In the NHL, every 100 of anything is seen as a major milestone. Whether it's every 100 goals, points, or games, it feels like we're always doing a lot of celebrating. That could be the same for the Carolina Hurricanes over the next 25 games. Many players on the roster are closing in on big numbers, whether just during their time with the Hurricanes or during their careers.
Personally, I love these moments. Obviously, some of them are more important than others, especially for the veterans on the roster. The bigger the number, the more they're helping their legacy. Not every moment is built the same, but watching the team celebrate these accomplishments is a fun sight.
Throughout the lineup, there are big numbers waiting to be hit
The first milestone that jumps off the page belongs to the captain, Jordan Staal. The team's leader is on track to skate in his 1400th NHL game before the end of the season. Assuming he remains healthy, Staal is expected to reach it on April 2 in Raleigh against the Blue Jackets. He's also on the verge of 500 points with the Canes, needing 11 more to become the fifth player to do so.
Staal is not the only former acquisition trying to reach a points mark with the Hurricanes. Jordan Martinook is close to 200 points, which was my preseason prediction for him, while Shayne Gostisbehere, in his second stint with the team, is almost to 100 points in Carolina. Sean Walker needs just nine assists to mark 100 for his career.
In my eyes, checkpoints for goals and points are the most poignant. Goals are harder to come by, while up to two players can be credited with assists for each goal. Taylor Hall is approaching 300 goals for his career. It's ambitious, especially since it would require three goals in the first four games after the break, but it would be cool for that moment to come in Edmonton on March 6.
Olympian and leading scorer Sebastian Aho has two milestones that he is chasing. Aho is 12 points away from 700 and 15 assists away from 400 for his career. He has already crossed one mark this season, scoring his 300th goal in January. It won't move him up the franchise leaderboards, sitting third in both respects, but it will draw him ever closer to passing Eric Staal for second next season.
Meanwhile, two rookies are going for team history
The performances of rookie defensemen in Carolina Hurricanes history are a little checkered. There's not a long lineage of otherworldly seasons on the backend for young defenders getting their first chances in Raleigh. Alexander Nikishin is far from a normal case, spending several years playing professionally in Russia before coming to North America, and he's on the verge of some history.
Nikishin is chasing down a pair of rookie defensemen records. The first, and most attainable right now, is the goals record for a rookie defenseman. He's currently tied for second with seven, needing one more to tie Justin Faulk. The player he's tied with in goals, Jamie McBain, is the player he's trying to catch in points. McBain had 30 points in 2010-11, eight more than Nikishin has at the moment (22).
You might be shocked to know that Brandon Bussi is chasing team history as well. He's spent his entire first season making team and league history, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that he's on pace to hit some incredible marks for the Canes. If the season ended today, which it doesn't, Bussi would set a new benchmark in GAA.
At the break, Bussi's GAA is 2.16, which is good enough for second in the league to Andrei Vasilevskiy's 2.11. This number would be the lowest for a Hurricane or a Whaler in franchise history. Trevor Kidd (1997-98) and current teammate Frederik Andersen (2021-22) are tied for the lowest at 2.17. If Bussi can improve upon or maintain his current pace, the record will be his.