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
- 24 goals away from 100
- 19 points away from 200
- 32 games away from 300
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.
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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
- Eight goals away from 600
- 13 assists away from moving into 13th all-time
- Four points away from 1,600
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…
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