Who Is On Pace To Score 60 Points In 2017-18?

In 2016-17, only 42 NHLers hit the 60-point benchmark for the season. It was the lowest total since the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season (obviously), when only Martin St. Louis notched sixty, and down eleven from the 53 players who hit the mark two years earlier in 2014-15. However, with scoring up this season in the NHL, will the league increase it’s number of top scorers? Or will a greater depth and distribution of talent continue to limit players from reaching the high numbers of yesteryear?

As of now, with the 2017 segment of the season about to close, here are the players on pace for 60 points in 2017-18:

1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning – Currently: 54 points in 37 games, Projection: 120 points
2. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning – Currently: 48 points in 37 games, Projection: 107 points
3. John Tavares, New York Islanders – Currently: 49 points in 38 games, Projection: 106 points
4. Josh Bailey, New York Islanders – Currently: 49 points in 38 games, Projection: 106 points
5. Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers – Currently: 46 points in 38 games, Projection: 99 points
6. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers – Currently: 46 points in 38 games, Projection: 99 points
7. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers – Currently: 45 points in 38 games, Projection: 97 points
8. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche – Currently: 43 points in 37 games, Projection: 95 points
9. Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets – Currently: 44 points in 39 games, Projection: 93 points
10. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames – Currently: 41 points in 38 games, Projection: 89 points
11. Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh Penguins – Currently: 41 points in 39 games, Projection: 86 points
12. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals – Currently: 41 points in 40 games, Projection: 84 points
13. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings – Currently: 40 points in 39 games, Projection: 84 points
14. Anders Lee, New York Islanders – Currently: 39 points in 38 games, Projection: 84 points
15. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks – Currently: 38 points in 37 games, Projection: 84 points
16. Brock Boeser*, Vancouver Canucks – Currently: 38 points in 36 games, Projection: 84 points
17. Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues – Currently: 41 points in 41 games, Projection: 82 points
18. Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins – Currently: 32 points in 29 games, Projection: 82 points
19. Jon Marchessault, Vegas Golden Knights – Currently: 34 points in 33 games, Projection: 81 points
20. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals – Currently: 39 points in 40 games, Projection: 80 points
21. Taylor Hall, New Jersey Devils – Currently: 36 points in 36 games, Projection: 80 points
22. Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers – Currently: 36 points in 38 games, Projection: 78 points
23. Vincent Trocheck, Florida Panthers – Currently: 36 points in 38 games, Projection: 78 points
24. Mathew Barzal*, New York Islanders – Currently: 36 points in 38 games, Projection: 78 points
25. Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers – Currently: 36 points in 38 games, Projection: 78 points
26. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins – Currently: 35 points in 35 games, Projection: 78 points
27. Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues – Currently: 38 points in 41 games, Projection: 76 points
28. Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres – Currently: 35 points in 38 games, Projection: 75 points
29. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins – Currently: 34 points in 37 games, Projection: 75 points
30. Mark Stone, Ottawa Senators – Currently: 34 points in 37 games, Projection: 75 points
31. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning – Currently: 34 points in 37 games, Projection: 75 points
32. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins – Currently: 35 points in 39 games, Projection: 74 points
33. Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars – Currently: 35 points in 39 games, Projection: 74 points
34. David Perron, Vegas Golden Knights – Currently: 29 points in 30 games, Projection: 74 points
35. Evander Kane, Buffalo Sabres – Currently: 34 points in 38 games, Projection: 73 points
36. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers – Currently: 33 points in 37 games, Projection: 73 points
37. Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche – Currently: 33 points in 37 games, Projection: 73 points
38. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers – Currently: 32 points in 34 games, Projection: 73 points
39. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs – Currently: 29 points in 29 games, Projection: 72 points
40. Artemi Panarin, Columbus Blue Jackets – Currently: 34 points in 39 games, Projection: 71 points
41. Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars – Currently: 34 points in 39 games, Projection: 71 points
42. Vlad Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning – Currently: 32 points in 37 games, Projection: 71 points
43. Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild – Currently: 33 points in 39 games, Projection: 70 points
44. Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks – Currently: 18 points in 15 games, Projection: 70 points
45. Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames – Currently: 32 points in 38 games, Projection: 69 points
46. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings – Currently: 31 points in 37 games, Projection: 69 points
47. John Klingberg, Dallas Stars – Currently: 32 points in 39 games, Projection: 67 points
48. William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights – Currently: 29 points in 36 games, Projection: 66 points
49. Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche – Currently: 28 points in 33 games, Projection: 66 points
50. Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers – Currently: 29 points in 35 games, Projection: 66 points
51. Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals – Currently: 31 points in 39 games, Projection: 65 points
52. Alexander Radulov, Dallas Stars – Currently: 31 points in 39 games, Projection: 65 points
53. Patrik Laine, Winnipeg Jets – Currently: 31 points in 39 games, Projection: 65 points
54. Clayton Keller*, Arizona Coyotes – Currently: 31 points in 40 games, Projection: 64 points
55. John Carlson, Washington Capitals – Currently: 31 points in 40 games, Projection: 64 points
56. Reilly Smith, Vegas Golden Knights – Currently: 28 points in 36 games, Projection: 64 points
57. Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets – Currently: 30 points in 39 games, Projection: 63 points
58. P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators – Currently: 29 points in 38 games, Projection: 62 points
59. Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers – Currently: 29 points in 38 games, Projection: 62 points
60. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers – Currently: 29 points in 38 games, Projection: 62 points
61. Teuvo Teravainen, Carolina Hurricanes – Currently: 29 points in 38 games, Projection: 62 points
62. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes – Currently: 29 points in 38 games, Projection: 62 points
63. James Neal, Vegas Golden Knights – Currently: 27 points in 36 games, Projection: 62 points
64. Kyle Turris, Nashville Predators – Currently: 27 points in 34 games, Projection: 62 points
65. Danton Heinen*, Boston Bruins – Currently: 26 points in 33 games, Projection: 62 points
66. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings – Currently: 29 points in 39 games, Projection: 61 points
67. Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings – Currently: 29 points in 39 games, Projection: 61 points
68. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs – Currently: 29 points in 39 games, Projection: 61 points
69. Jordan Eberle, New York Islanders – Currently: 28 points in 38 games, Projection: 61 points
70. Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks – Currently: 26 points in 35 games, Projection: 61 points
71. Mikael Granlund, Minnesota Wild – 27 points in 34 games, Projection: 61 points
72. Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks – Currently: 27 points in 34 games, Projection: 61 points
73. Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay Lightning – Currently: 27 points in 36 games, Projection: 61 points
74. Erik Haula, Vegas Golden Knights – Currently: 25 points in 32 games, Projection: 61 points
75. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning – Currently: 27 points in 37 games, Projection: 60 points
76. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins- Currently: 25 points in 32 games, Projection: 60 points
77. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators – Currently: 25 points in 32 games, Projection: 60 points

