Nikita Kucherov leads the league in scoring with 120 points through 70 games. This torrid pace is not new, but the Tampa Bay Lightning star has turned up the dial in 2025-26. With 32 goals and 72 assists, he’s notched 104 points in 50 games since Nov. 18, the most points in a 50-game span since the start of the millennium – that’s a pace of 2.08 points per game.
This season, Kucherov also became the eighth player in NHL history to reach 120 points in a campaign four times. He has 80 assists on the season with 12 games left. Can he reach 100 assists for the second time in his career? The short answer is yes, but there’s more to this discussion.
A Gretzky-esque Effort from Kucherov
Comparisons to Wayne Gretzky are usually a stretch, but not with Kucherov. Until 2023-24, only three players had ever notched 100 assists in a season. Gretzky did it 11 times, while Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr each had one. Then, Kucherov and Connor McDavid did it in the same campaign, reaching the mark a few days apart.
McDavid is the fourth ever, and Kucherov shortly followed as the fifth. Given that only one player has ever reached the mark more than once, the comparison to Gretzky is warranted.
Other players have come close to reaching the mark. Lemieux finished with 98 assists in 1987-88. He crossed the 90-assist mark four times without reaching 100. Orr had 90 assists one other time. Adam Oates, who never reached 100 assists, had a season with 97 and one with 90. Joe Thornton never had 100 assists, but finished with 96 and 92 right after the dead-puck era ended. In today’s NHL, he likely would have reached 100 assists twice. These are the only two other players who have multiple 90-assist seasons.
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Kucherov has the right skill set during the right era to reach the 100-assist mark for a second time.
What are Kucherov’s Chances of Reaching 100?
Kucherov will need to score at least 20 assists in 12 games to reach the milestone. That’s a 1.67-per-game pace. Over his last 30 games, he’s averaged roughly 1.5 assists per game. At this pace, he could tally 18 more assists and fall short at 98.
Keep in mind, he’s missed four games, some due to that annual illness he has. He also missed a few opportunities and had a slow start with six assists through his first 11 games. A slightly better start, and this mark might be a forgone conclusion. As it stands, his chances are slim. He would have to turn up the dial just a bit more, and his teammates would have to be in the right place at the right time.
What-ifs aside, even a remote chance of reaching the 100-assist mark for a second time at just 32 years old is a testament to the Herculean effort he’s shown of late. Even without it, he could net his third consecutive Art Ross Trophy, and his fourth overall. It could also net him another Ted Lindsay, an award he won last season and twice overall. He might even finally win his second Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP.
The Lightning host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday in the second of a seven-game homestand, giving Kucherov plenty of opportunities to add to his total as he tries to make history.
