Top 5 NHL All-Time Goal Scorers

Scoring goals in the NHL is crucial for winning games. Even though hockey is a team effort, it’s impressive to see just how many goals a single player can rack up throughout their professional career. Everyone loves a good goalscorer, which is why in this article, we’ll discuss the five all-time top NHL goal scorers with the most record goals in professional hockey history, including who holds the record, how many goals they scored, which team(s) they played for, and whether they still play.

#5 Brett Hull – 741 goals scored

Introducing our list of top five NHL all-time goalscorers is #5 Canadian-American Brett Hull, with an impressive 741 goals scored throughout his career. The former Right Wing played professionally for the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Arizona Coyotes, racking up 650 assists along with his goals to record 1,391 points in 1,269 games played before retiring. Throughout his outstanding career, Hull took home the Stanley Cup Trophy twice, once for the Stars in 1999 and again for the Red Wings in 2002, most likely due to his rampant goal-scoring efforts.

#4 Jaromir Jagr – 766 goals scored

Beating Brett Hull’s goal-scoring record by 25 goals is Jaromir Jagr, who recorded 766 total goals throughout his career. The former pro Czech Right Wing has the second most number of games played out of all players on this list (1,733) with the highest quantity of different teams played for, including the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames. Jagr also recorded the 2nd highest career points behind only Wayne Gretzky, achieving 1,155 assists and plenty of goals for 1,921 career points. Like Hull, Jagr won the Stanley Cup Championship in 1991 with the Penguins before winning it again back-to-back with Pittsburgh in 1992.

#3 Gordie Howe – 801 goals scored

Up next is Gordie Howe, the 3rd highest player with the most NHL goals scored in history at 801. The Canadian Right Wing legend dedicated his career to two separate teams, including the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers (now Carolina Hurricanes), racking up 1,850 career points due to his 1,0049 assists and goal count. Howe’s commitment to the Detroit Red Wings was unmatched, as he won the Stanley Cup with them four separate times in 1950, 1952, 1954, and 1955, proving he was one of the best on the ice of all time.

#2 Wayne Gretzky – 894 goals scored

Just recently ousted from the #1 all-time NHL goal scoring record is the 2nd highest all-time goal scorer, Wayne Gretsky. The legendary Canadian Center played out his career for four different teams, tallying a total of 1,487 games for the likes of the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and New York Rangers. He achieved an unreachable all-time high points record of 2,857 points (which will never be broken) with not just 894 goals scored, but an all-time high of 1,963 assists as well. Just like the other greats of the game, Gretzky accomplished four Stanley Cup Trophies in his career, all with the Edmonton Oilers in 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1988, solidifying his status as one of, if not the greatest hockey players of all time.

#1 Alex Ovechkin – 897 goals scored *Still Active*

Breaking Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record in 2025 is the incredible Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin is the only player on this list still kicking it in the NHL, with his entire career dedicated to the Washington Capitals. It’d take over 1,491 games for the Russian superstar to break Gretzky’s long-time record by just 3 goals (hopefully more to come), but he’s got a long way to go with points, recording 726 assists in total for 1,623 career points. There’s no doubt Ovechkin is one of the best of all time to play the game, although he’d only win one Stanley Cup trophy in 2018 with the Capitals, with the hopes of adding to his tally with future seasons to come.