About this chart race
Only eight players have ever held the NHL career goals record at a season's end. Joe Malone and Cy Denneny swapped it in the league's first seasons until Denneny took it for good in 1923. Howie Morenz passed him in 1934 (253 to 247), and Nels Stewart held it for 16 seasons from 1937. Maurice Richard went top in 1953 and Gordie Howe in 1964, and Howe then kept it for 30 seasons. Wayne Gretzky passed Howe in 1994 by two goals, 803 to 801, and also held it for 30 seasons. Alex Ovechkin went past Gretzky in 2025 (897 to 894) and ends 2026 on 929, 35 clear of him.
This animated ranking shows how career nhl regular-season goals changed across 50 series between 1918 and 2026. The bars re-order themselves as the years advance, so overtakes are visible as they happen rather than hidden inside a table. Use the list on the left to choose exactly who competes, drag the slider to jump to any year, or open the table view to read the underlying numbers.
As of 2026, Alex Ovechkin leads with 929.
Included in this race
Alex Ovechkin, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jaromír Jágr, Brett Hull, Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito, Mike Gartner, Mark Messier, Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Bobby Hull, Jari Kurri, Mike Bossy, Guy Lafleur, Johnny Bucyk, Maurice Richard, Stan Mikita, Frank Mahovlich, Jean Béliveau, Norm Ullman, Alex Delvecchio, Bernie Geoffrion, Ted Lindsay, Andy Bathgate, Nels Stewart, Howie Morenz, Aurele Joliat, Bill Mosienko, Cy Denneny, Max Bentley, Busher Jackson, Syd Howe, Toe Blake, Dit Clapper, Bill Cook, Charlie Conacher, Babe Dye, Hooley Smith, Reg Noble, Joe Malone, Frank Nighbor, Newsy Lalonde, Punch Broadbent, Georges Boucher, Corb Denneny, Odie Cleghorn, Harry Cameron, Jack Darragh, Didier Pitre.
Source
Data from Hockey-Reference.com. Every figure shown comes from this source — nothing is estimated or generated.
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