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 was a mark that had stood since Gretzky walked away, until Alex Ovechkin changed that in April 2025 when he broke the all-time goal record against the New York Islanders. In November 2025, Ovechkin scored his 900th career goal against the St. Louis Blues.
Here's a look at the players with the most career goals in NHL history:
*Denotes active player
*Alex Ovechkin: 929
Wayne Gretzky: 894
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
*Sidney Crosby: 654
Dave Andreychuk: 640
Joe Sakic: 625
Jarome Iginla: 625
*Steven Stamkos: 624
Bobby Hull: 610
Dino Ciccarelli: 608
Jari Kurri: 601
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