Nicklas Backstrom just tallied a huge bit of history. The Capitals center recorded his 700th career assist on a Jakub Vrana goal.
The goal ended Jaroslav Halak’s shutout bid, making the game 5-1.
Video
V gets his 3rd goal in as many games and Backy notches his 700th apple! pic.twitter.com/f90zEvXzn3
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 6, 2021
Backstrom earned the primary assist, finding Vrana in the slot on his backhand.
Backstrom is now, incredibly, only the 54th player in NHL history to record 700 assists. The milestone puts Backy on a list full of Hockey Hall of Famers.
NHL All-Time Assists List
Key: * is a HHOF | bold denotes an active player
| Rank | Player | Assists | GP | A Per Game | Adjusted A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wayne Gretzky* | 1963 | 1487 | 1.32 | 1717 |
| 2 | Ron Francis* | 1249 | 1731 | 0.72 | 1193 |
| 3 | Mark Messier* | 1193 | 1756 | 0.68 | 1104 |
| 4 | Ray Bourque* | 1169 | 1612 | 0.73 | 1058 |
| 5 | Jaromir Jagr | 1155 | 1733 | 0.67 | 1239 |
| 6 | Paul Coffey* | 1135 | 1409 | 0.81 | 1009 |
| 7 | Joe Thornton | 1095 | 1645 | 0.67 | 1212 |
| 8 | Adam Oates* | 1079 | 1337 | 0.81 | 1065 |
| 9 | Steve Yzerman* | 1063 | 1514 | 0.70 | 1006 |
| 10 | Gordie Howe* | 1049 | 1767 | 0.59 | 1265 |
| 11 | Marcel Dionne* | 1040 | 1348 | 0.77 | 883 |
| 12 | Mario Lemieux* | 1033 | 915 | 1.13 | 924 |
| 13 | Joe Sakic* | 1016 | 1378 | 0.74 | 1036 |
| 14 | Doug Gilmour* | 964 | 1474 | 0.65 | 907 |
| 15 | Mark Recchi* | 956 | 1652 | 0.58 | 979 |
| 16 | Al MacInnis* | 934 | 1416 | 0.66 | 875 |
| 17 | Larry Murphy* | 929 | 1615 | 0.58 | 840 |
| 18 | Stan Mikita* | 926 | 1396 | 0.66 | 937 |
| 19 | Bryan Trottier* | 901 | 1279 | 0.70 | 749 |
| 20 | Phil Housley* | 894 | 1495 | 0.60 | 840 |
| 21 | Dale Hawerchuk* | 891 | 1188 | 0.75 | 754 |
| 22 | Nicklas Lidstrom* | 878 | 1564 | 0.56 | 918 |
| 23 | Phil Esposito* | 873 | 1282 | 0.68 | 837 |
| 24 | Denis Savard* | 865 | 1196 | 0.72 | 725 |
| 25 | Bobby Clarke* | 852 | 1144 | 0.74 | 750 |
| 26 | Henrik Sedin | 830 | 1330 | 0.62 | 909 |
| 27 | Alex Delvecchio* | 825 | 1550 | 0.53 | 926 |
| 28 | Gilbert Perreault* | 814 | 1191 | 0.68 | 700 |
| 29 | John Bucyk* | 813 | 1540 | 0.53 | 834 |
| 30 | Mike Modano* | 813 | 1499 | 0.54 | 830 |
| 31 | Pierre Turgeon | 812 | 1294 | 0.63 | 798 |
| 32 | Sidney Crosby | 811 | 1002 | 0.81 | 922 |
| 33 | Jari Kurri* | 797 | 1251 | 0.64 | 682 |
| 34 | Guy Lafleur* | 793 | 1126 | 0.70 | 681 |
| 35 | Peter Stastny* | 789 | 977 | 0.81 | 637 |
| 36 | Mats Sundin* | 785 | 1346 | 0.58 | 811 |
| 37 | Brian Leetch* | 781 | 1205 | 0.65 | 787 |
| 38 | Jean Ratelle* | 776 | 1280 | 0.61 | 733 |
| 39 | Vincent Damphousse | 773 | 1378 | 0.56 | 771 |
| 40 | Teemu Selanne* | 773 | 1451 | 0.53 | 824 |
| 41 | Chris Chelios* | 763 | 1651 | 0.46 | 738 |
| 42 | Bernie Federko* | 761 | 1000 | 0.76 | 619 |
| 43 | Doug Weight | 755 | 1238 | 0.61 | 804 |
| 44 | Larry Robinson* | 750 | 1384 | 0.54 | 627 |
| 45 | Denis Potvin* | 742 | 1060 | 0.70 | 625 |
| 46 | Norm Ullman* | 739 | 1410 | 0.52 | 783 |
| 47 | Bernie Nicholls | 734 | 1127 | 0.65 | 651 |
| 48 | Rod Brind’Amour | 732 | 1484 | 0.49 | 747 |
| 49 | Luc Robitaille* | 726 | 1431 | 0.51 | 702 |
| 50 | Daniel Alfredsson | 713 | 1246 | 0.57 | 769 |
| 51 | Jean Beliveau* | 712 | 1125 | 0.63 | 810 |
| 52 | Scott Stevens* | 712 | 1635 | 0.44 | 654 |
| 53 | Jeremy Roenick | 703 | 1363 | 0.52 | 714 |
| 54 | Nicklas Backstrom | 700 | 977 | 0.72 | 833 |
| 55 | Dave Andreychuk* | 698 | 1639 | 0.43 | 645 |
| 56 | Brendan Shanahan* | 698 | 1524 | 0.46 | 704 |
| 57 | Ryan Getzlaf | 697 | 1071 | 0.65 | 787 |
| 58 | Dale Hunter | 697 | 1407 | 0.50 | 603 |
| 59 | Sergei Fedorov* | 696 | 1248 | 0.56 | 718 |
| 60 | Henri Richard* | 688 | 1258 | 0.55 | 743 |
Forty-two of the players (77.7 percent) are in the Hall of Fame. Three others (Joe Thornton, Sidney Crosby, and Backstrom) are active and the rest are Jaromir Jagr (HHOF shoo-in), Henrik Sedin (shoo-in), Pierre Turgeon, Vincent Damphousse, Doug Weight, Bernie Nicholls, Rod Brind’Amour, Daniel Alfredsson, and Jeremy Roenick.
