Who Has The Most Goals In The NHL?

NHL superstar Alex Ovechkin currently holds the record for the most goals in a career.

As of the 2019-2020 season, Ovechkin has scored a whopping 706 goals in his career.

That’s an incredible feat and it’s safe to say that he is the best goal-scorer in the NHL right now.

Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky has the most goals in the NHL. He is also the leading scorer in the history of the NHL. Gretzky has played in the NHL for 20 years and has scored more than 1,000 goals. He is the only player in the history of the NHL to score more than 200 goals in a season.

Regular Season

Wayne Gretzky is the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, with 2,857 career regular season points. He played 1,487 regular season games over his 20-year NHL career, amassing 2,595 goals and 1,012 assists for 3,607 total points. He scored a record 52 goals in the 1981–82 season and 92 goals in the 1983–84 season.

Playoffs

Wayne Gretzky set the record for most goals in a playoff year in 1983-84, when he scored 47 goals in just 18 games. That’s an average of 2.61 goals per game! Gretzky’s mark stood for almost 20 years before it was finally broken by Jari Kurri in 2002-03. Kurri, who was Gretzky’s longtime linemate with the Edmonton Oilers, tallied 43 goals in 21 games (2.05 G/GP) during his run to the Stanley Cup Final that year.

Jaromir Jagr

Jaromir Jagr is a an Czech former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 24 seasons, across four teams. Jagr was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He is second on the NHL all-time list for points scored, and is the only non-North American player to have been the leading scorer in the league.

Regular Season

Jaromir Jagr is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger who is currently playing for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Jagr has been one of the NHL’s most consistent scorers, and holds many scoring records. As of 2019, he ranks second in career goals, third in assists, and fourth in points. He is also one of only four players in NHL history to have recorded over 1,900 career points.

Jagr began his NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990, with whom he won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. He has also played for the Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, and New Jersey Devils. Jagr is a five-time recipient of the Stanley Cup championship ring.

In International play, Jagr represented Czechoslovakia at the 1989 World Junior Championships where he helped his team win a silver medal. He also played for Czechoslovakia at the 1992 Winter Olympics where they finished seventh. When Czechoslovakia dissolved in 1993, Jagr became a member of the Czech Republic national team and represented his country at the 1998 Winter Olympics where they won a bronze medal.

Playoffs

Jagr has played the most playoff games in NHL history, and is currently fourth all-time in playoff goals, assists, and points. He is one of only five players to record 200 or more points in the playoffs, and is the only European-born player on that list. Jagr’s 78 career game-winning goals in the playoffs ranks sixth all-time, while his 15 career overtime goals are second only to Joe Sakic’s 16. Jagr amassed 52 points over his first two playoff campaigns with Pittsburgh in 1991 and 1992, leading the team in scoring during their Stanley Cup runs. He tallied 18 points during their 1991 championship run (10 goals and 8 assists) as a 19-year-old rookie, and followed that up with 34 points the next year (14 goals and 20 assists), helping the Penguins repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

Gordie Howe

Gordie Howe is a former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Detroit Red Wings and the Hartford Whalers. Howe is considered one of the greatest hockey players of all time. He is the only player to have played in the NHL in five different decades. Howe holds many NHL records, including most goals and most assists.

Regular Season

In the regular season, Gordie Howe holds the NHL record for the most goals with 1,071. He played in 1,767 games and had 2,589 points.

Playoffs

Gordie Howe was a perennial All-Star and clinched the Hart Trophy six times. He played 1,767 regular season games, posting 1,850 points. His most unbelievable stat, however, came in the playoffs. Howe appeared in 176 playoff contests, racking up 185 points. That’s an insane average of 1.05 points per game. In today’s NHL, that would put him ahead of Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. And we all know how good they are!

Mario Lemieux

Mario Lemieux is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1984 to 2006. He is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.

Regular Season

In the regular season, Mario Lemieux is the NHL’s sixth all-time leading goal scorer, with 690 goals. He is also tenth all-time in points, with 1,723. However, when adjusted for inflation, Lemieux is actually the third highest scoring player in NHL history. When accounting for all games played (including playoffs), Lemieux has the fourth highest goals per game average in NHL history, behind only Mike Bossy, Pavel Bure, and Bernard Geoffrion.

Playoffs

In the playoffs, Lemieux was simply unstoppable. He led the Penguins to Stanley Cup victories in 1991 and 1992, capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP both times. His playoff numbers are astonishing: 33 goals and 61 assists in just 35 games for a career 1.71 points-per-game average, the best in league history. He owns the NHL records for most goals (152) and points (222) in postseason play.

Brett Hull

With Brett Hull, you get a player who knows how to put the puck in the net. He was one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the NHL. When he retired, he was sixth all-time in goals scored. He also had the most hat tricks in NHL history.

Regular Season

Brett Hull is a former ice hockey player who is considered one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history. He is the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, and he played for the St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, and Phoenix Coyotes during his 22-year NHL career. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.

During his career, Brett Hull scored a total of 741 goals in 1,269 games played. This is the third highest goal total in NHL history, behind only Wayne Gretzky and Jaromir Jagr. In addition to his goal-scoring prowess, Hull was also a very skilled passer and playmaker. He finished his career with 1,391 points (741 goals and 650 assists).

While Brett Hull was an excellent goal scorer during the regular season, he was even better in the playoffs. In 102 playoff games, he scored 103 goals and had 61 assists for a total of 164 points. This is the fourth highest point total in NHL playoff history.

Playoffs

In the playoffs, Hull continued to be a goal-scoring machine. In his first taste of playoff hockey, he scored 19 goals and added 15 assists in 26 games to help the Blues reach the Stanley Cup Finals. He would go on to score over 100 playoff goals in his career, including an impressive 41 goals in 58 games during the 1990-91 season.