The Edmonton Oilers enter the 2026-27 season with a veteran core that has already accumulated an impressive collection of individual accomplishments, and several more milestones should arrive over the next eight months. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard are all within reach of significant round numbers that could add another layer to their careers.
Some should arrive almost immediately. McDavid needs only six appearances to reach 800 NHL games, while Hyman begins the season six points shy of 500. Others could develop into storylines throughout the year, with Draisaitl chasing three separate milestones and Bouchard continuing an offensive climb that accelerated dramatically during his 95-point season.
The NHL’s expanded 84-game schedule also gives Edmonton’s stars two additional opportunities to reach those marks. The Oilers begin their full schedule on Sep. 29 against the Vancouver Canucks, meaning milestone season could begin almost immediately.
1. Connor McDavid Closing in on 800 Games and 1,300 Points
Connor McDavid enters his 12th NHL season with 794 regular-season games and 1,220 points. That leaves the Oilers captain only six appearances from 800 and 80 points from reaching 1,300.
The games milestone will come first. If McDavid remains in the lineup, his sixth appearance of the season will give him 800 before October is halfway complete.
The number is significant primarily because of how much McDavid has accomplished before reaching it. His official career totals include 409 goals and 811 assists, giving him an extraordinary 1.54 points per game through his first 794 contests.
Reaching 1,300 points is a more demanding target, but his recent production makes it realistic well before the end of the season. He won his sixth Art Ross Trophy in 2025-26 after producing 48 goals and 138 points in 82 games, the fourth-highest point total of his career.
At that pace, McDavid would need approximately 48 games to produce the 80 additional points necessary for 1,300. There is no reason to expect his scoring to follow that schedule perfectly, but another healthy season should make the milestone almost inevitable.
His Art Ross also reinforced how little McDavid has slowed as he approaches 30. He recorded points in 68 of 82 games and finished 11 points ahead of Nathan MacKinnon for the scoring title.
The larger historical question is how far McDavid can push his career total. Reaching 1,300 during his age-29 season would put him on a path few players in NHL history have approached, particularly considering he missed significant time early in his career and played through two shortened seasons.
Edmonton will have much larger goals than celebrating another individual number, but McDavid’s career has reached the point where almost every major milestone carries historical significance. His 800th game will recognize longevity, while 1,300 points would provide another reminder of the unprecedented scoring pace he has maintained throughout that longevity.
2. Leon Draisaitl Could Reach 3 Major Milestones
Leon Draisaitl has even more milestone opportunities available during 2026-27. He enters the season with 855 games, 434 goals and 1,053 points, leaving him within reach of 900 games, 450 goals and 1,100 points.
All three should be attainable if Draisaitl remains healthy.
The easiest offensive target is 450 goals. Draisaitl needs 16, and even his injury-shortened 2025-26 season included 35 goals in 65 games. Maintaining that scoring rate would put him at 450 after approximately 30 appearances.
The milestone would further strengthen his place among Edmonton’s greatest goal scorers. The Oilers’ career goals leaderboard has Wayne Gretzky first with 583, Jari Kurri second with 474 and Draisaitl third with 434. Reaching 450 would make him only the third player to score that many regular-season goals for the franchise.
Kurri’s total would then become increasingly interesting. Draisaitl begins the season 40 goals behind the Hall of Fame winger, meaning another elite goal-scoring campaign would put second place within striking distance.
The 1,100-point milestone requires another 47 points. Draisaitl recorded 97 in 65 appearances last season, so matching that rate would allow him to reach the mark around his 32nd game.
His current NHL totals became especially notable last December when he became the first German-born player to reach 1,000 NHL points. He accomplished the milestone in his 824th game and continued producing before a lower-body injury ended his regular season in March.
Draisaitl’s 900th game will require more patience. He needs 45 appearances, meaning the milestone should arrive around the middle of Edmonton’s schedule if he avoids another extended absence.
The combination makes Draisaitl’s season particularly interesting from a historical perspective. He could cross 450 goals and 1,100 points before reaching 900 games, another indication of how productive his prime has been.
His accomplishments can occasionally become overshadowed because he has spent his entire career beside McDavid. The numbers increasingly make that difficult. Draisaitl already owns a Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and Rocket Richard Trophy, and he became the first German player to reach 1,000 NHL points.
Adding three more milestones in one season would further distinguish his résumé.