Other fun facts:
- Backstrom is the the 23rd fastest player in NHL history to reach the 700-assist mark, doing so in his 979th career game.
- Backstrom is now the fifth Swedish player ever to hit 700 assists joining Nicklas Lidstrom (878), Henrik Sedin (830), Mats Sundin (785), and Daniel Alfredsson (713)
- Backstrom is the 10th European player to hit the milestone
- Backstrom’s 700 assists since his debut in 2007-08 are the most in the NHL.
- Per Ben Raby, Ovechkin/Backstrom are the second set of teammates in NHL history in which one recorded 700G, the other 700A with one franchise, joining Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio.
- Backstrom hit the mark nearly a year after Alex Ovechkin scored his 700th goal last year.
- Nearly 40 percent of Backstrom’s assists have been on Ovechkin goals.
Screenshot courtesy of NBC Sports Washington
“When it happens I’m just going to enjoy it,” Backstrom said earlier.
“It’s obviously a big milestone, but I haven’t took too much time to think about it now,” he added. “I’m still active. I still have a few other goals for the team.”
More from the Capitals:
Backstrom Becomes the First Player in Franchise History to Reach 700-Assist Milestone
BOSTON, Ma. – Capitals alternate captain Nicklas Backstrom became the first player in franchise history and the 54th player in NHL history to reach the 700-assist milestone on Friday night against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
Backstrom became the second fastest active player (Sidney Crosby, PIT: 856 games) and the 23rd fastest player in NHL history to reach the 700-assist mark in his 979th career game. In addition, Backstrom became the 25th player in NHL history to reach the milestone before his 1,000th NHL game. Of the 24 players to accomplish this feat, 23 are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Backstrom has assisted on goals scored by 56 different players in his career. His current teammates Alex Ovechkin (266 assists), T.J. Oshie (66 assists) and John Carlson (43 assists) are at the top of the list.
Backstrom’s 700 assists since his rookie season in 2007-08 lead the NHL. His 0.72 assists per game rate is the second-most among active NHL players and tied for the 13th-highest rate in NHL history among players with 700 assists. Backstrom is the fifth Swedish-born player in NHL history to reach the 700-assist mark, joining Nicklas Lidstrom (878), Henrik Sedin (830), Mats Sundin (785) and Daniel Alfredsson (713).
Backstrom’s 700 assists rank first in franchise history. Backstrom tied Michal Pivonka for first place on the franchise assist list on March 15, 2015, recording 418 assists in 263 fewer games than Pivonka and passed him on March 19, 2015. Backstrom has registered five of the 11 60-assist seasons in franchise history and is one of 26 players in NHL history to record 700 assists with one franchise.
Backstrom is one of three players in the NHL to record at least 20 goals and 50 assists in four of the last five seasons (Patrick Kane, CHI; Connor McDavid, EDM). Backstrom is one of 42 players in NHL history to record six career seasons with at least 20 goals and 50 assists.
Backstrom’s 953 points (253g, 700a) rank second in franchise history, behind only Ovechkin (1,295). He ranks first among the 2006 NHL Draft class in points (953) and assists (700), despite ranking fourth in games played (979).
Backstrom leads the Capitals with 26 points (10g, 16a) in 23 games this season, which is tied for the seventh-most points in the NHL. Backstrom has recorded a point in 17 of the Capitals’ 23 games. Over an 82-game season, Backstrom is on a 57-assist pace this season, his best rate since 2016-17 (63a).
RMNB Coverage of Caps at Bruins
Headline photo: KP8 Design
