2023 has already passed; in 2024, the Colorado Avalanche can look back and say they had a decent year. It didn’t go as planned, but overall, it was a solid year for the team. One standout player was Nathan MacKinnon, who had an exceptional year when it came to stuffing the stat sheet, not only across his team records but also across league records. 2023 saw Mackinnon at his best, ending the 2022-23 season on a less-than-high note with a first-round exit against the Seattle Kraken, but Mackinnon has been on a mission to start the 2023-24 season and right his wrongs from last season.
MacKinnon was a factor across the board in every offensive stat possible in 2023, leading not only his team in multiple categories but also across the league or being in the top five in the rankings. He has continued this dominant path into 2024, accomplishing numerous personal titles and breaking a few team records along the way, setting his eyes on more to come. Let’s take a look back at MacKinnon’s 2023 and see how he stacked up against the rest of the league and what he has his eyes set for in 2024.
Lighting Up The Net Among The Best
When I ask you who would be among the top goal scorers in 2023, who would you say? Auston Matthews, Alexander Ovechkin, Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak, Connor McDavid? Now, where would you rank MacKinnon? If you told me below all of them, you would be partially correct, but only with Pastrnak. MacKinnon finished second in goal scoring in 2023 with 53 goals, leading with Pastrnak with 58 goals, including second most game-winning goals with 11 on the year, again trailing Pastrnak with 13.
MacKinnon lit up the net last season and has continued to do so this year, with 19 so far, looking to break his career record of 42, which he accomplished last season, including accomplishing multiple feats of his own. On Dec. 21 against the Ottawa Senators, Mackinnon scored his 300th career goal, which isn’t the only feat he accomplished that game. He went on to finish the game scoring four goals, which set a franchise accomplishment as the first and only Avalanche player to score four goals in one game.
Consistency Is The Key To Sucess
MacKinnon has been the man this season when it comes to relying on your best players to get it done and ensuring you are always in the game. From scoring goals and setting up your teammates, he has been doing it all, and that shows with his recent point streak. From Nov. 20 to Dec. 27, MacKinnon rode a 19-game point streak that saw him score 13 goals and 23 assists (for 36 points), the longest point streak the NHL saw in 2023 ( point streaks counted after Jan. 1, 2023). That same point streak tied him for third in longest point streaks in franchise history, tying Peter Stastny with 19 and just one game behind Paul Stastny with 20, which unfortunately ended against the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 29, 2023.
Related: Avalanche’s MacKinnon on Another Historic Run
Though his regular point streak may have ended, one point he is still riding is his point streak at home. MacKinnon has put up at least one or more points in 19 straight home games this season, passing Neal Broten at 18 during the 1989-90 season. MacKinnon now sets his eyes on passing one of three Wayne Gretzky records; the milestone he sets his eyes on is the 20 games he set during the 1982-83 season, and Bernie Federeko with 20 during the 1983-84 season. Though it would take a miracle to see him or anyone break his all-time record of recording a point in 40 straight home games.
Stuffing The Stat Sheet At An Elite Level
Point production is the name of the game in the NHL, and no one has done it better than MacKinnon in 2023 and continuing. MacKinnon finished first among all skaters in 2023 to record the most points that year with 135, above players like McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, Pasternak, and Draisaitl, and there’s no sign of him slowing down this season. Currently, with 58 points on the season, Mackinnon is second in points in the NHL, just behind Kucherov with 61 in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. December has also been an excellent month for MacKinnon, as he has produced the most points by an Avalanche player in a single calendar month.
Currently leading the league in assists, MacKinnon is on pace to break his point production from last season and is chasing his first potential Art Ross and Hart Memorial Trophy. This season, he also passed Milan Hedjuk for fourth in all-time points in Avalanche history, sitting behind Micheal Goulet for third at 946 points. MacKinnon won’t pass Goulet this season, but with continued elite-level play like this, he will be climbing the all-time Avalanche point ladder in no time.
MacKinnon was on a tear last year and is continuing to do so this season for one reason: to win another Stanley Cup. Awards are excellent, and breaking records are outstanding historically, but once you win that first Stanley Cup, you want that feeling again, and for MacKinnon, winning is all that matters to him. Expect nothing less than sheer drive and motivation throughout this season and the year to come in pursuit of another championship to his name and legacy.
