NHL All-Time Top 100: #1–20
1. Wayne GretzkyEDM · LAK · STL · NYR
The data leaves no debate at the top. Gretzky leads all skaters in career Point Shares (251.01), career adjusted points (2,475), career assists (1,963), career points (2,857), and Hart Trophies (9, including eight straight). He won 10 Art Ross titles, 2 Conn Smythes, 4 Stanley Cups, and owns single-season records for goals (92), assists (163), and points (215). His 382 playoff points and 1.84 playoff PPG remain untouchable. He owns three of the top 10 single-season Point Shares totals in history.
2. Bobby OrrBOS · CHI
Orr owns four of the top 10 single-season Point Shares values ever recorded — 22.83, 21.47, 20.08, 19.53. No defenseman has ever come close to his peak. He won eight consecutive Norris Trophies (1968–1975), three straight Harts (1970–72), two Conn Smythes (the only defenseman with multiples), and is the only defenseman ever to win the Art Ross — twice. His +124 in 1970–71 remains the single-season plus-minus record by a wide margin. His 1.39 career PPG ranks fifth all-time, the highest for any defenseman by 200+ points. Knee injuries cost him longevity, not greatness.
3. Mario LemieuxPIT
Lemieux’s 1.883 career points-per-game ranks second only to Gretzky among players with meaningful careers, and his 1.61 career playoff PPG ranks second all-time behind Gretzky among players with 100+ playoff games. He won three Harts, six Art Ross titles (one returning from Hodgkin’s lymphoma), two Conn Smythes, and two Cups. He sits 9th on the all-time single-season Point Shares list with his 199-point 1988–89 campaign. The lost seasons to cancer and chronic back problems suppressed his cumulative totals — he doesn’t appear in the top 10 of career adjusted points — but no rate-based evidence supports placing him below #3.
4. Gordie HoweDET · HFD
Howe’s case is longevity unmatched and breadth unparalleled: 1,850 NHL points, 2,190 era-adjusted points (#2 all-time), six Harts, six Art Rosses, four Cups, and a record 21 First/Second All-Star Team selections. He posted 21 consecutive top-10 scoring finishes and played in five different decades. His 217.11 career Point Shares ranks 5th all-time. The peak gap to Gretzky/Orr/Lemieux is real, but the cumulative case is the strongest in hockey history outside Gretzky himself.
5. Sidney CrosbyPIT
Through age 38, Crosby has produced 1,761 points in 1,420 games (1.24 PPG). Nineteen consecutive seasons as Pittsburgh captain tie Steve Yzerman for the longest tenure in NHL history — one more season gives him the mark outright. He owns three Stanley Cups, two consecutive Conn Smythes (2016, 2017), two Harts, two Art Rosses, two Rocket Richards, and ranks 4th all-time in era-adjusted points (1,906) and 8th in career Point Shares (207.61). His peak coincided with the Dead Puck Era’s tail and the lowest-scoring environment of any modern superstar. Sustained two-way excellence with championship leverage clinches the top five.
6. Alex OvechkinWSH
Ovechkin’s April 2025 capture of the all-time goals record — now 929 through 2025–26 — is reinforced, not undermined, by era-adjusted analysis. His 1,029 era-adjusted goals are the most in NHL history (Howe is second at 925; Gretzky is fourth at 758). He owns three Harts, an Art Ross, a record nine Rocket Richards, a Conn Smythe with his 2018 Cup, and ranks third all-time in career Point Shares (220.69). Lower playoff totals and a single championship are the only ceilings.
7. Ray BourqueBOS · COL
Bourque’s career Point Shares of 242.69 is the second-highest figure in NHL history, period, trailing only Gretzky. He scored 1,579 points (most ever by a defenseman), won five Norris trophies, and earned 19 end-of-season NHL All-Star team selections (second only to Howe’s 21). Critics cite a single Cup in the twilight of his career and twice finishing second in Hart voting (including a two-vote loss to Messier in 1990), but the cumulative-value case is stronger than every defenseman besides Orr.
8. Jaromir JagrPIT · WSH · NYR · PHI · DAL · BOS · NJD · FLA · CGY
The era-adjusted view rewards Jagr profoundly: 2,080 adjusted points (third all-time), 217.06 career Point Shares (sixth all-time), and 841 adjusted goals (third). He won five Art Ross titles (four straight), one Hart, and two Cups, and remained productive into his mid-40s — the longest pro career in hockey. The data puts Jagr third in adjusted points (2,080), 110 behind Howe’s 2,190 — close for a player whose career spanned the Dead Puck Era and post-lockout scoring troughs.
9. Nicklas LidstromDET
Lidstrom’s seven Norris trophies tie Doug Harvey for second all-time, four Stanley Cups with Detroit, and 211.77 career Point Shares ranks seventh all-time. He became the first European to win the Conn Smythe (2002) and earned 10 First Team All-Star selections. He posted a +450 career plus-minus and finished no worse than sixth in Norris voting in his final 16 campaigns — sustained excellence without precedent at his position.
