At the time of his retirement in 1999, Wayne Gretzky owned or shared 61 NHL records, including the mark for the most career goals. “The Great One” finished his unparalleled 20-year career with an NHL-record 894 goals in 1,487 games. It is a mark that has stood since Gretzky walked away. Alex Ovechkin is looking to change that.
Ovechkin enters the 2024-25 season 42 goals shy of breaking Gretzky’s record. Ovechkin has scored at least 42 goals in a season 13 times in his NHL career, including in the 2022-23 campaign.
Here’s a look at the players with the most career goals in NHL history:
Wayne Gretzky: 894
Alex Ovechkin: 853
Gordie Howe: 801
Jaromir Jagr: 766
Brett Hull: 741
Marcel Dionne: 731
Phil Esposito: 717
Mike Gartner: 708
Mark Messier: 694
Steve Yzerman: 692
Mario Lemieux: 690
Teemu Selanne: 684
Luc Robitaille: 668
Brendan Shanahan: 656
Dave Andreychuk: 640
Joe Sakic: 625
Jarome Iginla: 625
Bobby Hull: 610
Dino Ciccarelli: 608
Jari Kurri: 601
Sidney Crosby: 592
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