This active player could beat Patrick Kane's points record

As Patrick Kane reaches the twilight of his NHL career, it's natural for the conversation to turn to who could come next. After completing his 19th year in the NHL, Kane has extended his lead as the all-time U.S. points leader, currently sitting at 1400 points. The next closest active player? John Carlson, who sits at 785 points at the end of his 17th year in the NHL. Also, he's a defenseman.

Is his record beatable? Or will fans have to wait a long time to see someone dethrone Kane's record?

There is a long list of potential record breakers

Everyone between Kane and Carlson, who sits 24th on the list of all-time scorers, is either retired or assumed to be retired (like Phil Kessel). After Carlson is Auston Matthews, with 780 points, putting him 620 points back of Kane, and then JT Miller, with 762 points. Jack Eichel, James van Riemsdyk, Kyle Connor, Matthew Tkachuk, and Jake Guentzel are all in the top 50 of active scorers, but sit much further down on the list. Injuries, roster mismanagement, and slower career starts likely preclude all of these players from catching Kane's record in their careers.

Carlson, who is nearing the end of his career, likely doesn't have enough seasons left to catch Kane. For Miller, it's likely a case of up-and-down seasons that will keep him from reaching Kane before the end of his career.

That leaves Auston Matthews as the most likely challenger for Kane's record.

Can Auston Matthews do it?

Just by the numbers, yes, Matthews likely can do it. Hockey Reference lists Matthews' 82-game season points average as 93 points. Matthews is coming off of his 10th year in the NHL. If he plays nine more years, averaging 93 points a season, he'll put up 837 points, getting him to 1617 points by the end of his nineteenth season. It's unlikely that Kane will have many more 50-point seasons in him. If he retires by the end of his next contract, he'll likely max out around 1500 points.

Of course, the numbers don't always tell the whole story. Matthews has had a couple of down seasons marred by injury. After putting up 107 points in the 2023-24 season, Matthews had 78 the following season and a lowly 53 points last season. If injuries continue to hold him back and he can't produce at the same level he used to, that points goal may slip just out of reach.

However, with the NHL going up to 84 games a season and possibly expanding to more teams in the coming years, there may be more chances for Matthews to rack up those points.

For now though, it appears Kane's record is safe for the near future.

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