Who is the greatest NHL player of all time?
Easy, right? Wayne Gretzky.
Who else but the player who, over the course of a 20-year NHL career, scored the most goals, assists and points in league history? At the time Gretzky retired, he held 61 NHL records and most still stand today.
Gretzky’s place atop the charts hardly seems debatable, so we’re not going to debate it. Instead, it’s the other 99 spots that follow No. 99 we need to sort out.
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Welcome to NHL99, a project that aims to put a fresh spin on a familiar idea: Who are the top 100 players in post-1967 expansion NHL history? Let’s face it, there’ve been multiple previous attempts to name the best players of all time, so that’s our starting point and the primary tweak.
We didn’t want to go over the same old ground again. Instead, we wanted to try something new, and the post-1967 NHL seemed like a good starting point. Why? Because that’s when the game, and the business of hockey, fundamentally changed. Instead of six teams, there were suddenly 12. Instead of a league dominated almost exclusively by Canadians, a trickle and eventually a flood of players arrived from every corner of the world.
Today begins the countdown. We’re calling it NHL99 because there are 99 spots up for debate on our Top 100 list and the number 99 resonates for hockey fans everywhere.
So, spoiler alert, Wayne Gretzky is No. 1 on our list. One could argue Gretzky actually belongs in the Hall of Fame in two categories – as a player and as a builder. Arguably, no single individual did more to grow the NHL game, on and off the ice, than Gretzky.
But it gets interesting, and controversial, after Gretzky. Nine writers from The Athletic were given votes in this project: Eric Duhatschek, Dom Luszczyszyn, Shayna Goldman, Ian Mendes, Scott Wheeler, Sean Gentille, Michael Russo, Sean McIndoe and James Mirtle. The voters each submitted a list of 100 players in the spring of 2022, before the start of the playoffs, and points were awarded based on position: 100 points for No. 1 on the list, one point for No. 100, and so on. Gretzky earned a perfect 900 points. At the end of the project, we’ll unveil everyone’s ballots and the point totals. If this sounds familiar it’s because The Athletic has done similar projects with the NBA, NFL and MLB.
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With our list of Top 100 set, the countdown begins now. But this is more than just a countdown. From now until February, we’ll unveil one player a day, six days a week, along with an in-depth feature hopefully full of stories, angles and anecdotes about these players you’ve never read before. More than 40 writers from across The Athletic newsroom contributed to this project.
Now, a few important caveats about the process, beginning with an acknowledgment that any list discussing the greatest of all time is going to be subjective and can involve some recency bias. And again, our focus is strictly on the NHL from 1967 until now.
That needs to be made very clear because you won’t find Gordie Howe on our list. Is it sacrilege to have a best-players-of-all-time list without Mr. Hockey? Maybe, but Howe only played 369 NHL games from 1967-68 onward and spent six seasons in the WHA. So he’s out. You also won’t find Bobby Hull or Maurice Richard or Howie Morenz.
Our thornie*st and most complicated choices involved players who straddled the two ends of the spectrum. Some slipped through the cracks because their greatest impacts came prior to 1967. Some, who will eventually qualify, didn’t make the list because they are still in the early stages of their careers.
Our threshold was 400 games for skaters (300 for goalies) completed at the end of the 2021-22 regular season, which is the games-played criteria to qualify for an NHL pension. So Auston Matthews (407 career games) made it, barely. Cale Makar did not; he has only played 173 NHL regular-season games. It is a difficult line to draw, but you have to draw the line somewhere.
The overall goal was simple: To tell 100 compelling stories about 100 impactful NHL players and ultimately, perhaps, generate a conversation about who might have made the list and was overlooked.
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One caveat though: If you want to add your favorite player or dispute one of our selections, you’ll also need to subtract someone from the list.
Which you’ll discover, as the list counts down, might be easier said than done.
A quick word about Trophy Points:In each story, you’ll see a graphic with every player’s stats, accomplishments and voting totals. In the trophy case section you’ll see “trophy points.”
Trophy points are a way to more equitably judge a player’s trophy case by contextualizing different awards against each other while also giving credit for award finishes outside of first place. Each award was weighted by importance from our panel from most important (Hart Trophy) to least important (end of year All-Star team) to give proper credit to the most meaningful awards. We also give proper due to players who don’t actually win by using the vote share for each award combined with the actual win. This gives credit to players who consistently find themselves in or at the top of the race, but who don’t receive the full recognition for the win. Stanley Cup rings are not included in trophy points.
