Most Points in NHL History

Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record for the most career points, with 2,857 scored across 20 seasons from 1979 to 1999. His total sits nearly 1,000 points ahead of second-place Jaromir Jagr, a lead so enormous it is routinely called the most unbreakable record in all of sports.

In hockey, a point is credited for every goal or assist, so the career points list is the truest measure of a player’s total offensive impact. At the top of it stands a name in a category entirely his own. Here is the full leaderboard of the NHL’s all-time scoring leaders, the numbers behind Gretzky’s dominance, and why his record may never fall. All figures are through the 2025 season.

The record holder: Wayne Gretzky and 2,857 points

Gretzky did not just lead the league; he rewrote what was possible. He recorded 894 goals and a staggering 1,963 assists, and that assist total alone would top the all-time points list ahead of every other player who has ever played. He won the scoring title ten times and posted four seasons of 200 or more points, a mark no one else has reached even once.

The scale of his lead is the story. Being nearly 1,000 points clear of the second-best scorer in history is unheard of, and it is why “The Great One” is so often cited as the most dominant athlete relative to his peers in any sport.

The full leaderboard of career points leaders

The table below ranks the NHL’s all-time career points leaders. Active players are noted.

Rank	Points	Player	Career
1	2,857	Wayne Gretzky	1979-1999
2	1,921	Jaromir Jagr	1990-2018
3	1,887	Mark Messier	1979-2004
4	1,850	Gordie Howe	1946-1980
5	1,798	Ron Francis	1981-2004
6	1,771	Marcel Dionne	1971-1989
7	1,755	Steve Yzerman	1983-2006
8	1,723	Mario Lemieux	1984-2006
9	1,650+*	Sidney Crosby	2005-present
10	1,641	Joe Sakic	1988-2009

*Sidney Crosby is active; his total is current through the 2025 season and still climbing.

The list is a who’s who of hockey history, from Gordie Howe’s four-decade career through Gretzky, Lemieux and Jagr, down to the active Sidney Crosby, who has scored his way into the all-time top ten.

Jaromir Jagr and the chase that never was

Jaromir Jagr sits second with 1,921 points, compiled over a remarkable career that stretched into his mid-40s and across three decades. Yet even Jagr’s longevity left him nearly 1,000 points short of Gretzky. That gap, between the greatest accumulator the modern game has seen and the record itself, is the clearest illustration of how far ahead Gretzky remains.

The goals record falls, but points endure

In April 2025, Alex Ovechkin passed Gretzky’s career goals record of 894, a milestone many thought untouchable. But scoring goals and scoring points are different challenges, and Gretzky’s points record, powered by his unmatched assists, is safe. For more on hockey’s scoring feats, see our leaderboard of the most NHL goals in a season, and for the game’s fiercest competitors, our look at the most dangerous NHL players.

Why the record matters

The career points record captures a player’s entire offensive contribution, goals and assists alike, which makes it hockey’s ultimate individual measure. Gretzky’s 2,857 does not merely lead the list; it towers over it, and the fact that his assists alone would rank first tells you everything about why the record is expected to stand for generations.

The short version: Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL career points record with 2,857, nearly 1,000 ahead of Jaromir Jagr (1,921), Mark Messier (1,887) and Gordie Howe (1,850). Even with Alex Ovechkin breaking the goals record in 2025, Gretzky’s points mark, from a 20-year career, remains the most unbreakable record in sports through the 2025 season.