On Oct. 25, Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov recorded the 1000th point of his NHL career, an assist on a Jake Guentzel goal in the second period of the Lightning’s 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Kucherov became the 101st player in NHL history to reach that mark. He also became just the second to notch 1,000 points with the Lightning, along with Steven Stamkos (1,137 points).
KUUUUCH 📣
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) October 25, 2025
Nikita Kucherov adds another milestone to his growing list, becoming the second player to reach 1,000 NHL points with the @TBLightning! pic.twitter.com/VSH4kXRwAk
Kucherov reached the milestone at 32 years old, in his 809th game and 13th season. That’s the 16th-fastest pace for any NHL skater and third among active skaters behind Connor McDavid (659 games, got it in 2024) and Sidney Crosby (757, 2017). He might have reached 1000 points sooner had he not missed the entire 2020-21 season due to a hip injury (From ‘Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov out 8-10 weeks after surgery on lower-body injury’ – The Athletic, 10/29/2021). He also missed 32 games in 2021-22 due to a groin injury.
Related Article: Nikita Kucherov Scores 1000th Career Point vs. Ducks
Given the talent on the roster, four players can theoretically reach 1,000 points with the Lightning, but for some, it would take a miracle.
*This implies that these players would stay with the Lightning to reach their 1000th point.
Brayden Point: Certainty
Brayden Point has an easy road to 1,000 points. He has 644 points in 672 games, a pace of .958 points per game. Point needs just 356 points to reach 1,000. Keeping his career pace, it would take around 1,044 games for him to reach that number. That would make him the 65th fastest to achieve that feat, ahead of John Tavares (1,054).
Point would need 372 more games to reach that milestone. If he doesn’t miss a game, it would take approximately four seasons and 44 games, meaning he could reach 1000 points by age 33 in the early part of the 2029-30 season. Point is under contract until 2030, which means that, barring any career-threatening injury or major blockbuster trade, he should achieve that goal with the Lightning.
However, Point totaled 276 points in 255 games since the start of the 2022-23 season. That’s a much more favorable pace of 1.08 points per game. If Point keeps pace, he would need 1,002 total games, or 330 more games. For a skater who can play 82 games a season, it would take 4.02 seasons (or around four seasons and two games) to reach 1000 points, which would be at the beginning of the 2028-29 season.
Victor Hedman: Certainty
Victor Hedman has 806 points (162 more than Point) and needs just 194 to reach 1,000.
Victor Hedman becomes the third Swedish-born defenceman to reach the 800 NHL point mark.
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) October 25, 2025
Congratulations to the @TBLightning captain! pic.twitter.com/XWwoF28xRL
However, he has averaged .703 points per game in his 1,146-game career. That puts him at a slower pace than Point. At this pace, it would take around 1,422 career games for him to reach 1,000, which is 276 more games. If he doesn’t miss a game, he’d reach 1,000 points in three seasons and 30 games, at 38 years old in the 2028-29 season.
Hedman is a free agent after 2028-29, so barring a career-threatening injury or blockbuster trade, everything is set up well for Hedman to reach 1,000 in a Lightning uniform. That said, he is already in his mid-30s and could be in his late-30s by the time he nears 1,000. However, he’s actually progressed in the last three seasons, not declined. Since the start of 2022-23, Hedman has 203 points in 248 games, a .819 point-per-game pace. That’s higher than his career average.
If he can generate points at that average, he could earn 1,000 points in his 1,305th game. He’d have to play 159 more games to achieve it, and that would take 1.93 seasons (one season and 77 games) if he had a clean bill of health the rest of the way. He’d reach the milestone by the end of the 2026-27 season.
Brandon Hagel: Outside Shot
Brandon Hagel’s transformation in Tampa Bay from a bruising middle-six forward to a near point-per-game player on the first line has been remarkable. However, he has just 250 points in 282 games with the Lightning. He’s averaging a great .887 points per game, but with so few games, it’s unlikely he will reach 1,000 points with the team.
Hagel would have to play 1,128 games to achieve 1,000 points with the Lightning. That’s 846 games, or ten seasons and 26 games. Hagel would have to keep scoring at his career clip until the 2036-37 season, when he turns 38. His contract expires after 2031-32, so the Lightning would have to give him a five-year extension at age 33 for him to earn 1,000 points with the team.
The chances get slightly better for Hagel to score the 1,000th point of his career in a Lightning uniform. He notched 61 points in 108 games with the Chicago Blackhawks before he was traded to the Lightning. In that case, he would need 939 points, or 689 more points, with the Lightning to achieve that goal. He’d get 1,000 points in his 1,167th career game, or his 1,059th game with the Lightning.
That’s 777 more games Hagel would need to play with the Lightning. He has only missed one game since the start of the 2022-23 season, but even if he stayed healthy, it would take nine seasons and 39 games for him to reach 1,000 points. If the Lightning sign him through the 2035-36 season, he could celebrate his 1,000th career point in Tampa Bay, although he would be a tad short of 1,000 points with the team. Maybe it would be a power-play goal.
Jake Guentzel: Outside Shot
Jake Guentzel is a bona fide superstar. He was expected to replace Stamkos, the franchise leader in points (1,137), and he’s arguably been even better for the Lightning. However, while he could become one of the greatest skaters in Tampa Bay history, it’s doubtful he’ll reach 1,000 career points with the Lightning.
Guentzel has 95 points in 90 games in Florida, or 1.06 points per game. At that pace, he could reach 1,000 points in 948 total games. That’s 858 more games he would have to play in Tampa Bay. With a clean bill of health the whole way, Guentzel could achieve it in 10 seasons and 38 games, but he would have to score at his career pace until the 2036-37 season, at age 42, to reach 1,000 points with the Lightning.
Tampa Bay has Guentzel under contract until 2030-31, so the Lightning would need to sign him to a six-year extension for him to reach 1,000 points. While that’s a stretch, he has much more favorable odds to reach his 1000th career point in a Lightning uniform.
He has 586 career points in 615 games. If he scores at the 1.06 point-per-game clip with the Lightning, he could earn 1,000 points by his 948th career game. He’s 333 games away, which translates to 4.06 seasons (four seasons and five games), assuming a clean bill of health. Guentzel could celebrate his 1,000th career point by the 2028-29 season, at age 34. He’d still be under contract for two more seasons.
While Guentzel is paving the way to reach 1,000 career points with the Lightning, Point and Hedman are sure to hit that mark before him, and we will be ready to watch them make history in Tampa Bay.
