The 50 skaters with the most goals, 1917–18 to 2017–18

Every skater on this list is ranked on one number: goals in the regular season between 1917–18 and 2017–18. Nothing else is weighed, and the figures each ranking rests on are in the table.

Goals — the leading 15. Every one of the 50 is in the table below.

#	Player	Pos	Seasons	Goals	Games	Assists	Points
1	Wayne Gretzky	C	1979–80 to 1998–99	894	1,487	1,963	2,857
2	Gordie Howe	R	1946–47 to 1979–80	801	1,767	1,049	1,850
3	Jaromir Jagr	R	1990–91 to 2017–18	766	1,733	1,155	1,921
4	Brett Hull	R	1985–86 to 2005–06	741	1,269	650	1,391
5	Marcel Dionne	C	1971–72 to 1988–89	731	1,348	1,040	1,771
6	Phil Esposito	C	1963–64 to 1980–81	717	1,282	873	1,590
7	Mike Gartner	R	1979–80 to 1997–98	708	1,432	627	1,335
8	Mark Messier	C	1979–80 to 2003–04	694	1,756	1,193	1,887
9	Steve Yzerman	C	1983–84 to 2005–06	692	1,514	1,063	1,755
10	Mario Lemieux	C	1984–85 to 2005–06	690	915	1,033	1,723
11	Teemu Selanne	R	1992–93 to 2013–14	684	1,451	773	1,457
12	Luc Robitaille	L	1986–87 to 2005–06	668	1,431	726	1,394
13	Brendan Shanahan	L	1987–88 to 2008–09	656	1,524	698	1,354
14	Dave Andreychuk	L	1982–83 to 2005–06	640	1,639	698	1,338
15	Jarome Iginla	R	1995–96 to 2016–17	625	1,554	675	1,300
15	Joe Sakic	C	1988–89 to 2008–09	625	1,378	1,016	1,641
17	Bobby Hull	L	1957–58 to 1979–80	610	1,063	560	1,170
18	Dino Ciccarelli	R	1980–81 to 1998–99	608	1,232	592	1,200
19	Alex Ovechkin	L	2005–06 to 2017–18	607	1,003	515	1,122
20	Jari Kurri	R	1980–81 to 1997–98	601	1,251	797	1,398
21	Mark Recchi	R	1988–89 to 2010–11	577	1,652	956	1,533
22	Mike Bossy	R	1977–78 to 1986–87	573	752	553	1,126
23	Joe Nieuwendyk	C	1986–87 to 2006–07	564	1,257	562	1,126
23	Mats Sundin	C	1990–91 to 2008–09	564	1,346	785	1,349
25	Mike Modano	C	1988–89 to 2010–11	561	1,499	813	1,374
26	Guy Lafleur	R	1971–72 to 1990–91	560	1,126	793	1,353
27	John Bucyk	L	1955–56 to 1977–78	556	1,540	813	1,369
28	Ron Francis	C	1981–82 to 2003–04	549	1,731	1,249	1,798
29	Michel Goulet	L	1979–80 to 1993–94	548	1,089	604	1,152
30	Maurice Richard	R	1942–43 to 1959–60	544	978	422	966
31	Stan Mikita	C	1958–59 to 1979–80	541	1,394	926	1,467
32	Keith Tkachuk	L	1991–92 to 2009–10	538	1,201	527	1,065
33	Patrick Marleau	C	1997–98 to 2017–18	535	1,575	594	1,129
34	Frank Mahovlich	L	1956–57 to 1973–74	533	1,181	570	1,103
35	Marian Hossa	R	1997–98 to 2016–17	525	1,309	609	1,134
36	Bryan Trottier	C	1975–76 to 1993–94	524	1,279	901	1,425
37	Pat Verbeek	R	1982–83 to 2001–02	522	1,424	541	1,063
38	Dale Hawerchuk	C	1981–82 to 1996–97	518	1,188	891	1,409
39	Pierre Turgeon	C	1987–88 to 2006–07	515	1,294	812	1,327
40	Jeremy Roenick	C	1988–89 to 2008–09	513	1,363	703	1,216
41	Gilbert Perreault	C	1970–71 to 1986–87	512	1,191	814	1,326
42	Jean Beliveau	C	1950–51 to 1970–71	507	1,125	712	1,219
43	Peter Bondra	R	1990–91 to 2006–07	503	1,081	389	892
44	Joe Mullen	R	1979–80 to 1996–97	502	1,062	561	1,063
45	Lanny McDonald	R	1973–74 to 1988–89	500	1,111	506	1,006
46	Glenn Anderson	R	1980–81 to 1995–96	498	1,129	601	1,099
47	Jean Ratelle	C	1960–61 to 1980–81	491	1,281	776	1,267
48	Norm Ullman	C	1955–56 to 1974–75	490	1,410	739	1,229
49	Brian Bellows	L	1982–83 to 1998–99	485	1,188	537	1,022
50	Darryl Sittler	C	1970–71 to 1984–85	484	1,096	637	1,121

How this list is made

Ranked on goals in the regular season, 1917–18 to 2017–18. Players are ranked on that number alone and on nothing else: there is no judgement here about who was better. Where two are level they share a rank, and the list runs past fifty when fiftieth place is shared, because splitting a tie would mean choosing between them on no stated basis.

Counting statistics only. A rate — an average, a percentage — needs a minimum number of appearances before it means anything, and no such minimum is published that this site could cite. Inventing one would put a number nobody chose at the centre of a ranking. A total needs no cut-off: most goals is a fact with nothing hidden in it.

Some of these careers were not over. Jaromir Jagr, Alex Ovechkin and Patrick Marleau played in 2017–18, the last season these figures cover, so their totals are what they had reached by then and not what they finished with. This site has no source for what has happened since.

Career figures from the Hockey Databank project, obtained free of charge and copyrighted by it. Regular season only; the play-offs are not counted.

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