10. Patrick RoyMTL · COL
Roy holds the all-time records for playoff wins (151) and Conn Smythe trophies (3) — the only player to win Cup MVP for two different franchises. He won four Cups, three Vezinas, finished with 198.3 career Point Shares (third among goalies), and posted a .918 playoff save percentage across 247 games. The combination of championship leverage and individual hardware separates him from every other goalie except Hasek.
11. Dominik HasekBUF · CHI · DET · OTT
Hasek is the only goalie ever to win the Hart Trophy twice (1997, 1998). His six Vezinas tie the modern record, his .922 career save percentage leads all goalies, and his 396.5 career Goals Saved Above Average ranks third all-time and far ahead of Brodeur. He won two Cups in Detroit and a 1998 Olympic gold for the Czech Republic. In 1996-97 and 1997-98 he swept the Hart, Vezina, and Ted Lindsay in consecutive seasons — the only back-to-back triple sweep in NHL history.
12. Connor McDavidEDM
At only 29, McDavid already owns three Hart Trophies, six Art Ross trophies, four Ted Lindsay awards, and a Conn Smythe (2024) won despite losing the Final — only the sixth player ever to do so. His 1.537 career PPG ranks third all-time behind Gretzky and Lemieux. He led the NHL with 138 points in 2025–26. The single missing achievement — a Stanley Cup — is the only thing keeping him outside the top 10. His era-adjusted 158-point 2020–21 ranks ninth all-time among single seasons.
13. Mark MessierEDM · NYR · VAN
Messier’s six Stanley Cups and the unique distinction of captaining two different franchises to championships anchor his case. He sits sixth all-time in adjusted points (1,732), second in playoff points (295), won two Harts, a Conn Smythe (1984), and finished his career with 1,887 points. The objective record places him here — meaningfully ahead of any forward without a Hart-winning peak.
14. Martin BrodeurNJD · STL
Brodeur owns the untouchable goalie counting records: 691 wins, 125 shutouts, 1,266 games played, and 24 playoff shutouts. He won three Cups, four Vezinas, and tallied 207.0 career Point Shares (second among goalies). Era-adjusted save quality is less flattering — he’s outside the top 10 in GSAA — but the all-time records are real and the championships authentic. He won the Calder in 1993-94 and five Jennings Trophies — tied with Roy for the most in NHL history.
15. Doug HarveyMTL · NYR · DET · STL
Harvey collected seven Norris trophies (tied with Lidstrom for second-most), six Stanley Cups, and 11 consecutive end-of-season First/Second All-Star selections from 1951–52 through 1961–62. He won seven of the eight Norris trophies awarded from 1954–55 through 1961–62. Among defensemen with seven or more Norris wins, he alone has six Stanley Cups.
16. Jean BeliveauMTL
Beliveau won 10 Stanley Cups as a player — more than any forward in this top 20 except Henri Richard — captured two Harts, an Art Ross, and the inaugural Conn Smythe in 1965. His 176 playoff points led the all-time list for two decades. With 1,219 points in only 1,125 games (1.08 PPG), he is one of the most decorated centers of the Original Six.
17. Maurice RichardMTL
Richard’s eight Stanley Cups (including a record five straight) and his status as the first NHLer to score 50 goals in 50 games are foundational. He retired with 544 goals when no one else had reached 500, won the 1947 Hart, and made 14 All-Star Teams. The trophy named for the league’s annual goal leader bears his name for cause — his 0.62 playoff goals-per-game ranks fourth all-time.
18. Steve YzermanDET
Yzerman scored 1,755 career points, won three Cups, a Conn Smythe (1998), a Selke (2000), and a 19-season captaincy — tied with Sidney Crosby for the longest in NHL history. His 1,650 era-adjusted points rank 10th all-time. He successfully evolved from a 155-point offensive force in his prime to a Selke-caliber two-way center as Detroit’s deep teams demanded — adaptability rare among elite scorers.
19. Joe SakicCOL
Sakic’s hardware case is unusually complete: two Stanley Cups, a Hart (2001), an Art Ross runner-up, a Conn Smythe (1996), and the all-time record of eight playoff overtime goals. His 1,679 era-adjusted points place him ninth all-time. His 188 playoff points and 1.09 playoff PPG mark him as a clutch performer of the highest order.
20. Bobby HullCHI · WPG · HFD
Hull won two Harts among eight top-three Hart finishes, three Art Rosses, and 10 First Team All-Star selections at left wing (the most ever). In 1965–66 he became the first player to score more than 50 goals in a season (54), breaking a single-season record Richard had set at 50 in 1944–45. His departure for the WHA in 1972 truncated his NHL counting totals, but his peak — seven NHL goal-scoring titles — outweighs the longevity discount and edges Phil Esposito, Jacques Plante, Terry Sawchuk, Larry Robinson, and Nathan MacKinnon for the final spot.