Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon could well be a lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame, even if he retired today.
No, MacKinnon is nowhere close to hanging them up. But according to a recent article by Peter Baugh and Max Bultman of The Athletic, MacKinnon could skate off the ice and straight into the Hall of Fame.
After all, MacKinnon has all the requisite hardware and personal accolades needed to make the Hall. MacKinnon has 1,100 points in under 1,000 games. He’s won the Calder, Hart, Lady Byng, Ted Lindsay, and Rocket Richard Trophies. And he’s got a Stanley Cup.
That’s pretty much everything a player would need for enshrinement.
The Avalanche superstar also has an Olympic silver medal and the 4 Nations Face-Off MVP award. While a gold medal would have looked nicer on his resume, a silver medal is something very few athletes, not just hockey players, can achieve during their careers.
That said, is there anything that could hold MacKinnon back from entering the Hall at this point? Not really. While some might argue that he needs another Cup or scoring title, or whatever, trying to build a case against MacKinnon entering the Hall of Fame is a tall order.
How does Nathan MacKinnon stack up on the all-time lists?
When looking at Nathan MacKinnon’s standing on the NHL’s all-time lists, his standing would look incredible.
As it stands, MacKinnon is 99th all-time with 420 goals. A 30-goal season by the Nate Dogg would push him into the 70th spot. A 40-goal season would lift him close to another still-active great, Corey Perry.
As for assists, MacKinnon’s 722 rank him 59th all-time. Another 70 this season would push him past a Nordiques great, Peter Stastny to about 40th all-time.
Lastly, MacKinnon’s 1,142 points are for 63rd all-time. Another 100-point season would, again, push him past Stastny on the all-time list for about 43rd.
Of course, those are projections based on what we’ve seen from MacKinnon. But judging from his current body of work alone, there is little doubt that he’s got a solid Hall of Fame case.
At 30, there’s a good chance that MacKinnon could still be an elite player well into his mid-30s. If he’s anything like Sidney Crosby, he could still rack up a point per game as he inches closer to 40.
In fact, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that MacKinnon could well reach the 2,000 career point plateau.
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