Top 10 All Time NHL Point Leaders

Let us examine top 10 NHL players of all time. We only considered total number of points per player as reported by the National Hockey League.

1. Wayne Gretzky – 2857 points

The Great One” was born on January 26, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario. Even at the young age, Wayne Gretzky raised many eyebrows on the ice by collecting 517 points in a season. He began his National Hockey League career when the Edmonton Oilers moved from the WHA to the National Hockey League in the 1979-80 season. Gretzky would go on to win seven straight Art Ross Trophies starting at the age of 18, and ten in total. He also led the Edmonton Oilers to four Stanley Cup Championships (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988) Gretzky played for four teams throughout his successful NHL career. (Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers) After his retirement in 1999, he was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He became Executive Director for the Canadian national hockey team. In 2000 he took  partial ownership of the Phoenix Coyotes and head coach position thereafter.

2. Mark Messier – 1887 points

“The Moose,” was born on January 18, 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta. Mark John Douglas Messier emerged from the great Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s to become a hockey superstar. He was a powerful skater who combined play-making skill and a goal-scoring touch with the toughness. Six times his teams sipped from the Stanley Cup (1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994) and on two occasions Messier took home the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player. Mark  played for 3 NHL teams (Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks) before retiring in the summer of 2005. A year after, both the New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers retired his number 11 in pregame ceremonies. Earlier that year, the National Hockey League created the Mark Messier Trophy, a monthly leadership award.

3. Gordie Howe – 1850 points

“Mr. Hockey” was born in Floral, Saskatchewan on March 31, 1928. Gordon “Gordie” Howe entered the NHL in 1946 played for the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers; and the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association (WHA). A four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Red Wings (1950, 1952, 1954, 1955), he won six Hart Trophies as the league’s most valuable player and six Art Ross Trophies as the leading scorer. He was the recipient of the first NHL Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.

4. Ron Francis – 1798 points

Ronald Michael Francis, Jr. was born on March 1, 1963 in  Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Ron played 23 NHL seasons  for 4 teams: Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs. Francis was drafted by the Hartford Whalers fourth overall of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. He was a model of consistency, averaging more than a point a game. He won 2 Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins (1991 and 1992). He retired from the NHL before the 2005–06 season and assumed a position with the Raleigh Youth Hockey Association.

5. Marcel Dionne – 1771 points

“Little Beaver” Dionne was born August 3, 1951 in Drummondville, Quebec. Marcel Dionne played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for 3 teams: Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. During his first NHL season for Detroit in 1972, he set an NHL record for scoring by a rookie with 77 points. In his best NHL season 1979–80 he recorded 137 points and was awarded the Art Ross Trophy for scoring two more goals than Gretzky. Dionne also won the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1979 and 1980, and the Lady Byng Trophy in 1975 and 1977. Dionne retired in 1989 and  currently resides in Niagara Falls, Canada and owns Marcel Dionne enterprises.

6. Yzerman – 1755 points

Stephen Gregory Yzerman was born May 9, 1965, in Cranbrook, British Columbia but grew up in Nepean, Ontario. Steve played his entire National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings. (1983 – 2006) He led the Red Wings to 3 Stanley Cup championships (1997, 1998, 2002) Yzerman won numerous awards during his career, including the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1989, the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1998, the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward in 2000, and the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance in 2003. In 2006, the Red Wings named Yzerman a team vice president and alternate governor. He is now a key assistant in the team’s hockey operations.

7. Mario Lemieux – 1723 points

Mario Lemieux was born October 5, 1965 in Montreal, Quebec. He played 17 seasons for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (1984 – 2005).  Lemieux led Pittsburgh to 2 Stanley Cups; Canada to an Olympic gold medal and two World Cups of Hockey. He won 3 Hart Trophies as the NHL’s most valuable player, 6 Art Ross Trophies as the league’s leading scorer, and 2 Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP. He is currently the Penguins’ owner and chairman of the board, having bought the team out of bankruptcy in 1999. In 2004, he was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame immediately after his first retirement, waiving the normal three-year waiting period.

8. Joe Sakic – 1641 points

Joseph Steven Sakic was born July 7, 1969 in Burnaby, British Columbia. Joe Sakic remains the only one active NHL player on this list. His entire National Hockey League career has been with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise.  His wrist shot, considered to be one of the best in the NHL, has been the source of much of his production. In his 20 year NHL career Sakic won the Stanley Cup twice (1996, 2001). He was awarded with Bud Light Plus/Minus Award, Conn Smythe Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy and named captain of the Colorado Avalanche in 1992. Joe is regarded as one of the strongest team leaders in the league’s history.

9. Jaromir Jagr – 1599 points

Jaromír Jágr was born February 15, 1972, in Kladno, Central Bohemia, Czech Republic. Jágr played in the National Hockey League with 3 teams:  Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and the New York Rangers. He is a 2 time Stanley Cup Winner (1991, 1992) both times with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jágr  won Hart Trophy, 5 Art Ross Trophies and 3 Lester B. Pearson Awards. In July 2008, Jágr, a free agent for the first time in his career announced a two-year deal with Avangard Omsk, Russia worth $10 million US dollars annually. In April 2009, Jágr publicly stated an interest in returning to the NHL, stating that he really just needed a break from the pressures of an 82 game NHL schedule. Jágr, who claimed to have lost 15 pounds since his last NHL season.

10. Phil Esposito – 1590 points

Philip Anthony “Espo” Esposito, was born February 20, 1942 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Phil played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for 3 teams: Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. He won Stanley Cup in 1969–70 and 1971–72 seasons and was awarded  the Hart Trophy twice, Art Ross Trophy  5 times, Lester Pearson Award twice.  Esposito was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. In December 1987, his #7 jersey was retired by the Boston Bruins in an emotional ceremony. He is currently Tampa Bay Lightning radio commentator and co-hosts a daily call-in show on XM Satellite Radio’s Home Ice channel.