So there you have it. If these 77 skaters stay healthy, the 2017-18 season will easily surpass the down 2016-17 campaign could come close to doubling that number of skaters to score 60+ points, setting a new high since the last lockout in the process. Of course, health is always the main factor and the reason why players who were previously on pace for 60+ points (Jaden Schwartz, Mark Scheifele, Filip Forsberg, Logan Couture, Tyson Barrie) are currently impossible to project. They could just as easily bounce back quickly from injury and make this benchmark as they could struggle to return to health and miss it. Will all 75 of these players hit 60+ points? Probably not, though for each one that drops out, another player such as Thomas Vanek, Alex Pietrangelo, David Krejci, William Nylander or Brent Burns could go on a hot streak and jump right into the mix. For now, this is the the current picture in the race to 60 points.

Surprises in the current projections:

• Lightning, Islanders, and Flyers stars make up the top six projected scorers, with Nikita Kucherov way ahead of everybody. Kucherov could potentially outscore talented teammates Victor Hedman and Tyler Johnson combined.
• Tampa is joined by Vegas with six players apiece on the list; that’s two teams making up 16% of the league’s top scorers. Add in the Isles’ five players and you have three teams with a 23% share.
• The Montreal Canadiens are the only team without a player trending toward 60+ points and they aren’t even close. Phillip Danault, Brendan Gallagher, and Alex Galchenyuk are all only on pace for 44 points.
• How about Kings veteran Dustin Brown on pace for 62 points after five straight seasons of failing to crack 40? Or rarely talked-about Bruins rookie Danton Heinen eyeing 63 points? Neither would have been anywhere near the conversation for 60+ points prior to the season.
• Four rookies are on pace for 60+ points, led by the extremely impressive Brock Boeser, while Joe Thornton is amazingly the only player over 33 on the same path.