What a season it’s been for Nikita Kucherov.
The Tampa Bay Lightning superstar has always been a great playmaker, but against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, the Russian forward set an all-time mark, notching his 100th assist to join some exalted company.
Kucherov set up Brayden Point in the slot on the power play late in the second period to reach the milestone.
His name now sits alongside Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr and most recently Connor McDavid as the only players in NHL history to reach the three-digit benchmark in a single season.
Gretzky set the standard for the accomplishment, reaching the mark 11 times throughout his storied career. He also set the record for helpers in a season with an absurd 163 in the 1985-86 campaign. Lemieux (1988-89) and Orr (1970-71) both accomplished the elusive feat once.
Kucherov has turned it up another level this year, far surpassing his previous personal best of 87 assists in the 2018-19 season. He earned his one-and-only Hart and Art Ross Trophy that year.
The 30-year-old game-breaker is the second player this season to earn 100 assists in a season after McDavid did it in the final week of the regular season. Gretzky last did it in the 1990-91 season 33 years ago.
What’s more, Kucherov has shown just as much skill in finding the back of the net himself this season, netting 44 goals this season to lift him to the top of the leaderboard in total points.
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