NHL All-Time Stats Leaders - Part III

Written By: Mark "The Hard Hitter" Ritter

We have already covered off the all-time Plus/Minus leaders, Game Winning Goal scoring leaders, Points leaders, Assist leaders, and the all-time Penalty Minute leaders. This time we look at the all-time Goal Scoring leaders, Games Played leaders and the all-time Short Handed Goal scorers.

All-time Goal Scoring Leaders

If you are any kind of hockey fan you know exactly who leads this category, it’s a no brain-er; the surprises come fast and furious once you get past the top ten, let’s take a look.

1. Wayne Gretzky

What does it take to score 894 Goals? Skill, determination, great hands, great teammates and 5,089 shots on goal! Gretzky didn’t have a dominating shot, but he was deadly accurate and he had the uncanny ability to put the puck where the goaltenders were not.

Sounds goofy, right?

Yeah, kind of, but the next time you watch a hockey game watch how many players shoot the puck right at the goalie, putting the puck where the goalies not is easier said than done.

2. Gordon “Gordie” Howe

It’s too bad we don’t have Gordie’s shot totals to help us compare Gretzky and Howe, sadly they are not there. Howe scored 801 goals, many believed nobody would ever come close to beating Howe’s total.

“Mr. Hockey” can hold his head up high, there are three players less than 100 goals away from Howe, only Gretzky bested Howe’s stats, that’s why they call him “The Great One”.

3. Brett Hull

Ok, admit it, we all strive to put one up on our Fathers, at least once in our lives, right? Well, Brett Hull accomplished just that by scoring a total of 741 times; Brett’s Father Robert “Bobby” Hull netted 610 goals.

That makes the Hulls' the best Father son scoring dual of all-time. Brett, much like his Father before him, was known for has a deadly slap-shot that put the fear of God in many a goalie. I’ll take either Hull on my all-time team any day of the week, who could ask for better wingers?

Surprises?

Marcel Dionne sits in fourth overall with a total of 731 goals scored, not bad. Mark Messier sits at seventh overall with a total of 694 goals scored- ahead of Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Mike Bossy, Guy Lafleur, and Maurice “Rocket” Richard- that’s a pretty impressive list of players!

Other notables? Mike Gartner is ranked sixth overall, just nine goals behind the great Phil Esposito, Dave Andreychuk is ranked 13th overall, Dino Ciccarelli is ranked sixteenth, Joe Nieuwendyk sits at 20th with a total of 564 goals. Highest ranked active player? Joe Sakic, ranked 14th with a total of 625 Goals scored. Jeremy “JR” Roenick sits at 36th overall with a total of 513 goals, one ahead of the great Gilbert Perreault.

All-time Games Played Leaders

I know this category does not seem overly important, but, at the end of the day, looking at the all-time games played leaders is a great measure of a player’s dedication, competitiveness and skill level.

Many a great player came onto the scene quickly and left just as fast, this categories separates the flash in the pan from the dedicated veterans.

1. Gordon “Gordie” Howe

Who else? Howe played in a total of 1,767 games, that’s just over 21 and a half 82 game seasons, very impressive! Howe’s first season was in 1946/47 with the Detroit Red Wings.

Howe’s last season was spent with the now defunct Hartford Whalers in 1979/80. Given his dominance in this category Howe gets my vote as the most durable player in NHL history.

2. Mark “Moose” Messier

With a total of 1,756 games played, Mark Messier came up just shy of catching Gordie Howe. Messier wore the No. 11, maybe he knew he’d come 11 games shy of catching Howe? Yeah, that’s why he wore that number, what great foresight, huh?

3. Ronald “Ron” Francis

One thing I am noting here, you need to have your name shortened or have a nickname to be amongst the leaders in this category. I’ll do a little foreshadowing myself and predict that Sidney “Sid the Kid” Crosby will be here one day too.

Back to Francis—Ron played a total of 1,731 games. Another strange stat? Howe, Messier and Francis are ranked Np. 8, No. 3 and No. 2 respectively in all-time assists, guess you need to be able to dish the puck off in order to have a long career.

Surprises?

Alex Delvecchio came in at No. 9 overall with a total of 1,549 games played. Delvecchio played from 1950/51 through until 1973/74. Wayne Gretzky finished up ranked at number 14 overall with a total of 1,487 games played, Tim Horton (yeah, the coffee guy) is ranked at No. 17 overall with a total of 1,446 games played, Luke Richardson is ranked twenty-third overall, having played a total of 1,417 games, Marcel Dionne was ranked way down the ladder at number forty-one with a total of 1,348 games played- makes his stats all the more impressive…

All-time Shorthanded Goal Scorers

There are very few players who ever master the Short handed Goal. First, you have to earn your way onto the Penalty Kill by being a defensively responsible player; and you also have to have the ability to put the puck in the net, a valuable skill set to say the least.

1. Wayne Gretzky

“The Great One” scored a total of 73 Shorthanded Goals. Was there anything that Gretzky didn’t do well?

2. Mark Messier

Can you imagine the look on the opposing players faces when Gretzky and Messier came out on the ice to kill a penalty? I am sure there were a few times the opposition wanted to decline the penalty! Messier cored 63 Shorthanded Goals in his career.

3. Steve Yzerman

Glad to see Yzerman in the top three for once, he was an underrated player- remember all the times he got booted from the Team Canada rosters? Yzerman had 50 Shorthanded Goals in his career.

Surprises?

Robert “Butch” Goring is ranked fifth overall with 40 Shorthanded Goals, just nine behind the great Mario Lemieux. Former Chicago Blackhawk Dirk Graham is ranked tenth overall with 35 Shorthanded Goals. Peter Bondra (not exactly known for his defensive prowess) is ranked No. 15 with 32 Shorthanded Goals.

Mats Sundin is ranked at seventeen having scored 31 Shorties, while another former Toronto Maple Leaf, Dave Reid, is ranked at No. 27 overall with 28 shorthanded goals—Reid only scored 165 times in his entire career, so 28 is pretty impressive!

And, last but not least, the highest ranked defenseman was Mark Howe; Howe scored a total of 28 times while his team was Shorthanded…Betcha thought it was someone other than Howe?

That concludes my look at the NHL's All-time Leaders. Thanks for tuning in.

Until Next time,

Peace!