While the Avalanche won their first title in more than 20 years back in 2022 under the leadership of MacKinnon, the forward wasn't sure about his future in Denver in the mid-2010s because of the underwhelming start to his career. So much so, in fact, that "Nate Dogg" went as far as believing a trade was in the franchise's consideration.

Nathan MacKinnon became the 100th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career regular-season points Monday night against the Chicago Blackhawks. It happened 31 seconds into the third period. MacKinnon left the puck for Devon Toews at the right point, and Artturi Lehkonen deflected it past Chicago goalie Spencer Knight.

Nathan MacKinnon had two assists to reach 1,000 points for his career and the Colorado Avalanche scored twice early in the third period to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 on Monday in Denver.