3. Zach Hyman Is Only 6 Points From 500
Zach Hyman does not have to wait long for his next major milestone. He enters 2026-27 with 494 career points, leaving him six away from reaching 500.
Hyman has reached that total in 710 games between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Oilers. His path is dramatically different from McDavid’s or Draisaitl’s because he did not begin his career as an elite offensive player and did not establish himself as a 20-goal scorer until his late 20s.
His development in Edmonton transformed his career totals.
Hyman recorded 31 goals and 52 points in only 58 games last season, according to his career numbers. That followed four consecutive seasons in which he scored at least 27 goals for Edmonton, including his remarkable 54-goal performance in 2023-24.
If Hyman produces near last season’s pace, six points could arrive within his first seven or eight appearances. Even a slower start should allow him to reach 500 during the opening weeks of the season.
The milestone is particularly meaningful considering where his career began. Hyman recorded 185 points during six seasons with Toronto before signing with Edmonton in 2021. He has since produced the majority of his career offense with the Oilers while developing into one of the league’s most effective net-front scorers.
He will also turn 34 during the season, making his continued production important beyond the milestone itself. Edmonton needs its older core to remain effective as younger players take on larger responsibilities under Mike Babcock.
A recent Oilers outlook identified Edmonton’s veteran leadership as an important part of the adjustment to Babcock. Hyman remains central to that group because his value extends beyond his scoring totals.
Reaching 500 points will not carry the same league-wide historical weight as McDavid reaching 1,300. It will instead recognize one of the more unusual late-career offensive ascents among Edmonton’s veterans.
Hyman entered his age-29 season with only 185 career points. He could begin his age-34 campaign by reaching 500 almost immediately.
4. Evan Bouchard Is Rapidly Closing in on 350 Points
Evan Bouchard enters the season only 17 points away from 350 for his NHL career. Under normal circumstances, that would be a relatively modest milestone for a defenseman entering his seventh full season, but Bouchard’s recent offensive explosion changes the context.
He produced 21 goals and 95 points in 82 games last season, establishing career highs in every major offensive category. That performance earned him All-Star honors as a Second Team defenseman and moved him into the NHL’s elite offensive tier at the position.
Bouchard now has 333 points in 429 career games. His career stats show how dramatically his pace has accelerated, with 177 of those points coming over the past two seasons alone.
At his 2025-26 scoring rate, Bouchard would need fewer than 15 games to reach 350. Even substantial regression from his 95-point season would likely allow him to hit the milestone during the first quarter of Edmonton’s schedule.
The more intriguing question is how quickly the next milestones arrive.
Bouchard will turn 27 in October and remains Edmonton’s primary offensive defenseman and power-play quarterback. His combination of McDavid, Draisaitl and one of the NHL’s most dangerous power plays gives him a scoring environment few defensemen can match.
The Oilers also committed to Bouchard financially, signing him to a four-year, $42 million contract before last season. His 95-point response immediately made the first year of that agreement look considerably more reasonable.
THW’s previous Bouchard analysis highlighted how his offensive impact had become difficult to ignore even while debate continued around his defensive consistency. His 2025-26 season only strengthened that argument.
Reaching 350 points will therefore be less important than what it represents. Bouchard needed 429 games to reach 333, but his current scoring rate could allow him to accumulate the next several hundred much faster.
If he stays healthy and remains near the top of NHL defenseman scoring, 400 career points could become a realistic storyline before the end of 2026-27.
Oilers’ Core Keeps Adding to Its Legacy
Edmonton’s ultimate measure of success will remain the Stanley Cup, particularly after three consecutive seasons ended with playoff disappointment in different forms. Individual milestones cannot substitute for the championship McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman and Bouchard continue chasing.
They still provide perspective on what Edmonton’s current core has accomplished. McDavid is approaching 800 games while maintaining one of the greatest scoring rates in league history, Draisaitl continues climbing Edmonton’s franchise leaderboards, Hyman is nearing 500 points after becoming a dramatically better scorer in his 30s, and Bouchard is developing into one of the NHL’s most productive defensemen.
Several of the milestones should arrive within the opening weeks. Others will develop into season-long pursuits as Edmonton moves through its first 84-game schedule under the new CBA.
The Oilers hope the most meaningful celebration comes in June. Along the way, four members of their core should have plenty of opportunities to make a little more history.
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