainable, especially since he averages over 30 goals and 70 points per 82 games throughout his career.
Among the several team records he already holds, the one he's chasing this season is rather prestigious. Like his captain, Aho has Eric Staal in his sights, sitting second in Hurricanes history in goals. Entering the season, Aho is 39 goals behind Staal, meaning a 40-goal season will get him to the record this year.
The only small issue is that Aho has never hit 40 goals during his career. He topped out at 38 during the 2019-20 season that was shortened by the pandemic. Aho was on pace to not only hit 40 but surpass Staal's single-season Canes record of 45 goals. We know he's capable of scoring at a 40-goal pace, so this might be the year he does it.
Jordan Staal feels like a near lock to become the Hurricanes' leader in games. The team's 13th game of the season is at home against the Minnesota Wild on November 6th. Sebastian Aho might not reach the goals record this season, but it's a matter of when he does it, not if. Regardless, it'll give us fun stories to watch as the season unfolds.