With a roster that is loaded with veteran players, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a handful of players who could end up reaching career milestones this coming season. While there does not seem to be a ton of optimism for the team this season, career milestones could become something that Penguins fans can look forward to.
Michael Bunting
One of the newer Penguins, Michael Bunting, has had a solid start to his career and is within reach of a few milestones this season. A lot will depend on how he can fully settle into the lineup. In the 21 games he played with the team after coming over from the Carolina Hurricanes, he did record 19 points, so there is a strong chance (barring injury) that he will be able to reach the 200 career point mark and 300 career games.
Reaching the 100 career goal mark would take a career year for the 28-year-old, as his best goal-scoring season was 23 goals in his first two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Still, it could be reached if he can stay away from the injury bug and can work well with presumably Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell on the Penguins’ second line.
Sidney Crosby
The model of consistency for most of his career, Sidney Crosby continues to climb the all-time ranks in offensive categories. Coming off a season where he topped the 40-goal plateau (42 goals) for the first time since the 2016-17 season, along with 92 points, he has not shown any signs of slowing down and could continue a strong pace again this coming season.
If he can keep on track with his career averages in both goal-scoring (31 per season) and assists (53 per season), Crosby could find himself climbing into 18th all-time in goals, 10th in assists (would pass Mario Lemieux for the most all-time in Penguins history), and 9th in points on top of reaching the career milestones laid out previously. A mix of staying healthy and showing his consistent game should help lead him to the career milestones and, quite possibly, the movement in the all-time ranks for the captain.
Erik Karlsson
After an underwhelming first season in a Penguins jersey following his trade from the San Jose Sharks, Erik Karlsson can reach the 200-goal mark for his career if he can top the 11-goal plateau this season. Last season, he reached that mark, and there should be no reason he will not be able to reach the mark if he can get a bit more settled in with the team in his second season.
Kris Letang
One of the mainstays alongside Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, has had a solid career for the Penguins and is closing in on a few career milestones heading into the 2024-25 season. In his career, he has averaged around 32 assists per season, so reaching 600 should be an obtainable milestone for the 37-year-old defenseman, as well as playing in 13 total games in the season.
Evgeni Malkin
One of Crosby’s career running mates, along with Letang, Evgeni Malkin, is closing in on four major milestones. If the beginning of the season is decent for him and the Penguins, it should not take very long for him to reach each of the first three in goals, assists, and points. If he can stay healthy for the season, he should also be able to reach the 1,200 career games with ease. With another solid season, Malkin will likely continue to further establish himself as one of the best Russian-born NHL players of all time.
Other Milestones Within Reach
The 2024-25 Season Could Be Filled With Milestones
As the Penguins’ core seems to be getting towards the back nine of their careers, the 2024-25 season could lead to several career milestones for some of them. It could also end up leading to the start of some of their younger players heading in the direction of reaching some of their personal milestones as well. Even if the overall success of the team is not up to some people’s liking, there are plenty of positives to keep an eye on for the season that could make it a memorable one in its own way.
