Nathan MacKinnon was honored as the third Avalanche player ever to hit 1,000 career points

Sunday was an eventful day at Ball Arena. The Colorado Avalanche hosted the Dallas Stars in Mikko Rantanen’s return to Denver for the first time — and then almost blew a two-goal lead — and the teams making their way to Denver for the first and seconds rounds of March Madness were announced just after the game ended.

Lost in the midst of everything else was a celebration for Nathan MacKinnon for becoming just the third player in franchise history to hit the 1,000 point mark for their career. He joined Joe Sakic (1,641 points) and Peter Stasny (1,048 points).

MacKinnon was out on the ice with his family as the fans at Ball Arena rose to their feet and gave him a standing ovation, and then was presented with a gold hockey stick by Avalanche Captain Gabe Landeskog. The two have been teammates for 12 years, and Landeskog assisted on MacKinnon’s first NHL goal way back in 2013.

🚨 Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog presents Nathan MacKinnon with a gold hockey stick for reaching 1,000 points.

And watch the lower left at the end: Mikko Rantanen gives a stick tap on the ice for MacKinnon and skates off. Imagine what he was thinking… pic.twitter.com/NPvHqgV6fB

— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) March 16, 2025

Mackinnon had one point in Sunday’s win as he assisted on Cale Makar’s game-winning goal in overtime. The assist was MacKinnon’s 103rd point of the season and the 1,002nd point of his entire career.

Despite being just the 100th player in NHL history to reach the 1,000 point tally, MacKinnon has never won the Art Ross Trophy, which is awarded to the player who has the most points at the end of the season. This year, MacKinnon is currently in the lead for the award, two points ahead of Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl. If MacKinnon is able to hold on, he would be the second player in franchise history to bring the award to Denver after Peter Forsberg did so in 2003.

Having Landeskog present the stick to MacKinnon was an interesting aspect of the ceremony. Lately, the captain has had his name in talks more with interviews and documentaries as the playoffs draw closer. Whether this means that he could possibly return for a postseason run or it’s just random timing, Avalanche fans have been seeing a lot more of their captain recently than they have since he was last on the ice in 2022.

Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar was also a fan of MacKinnon’s ceremony.

Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar liked the video tribute to Mikko Rantanen at Ball Arena, as well as the Nathan MacKinnon pregame ceremony for his 1,000 career points. pic.twitter.com/lbt0oE5jPl

— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) March 16, 2025

Next up for the Avalanche is a trip to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. After Sunday’s victory put them two points behind Dallas for second place in the Central Division, every game is of the utmost importance to get home ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.