Last week, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov tallied his 1,138th point, breaking a tie with future Hall of Famer Steven Stamkos to become the franchise's all-time leading scorer. According to the NHL, Kucherov became the eighth active skater to hold a franchise's all-time points record, joining an exclusive group that includes Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov. Moreover, the pair are just two of six players to play their entire careers with the organization they own the record with. So who are these other superstars, and where does Barkov rank among his peers?
Barkov became the Panthers' all-time leading scorer in 2023
Several players have held the Panthers scoring record at some point, with Finnish-born Olli Jokinen having a long run at the top with just 419 points, a record he set between 2000 and 2008. Eventually, he was surpassed by one of the franchise’s best first-round draft picks, Jonathan Huberdeau, who became the first player ever to score 600 points with the club. When he left in the summer of 2022, he finished his run with Florida scoring 613 points. Meanwhile, after the 2021-22 season, Barkov had amassed 553 points and was next in line to take the top spot.
On March 20, 2023, against Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators, Barkov assisted on a second-period goal by Gustav Forsling to record his 615th career point and become the Panthers' all-time leading scorer. As of this writing, the Finnish-born captain ranks first in goals (286), assists (496), and points (782) in franchise history, and is currently rehabbing an injury sustained in the second game of the season.
Barkov is one of eight active NHL franchise scoring leaders
As mentioned, when Kucherov broke Stamkos’ record, the NHL released a news bulletin about leading scorers across the league. Because Kucherov is from Russia and Barkov is from Finland, the two leading scorers for franchises in Florida are in a rare group of international leading scorers, headlined by many current and future Hall of Famers.
- Nikita Kucherov - Tampa Bay Lightning (Oct. 24, 2026)
- Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins (Dec. 21, 2025)
- Clayton Keller - Utah Mammoth (Dec. 22, 2024)
- Aleksander Barkov - Florida Panthers (March 20, 2023)
- Jared McCann - Seattle Kraken (Jan. 14, 2023)
- Roman Josi - Nashville Predators (Dec. 21, 2022)
- Jonathan Marchessault - Vegas Golden Knights (March 12, 2021)
- Alex Ovechkin - Washington Capitals (Nov. 4, 2014)
Meanwhile, Barkov is one of only two Finnish-born players to hold an NHL franchise's all-time points record, sharing the distinction with Mikko Koivu, the Minnesota Wild's all-time leading scorer. Together, the pair represent a small group of 11 skaters born outside of North America to own these prestigious records, which include Kucherov (Tampa Bay), Ovechkin (Washington), Josi (Nashville), Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles), Henrik Sedin (Vancouver), Patrik Elias (New Jersey), Mats Sundin (Toronto), Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa), and Stan Mikita (Chicago).
Although Barkov is currently sidelined with an injury, the longtime Panthers captain is expected back on the ice before the holiday season and will continue his quest to become the first player in franchise history to reach 1,000 points. As arguably the greatest player in team history, his resume goes far beyond individual statistics, and his legacy is already secured whether or not he reaches that milestone.
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