Edmonton Oilers’ milestones to watch for in 2026–27

The Oilers are heading into 2026–27 with weight of expectations that are a little different from recent years, and for good reason. The arrival of new Head Coach Mike Babcock will have the spotlight trained on how he goes about things in Edmonton.

This is also year one of Connor McDavid’s two-year hometown discount, a contract he signed at below-market value specifically to give this organization the best possible chance at a championship window. After a first-round exit last season, the Oilers know how long they have to make it count and this season really needs to reflect that.

That said, Oilers 2026–27 is also slated to bring quite a few milestones from our core players, and we couldn’t be more excited about that! Seven individual milestones across four players are on the table this season, some of them arriving so early in the schedule that they could be gone before the leaves have finished falling.

So we put together this full breakdown of all seven milestones in the order they’re most likely to arrive. Whether you’re a numbers person, a history person or just someone who loves watching great hockey players do great things, this is your guide to the moments worth looking out for this season.

Zach Hyman hits 500 career points

This one might be the first milestone to turn up this year. Hyman comes into 2026–27 with 494 career points, sitting just six away from 500. He put up 31 goals and 52 points in only 58 games in 2025–26, so at that pace, 500 could arrive somewhere in his first seven or eight appearances of the new season. There is even a real chance this gets crossed off the list before October is over.

The number itself is worth appreciating given how Hyman got here. When he left Toronto after six seasons, he had 185 career points. He was a solid player, a useful one sure, but not someone who was being discussed in 500-point territory. Coming to Edmonton he found a home on the top line, developed into one of the more effective net-front scorers in the league and put up 54 goals in 2023–24.

He has built the bulk of his career offensive totals here and reaching 500 points heading into his age-34 season really speaks for how much his game grew once he arrived in Oil Country. Keep an eye on those early games because this one could come and go very quickly.

Connor McDavid plays his 800th NHL game

McDavid enters this season with 794 NHL games to his name, which puts his 800th career appearance just six games away. If he plays in the opener against Vancouver on September 29, game number 800 will be somewhere in the first two weeks of October.

McDavid now has 409 goals and 811 assists into this season, which works out to a career points-per-game rate of 1.54. Over 794 games, he has averaged a point and a half per night which is a level of sustained production that very few players in the history of this sport have come close to matching. He also won the Art Ross last season with 138 points in 82 games, finishing 11 points ahead of the field, so there is no indication that anything is slowing down.

Evan Bouchard reaches 350 career points

Bouchard enters 2026–27 with 333 career points and needs 17 more to hit 350. Given that he just finished a 95-point season with 21 goals and 74 assists, getting to 17 points should happen well within the first 15–20 games of the year.

The more interesting thing to talk about is probably what might come after. Bouchard has collected 177 of his 333 career points over just the last two seasons. He is 27 in October, locked into a four-year deal and serving as the power play quarterback on one of the most dangerous units in the league.

If his production continues as last season in any meaningful way, 400 career points might even become a legitimate conversation before this season wraps up. The 350 milestone will be a quick stop along the way then.

Leon Draisaitl scores his 450th NHL goal

This milestone will have some franchise history behind it, which makes it little extra special than a few of the others on this list.

Draisaitl enters 2026–27 with 434 career goals and needs 16 more to reach 450. He scored 35 goals in 65 games last season before a lower-body injury ended his year early in March, so 16 goals is a target that should come around his 30th game of the season, health permitting. November or early December feels like a reasonable estimate.

Now the franchise history. On Edmonton’s all-time goals list, Wayne Gretzky leads with 583, Jari Kurri sits second with 474 and Draisaitl is currently in third place with 434. Reaching 450 would make him only the third Oiler in franchise history to get there. Once he crosses that mark, Kurri’s second-place record is 24 goals away, which is definitely not an unreachable number for a player producing at this level.

Draisaitl crosses 1,100 career points

Draisaitl also comes into this season with 1,053 career points, needing 47 more to reach 1,100. At his 2025–26 rate of 97 points in 65 games, that math points to somewhere around his 32nd game (?) which will be near the new year or into early January.

The individual bit of story behind this milestone also deserves more recognition than it usually gets. Draisaitl spent his entire career playing alongside McDavid which means his accomplishments have often shared the spotlight or been filtered through comparisons. But the resume stands on its own. He became the first German-born player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points. He has won the Hart Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy, the Ted Lindsay Award, and the Rocket Richard Trophy.

McDavid chases 1,300 career points

McDavid comes into 2026–27 with 1,220 career points and needs 80 more to reach 1,300. Working from his 2025–26 pace of 138 points in 82 games, that puts 1,300 roughly 48 games away, somewhere in late January or February. McDavid does not always follow a predictable scoring schedule, though. He goes on extended runs that move the math faster than expected which means the milestone could arrive earlier than projected.

What makes 1,300 points so significant is the pace at which it is being reached. McDavid will get there during his age-29 season. He has produced at 1.54 points per game across his career, a rate that very few players in NHL history have sustained over any extended stretch. He did it while playing through shortened seasons early in his career and some difficult team stretches along the way. When 1,300 arrives, it will be another marker on a career timeline that continues to be historically rare.

Draisaitl plays his 900th NHL game

Draisaitl enters the season with 855 career games and needs 45 more to reach 900. That puts the milestone somewhere around the midpoint of the schedule, likely in February, assuming he stays healthy and avoids a repeat of the injury that cut his year short last March.

On its own, 900 games speaks of a long career of sustained performance and durability. Getting there in this league, over a decade-plus through injuries and schedule demands and everything else that comes with it, is not a small thing.

If Draisaitl reaches 900 games in the same season he crosses 450 goals and 1,100 points, he will have cleared three significant individual milestones in a single year and each one is meaningful on its own.

The Oilers will be the first to tell you that the only thing that matters is what happens in June. After two consecutive seasons that ended short of the Stanley Cup and the latest one with an abrupt exit, this group has serious motivation to make this year different.