An unsuspecting move to the Nashville Predators ahead of the 2024-25 season and a drop in offensive production in his first year with the team, Steven Stamkos has quietly climbed the NHL’s all-time ranks in the goals department.
But it’s an individual achievement and a career milestone that has brought attention back onto Stamkos as he recorded his 600th career NHL regular season goal in the first period against the Vegas Golden Knights on the afternoon of New Years Eve.
With the milestone goal, Stamkos becomes just the 22nd player in NHL history to record 600 goals and just the third active player to reach the mark, joining Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin as the other others to reach the milestone.
On top of that, he sits just one goal shy of tying Jari Kurri for 21st on the NHL’s all-time goals list and eight shy of Dino Ciccarelli for 20th on the list.
The goal also marks his 18th of the season, with Stamkos scoring at a pace of 0.45 goals per game as a 35-year-old. At that rate, if he were to maintain it throughout the 2025-26 season, Stamkos would finish the year with 36 goals, eclipsing his total from last season. It also means he would finish the season 18th overall on the NHL’s all-time list.
Whether he gets back to the postseason or not with the Predators, his 600 career goals, alongside his other career accomplishments, puts Stamkos in a good place to be honoured once his career is all said and done.
