The NHL's top goal scorers of all time

After the Russian broke a record that not-so-long ago appeared unassailable, he reached the tally of 900 in early November 2025. It took the Moscow native the better part of 20 seasons in Washington to become the NHL's top all-time goal scorer. Controversially Ovechkin has continued to publicly support President Vladimir Putin even since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

"The Great One" has long been one of Canada's most beloved sporting figures but he has recently been subject to much criticism in his native land over his public support of US President Donald Trump, whose stated goal is to annex Canada. He is bound to remain the NHL's top point getter (goals and assists) with a total of 2,857 for some time. Ovechkin trails in this category by more than 1,200.

"Mr. Hockey" started his NHL career in the 1940s and played his final game at the age of 52 in 1980. In addition to being third on the goal-scoring list, he is fourth in total points (1,859) and second in games played (1,767). He became the first to play professionally, in both the NHL and now-defunct WHA, with his sons, Mark, and Marty Howe

Jagr compiled his regular season total with nine different NHL teams over a career that was interrupted by 3 seasons in the KHL and games lost through two NHL lockouts. One can only wonder how much higher he might have been on this list had he spent his entire career in the NHL. In 2011 he bought his hometown Kladno Knights of the Czech top flight. He still plays for the club at the age of 53.

The "Golden Brett" derives his nickname from his father, Bobby, who was known as the "Golden Jet" when he was one of the NHL's dominant scorers in the 1960s and 70s (610 career goals). Brett's peak came between 1989 and 1992 when he scored over 70 goals in three straight seasons. He scored the goal that gave the Dallas Stars their only Stanley Cup in 1999 and also won a Cup with Detroit in 2002.

"Stevey Y" came to prominence as a high-scoring center with the Detroit Red Wings in the late 80s and early 90s, scoring no fewer than 45 goals in the seasons between 1987 and 1993. Then Scotty Bowman, the winningest coach in NHL history convinced Yzerman to become more defense-minded – changing his game for the success of the team. The Red Wings went on to win three Stanley Cups as a result.

Mario Lemieux' story is one of great talent but also resiliency in the face of adversity. Lemieux had it all, size, speed and great hands but health issues meant he never played a full NHL season. At the peak of his career, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, causing him to miss part of the 1992-93 season. He retired in 1997, only to come back in 2000 to play a final five seasons.

Marcel Dionne played 18 seasons for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. Dionne was an effective scorer despite being relatively small for a professional hockey player at 173 centimeters (5' 8"). He scored 50 goals or more in a season six times, and 100 points or more in a season eight times during his career.

Phil Esposito played 18 seasons in the NHL, with Chicago, Boston and the New York Rangers. It was in Boston that Esposito had his best years, winning several season scoring titles and two Stanley Cups. He was the first player to score more than 100 points in a single season and his 76 goals and 152 points in 1970-71 were both records at the time.

Although he only cracked the 50-goal mark in a single season once, Mike Gartner was a remarkably prolific and consistent scorer, with 30 or more goals in 15 of his 19 seasons in the National Hockey League. He is one of the few players to have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame despite never having won the Stanley Cup an NHL individual award.

Mark Messier is perhaps best remembered for leading the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup title in 1994, their first in 54 years. It was Messier who scored the winning goal in Game 7 of the finals against the Vancouver Canucks. This made him the first player to captain two different teams to hockey's Holy Grail, having been a part of the Edmonton Oilers dynasty of the late 1980s.

"The Finnish Flash" burst into the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, scoring 76 goals and 132 points in the 1992 season, still a record for a rookie. After four seasons in Winnipeg he moved on to Anaheim where he would spend the bulk of his 21-season NHL career – and win a Stanley Cup in 2007. In 2017 Selanne became the second Finn to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame after Jari Kurri.