No. 1: Wayne Gretzky
No. 2: Mario Lemieux
No. 3: Bobby Orr
No. 4: Sidney Crosby
No. 5: Jaromir Jagr
No. 6: Alex Ovechkin
No. 7: Dominik Hasek
No. 8: Nicklas Lidstrom
No. 9: Phil Esposito
No. 10: Ray Bourque
No. 11: Patrick Roy
No. 12: Mike Bossy
No. 13: Joe Sakic
No. 14: Guy Lafleur
No. 15: Steve Yzerman
No. 16: Connor McDavid
No. 17: Mark Messier
No. 18: Paul Coffey
No. 19: Denis Potvin
No. 20: Marcel Dionne
No. 21: Martin Brodeur
No. 22: Brett Hull
No. 23: Teemu Selanne
No. 24: Larry Robinson
No. 25: Ken Dryden
No. 26: Evgeni Malkin
No. 27: Peter Forsberg
No. 28: Bryan Trottier
No. 29: Chris Chelios
No. 30: Brian Leetch
No. 31: Bobby Clarke
No. 32: Joe Thornton
No. 33: Sergei Fedorov
No. 34: Jarome Iginla
No. 35: Chris Pronger
No. 36: Pavel Bure
No. 37: Al MacInnis
No. 38: Eric Lindros
No. 39: Jari Kurri
No. 40: Luc Robitaille
No. 41: Patrick Kane
No. 42: Ron Francis
No. 43: Pavel Datsyuk
No. 44: Tony Esposito
No. 45: Scott Niedermayer
No. 46: Patrice Bergeron
No. 47: Stan Mikita
No. 48: Bernie Parent
No. 49: Scott Stevens
No. 50: Henrik Lundqvist
No. 51: Mike Modano
No. 52: Victor Hedman
No. 53: Brad Park
No. 54: Börje Salming
No. 55: Dale Hawerchuk
No. 56: Peter Stastny
No. 57: Zdeno Chara
No. 58: Paul Kariya
No. 59: Brendan Shanahan
No. 60: Erik Karlsson
No. 61: Mats Sundin
No. 62: Martin St. Louis
No. 63: Roberto Luongo
No. 64: Auston Matthews
No. 65: Jonathan Toews
No. 66: Doug Gilmour
No. 67: Mike Gartner
No. 68: Gilbert Perreault
No. 69: Adam Oates
No. 70: Jean Ratelle
No. 71: Grant Fuhr
No. 72: Nikita Kucherov
No. 73: Drew Doughty
No. 74: Nathan MacKinnon
No. 75: Steven Stamkos
No. 76: Daniel Sedin
No. 77: Henrik Sedin
No. 78: Duncan Keith
No. 79: Andrei Vasilevskiy
No. 80: Joe Nieuwendyk
No. 81: Ed Belfour
No. 82: Darryl Sittler
No. 83: Marian Hossa
No. 84: Serge Savard
No. 85: Denis Savard
No. 86: Billy Smith
No. 87: Rob Blake
No. 88: Carey Price
No. 89: Alexander Mogilny
No. 90: Shea Weber
No. 91: Mark Recchi
No. 92: Bob Gainey
No. 93: Mark Howe
No. 94: Pat LaFontaine
No. 95: Sergei Zubov
No. 96: Johnny Bucyk
No. 97: Henrik Zetterberg
No. 98: Guy Lapointe
No. 99: Kris Letang
No. 100: Marc-Andre Fleury
(Photo: Bruce Bennett, Gregory Shamus, Mike Powell, Justin K. Aller / Getty Images)
Alright, buckle up for a journey through the top 100 NHL players post-1967 expansion. First off, they're calling it NHL99, a nod to the 99 spots up for debate on the Top 100 list. Wayne Gretzky, the Great One, naturally claims the throne at No. 1, and no arguments there. The man practically rewrote the record books during his 20-year career.
Now, the interesting part is the debate that follows. Nine esteemed writers from The Athletic, including Eric Duhatschek and Dom Luszczyszyn, had their say. They submitted their lists in 2022, points were awarded based on positions, and Gretzky bagged a perfect 900 points. Now, the countdown begins, and they're unveiling one player a day, six days a week, until February. Expect in-depth features on each player, loaded with stories and anecdotes you've never heard before.
Now, about the process. They set a threshold of 400 games for skaters and 300 for goalies, completed by the end of the 2021-22 regular season. It's the games-played criteria for an NHL pension. So, if your favorite player didn't make the cut, check the game count.
And the list, oh, the list! Gretzky is followed by legends like Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr, Sidney Crosby, Jaromir Jagr, Alex Ovechkin, Dominik Hasek, Nicklas Lidstrom, Phil Esposito, and Ray Bourque in the top 10. The list goes on, featuring iconic names like Connor McDavid, Patrick Roy, Mark Messier, and many more.
Now, they've got something called Trophy Points. In each player's story, you'll find a graphic with stats, accomplishments, and voting totals. The trophy points aim to judge a player's trophy case more equitably by weighing awards differently. From the prestigious Hart Trophy to end-of-year All-Star team mentions, each award gets its due. Notably, Stanley Cup rings aren't included in Trophy Points.
It's a comprehensive project, involving over 40 writers from The Athletic. So, if you're a hockey enthusiast or just want to dive into the rich history of the NHL, this countdown promises to be a treat. And, of course, if you've got strong opinions about who should be on that list, get ready to make your case and, perhaps, subtract someone else to add your favorite player.
