It is a normal thing to see records broken in today's NHL. All across the league, teams are having their long-standing records shattered in an era many say is much harder to play in. One record that certainly seems possible, but has yet to be broken for the Colorado Avalanche is their single-season goal record, which stands at 57 goals. It was set 42 years ago by Michel Goulet of the Quebec Nordiques.
Believe it or not, we just saw an Avalanche record broken just this past season, with Nathan MacKinnon hitting 140 points. That barely squeaked by Peter Stastny's 139-point effort during the 1981-82 season. With that said, is it possible we could be see Goulet's long-standing milestone fall soon?
A cool thing to note is Goulet holds onto first, second, and third place for goals in a single season, at 57, 56, and 55. No less, he did those three numbers in consecutive years between 1982-83 through 1984-85.
Michel Goulet - one of the best snipers of all time. 548 goals - 7th all time for LW and 2nd all time in goals for the Avs/Nords franchise (after Joe Sakic) with 456.
β The Hockey Samurai δΎ (@hockey_samurai) April 20, 2023
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In retrospect, 57 goals in today's NHL is a pre-requisite for some skaters. If you look at Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews or Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak, that goal record might be considered a season minimum for them. Which, if you think about it, is an insane thought. But, seeing as though those two are not going to be Avalanche players anytime soon, if ever, who is best suited to produce that amount of goal-scoring on the current roster?
The easy answer is Nathan MacKinnon, as he is the best player on this team. He received an A+ grade this season and brought home the Hart and Ted Lindsay trophies at the 2024 NHL Awards for his incredible year. He hit 51 goals last season, which is within ear-shot of the record.
Another name is Mikko Rantanen, who tied Goulet in 2022-23 with 55 goals for the third-most goals in a single season in franchise history. I like to think, if you can get that close once, do not count him out at getting close to it again.
Do you think that the Avalanche single-season goal record of 57 will be broken?