The 100 Greatest Hockey Players of All-Time

Methodology. (Last update: 6/25/24)

RankPlayerPositionYears
1Wayne GretzkyC1978-1999
2Gordie HoweRW1946-1980
3Alexander OvechkinLW2005-active
4Mario LemieuxC1984-2006
5Bobby OrrD1966-1979
6Sidney CrosbyC2005-active
7Patrick RoyG1984-2003
8Connor McDavidC2015-active
9Jaromir JagrRW1990-2018
10Mark MessierC1978-2004
11Martin BrodeurG1991-2015
12Phil EspositoC1963-1981
13Nicklas LidstromD1991-2012
14Ray BourqueD1979-2001
15Dominik HasekG1990-2008
16Jean BeliveauC1950-1971
17Bobby HullLW1957-1980
18Maurice RichardRW1942-1960
19Guy LafleurRW1971-1991
20Doug HarveyD1947-1969
21Jacques PlanteG1952-1975
22Ken DrydenG1970-1979
23Glen HallG1952-1971
24Stan MikitaC1958-1980
25Bobby ClarkeC1969-1984
26Evgeni MalkinC2006-active
27Eddie ShoreD1926-1940
28Joe SakicC1988-2009
29Patrick KaneRW2007-active
30Nikita KucherovRW2013-active
31Steve YzermanC1983-2006
32Bryan TrottierC1975-1994
33Brett HullRW1986-2006
34Erik KarlssonD2009-active
35Paul CoffeyD1980-2001
36Chris CheliosD1983-2010
37Denis PotvinD1973-1988
38Andrei VasilevskiyG2014-active
39Mike BossyRW1977-1987
40Howie MorenzC1923-1937
41Terry SawchukG1949-1970
42Al MacInnisD1981-2004
43Larry RobinsonD1972-1992
44Jari KurriRW1978-1998
45Nathan MacKinnonC2013-active
46Red KellyD/C1947-1967
47Pierre PiloteD1955-1969
48Sergei FedorovC1990-2009
49Peter ForsbergC1994-2011
50Patrice BergeronC2003-2023
51Auston MatthewsC2016-active
52Leon DraisaitlC2014-active
53Chris ProngerD1993-2012
54Brian LeetchD1987-2006
55Cyclone TaylorR1905-1923
56Newsy LalondeC1917-1927
57Joe MaloneC/LW1917-1924
58Teemu SelanneRW1992-2014
59Scott StevensD1982-2004
60Jarome IginlaRW1996-2017
61Steve StamkosC2008-active
62Ed BelfourG1988-2007
63Ted LindsayLW1944-1965
64Marcel DionneC1971-1989
65Scott NiedermayerD1991-2010
66Zdeno CharaD1997-2022
67Duncan KeithD2005-2022
68Anze KopitarC2006-active
69Brad ParkD1968-1985
70Bernie GeoffrionRW1950-1968
71Bernie ParentG1965-1979
72Bill DurnanG1943-1950
73Joe ThorntonC1997-2022
74Doug GilmourC1983-2003
75Ted KennedyC1942-1957
76Drew DoughtyD2008-active
77Tony EspositoG1968-1984
78Frank MahovlichLW1956-1978
79Nels StewartC1925-1940
80Elmer LachC1940-1954
81Henrik LundqvistG2005-2020
82Sergei BobrovskyG2010-active
83Pavel DatsyukC2001-2016
84Martin St. LouisRW1998-2015
85Eric LindrosC1992-2007
86Ron FrancisC1981-2004
87Billy SmithG1971-1989
88Luc RobitailleLW1986-2003
89Roberto LuongoG1999-2019
90Tim ThomasG2002-2014
91Rod LangawayD1977-1993
92Dickie MooreLW1951-1968
93Pavel BureRW1991-2003
94Andy BathgateRW1952-1975
95Johnny BowerG1953-1970
96Milt SchmidtC/D1936-1955
97Syl AppsC1936-1948
98Bill CookRW1926-1937
99Frank NighborC1917-1930
100Charlie ConacherW1929-1941

4 thoughts on “The 100 Greatest Hockey Players of All-Time

  1. Very disappointed in number 1. While Gretzky was an unbelievable offensive force he couldn’t find the defensive zone with a map. Orr changed the way the game was played. Still the only defenseman to win the scoring title and showed the league the benefit of offense from the blue line. Orr, Gretzky, Lemeuix and Howe was the correct order

  2. Ha! Thanks for the correct answer, Grant. To each his own. Orr played 631 games in an incredibly unbalanced league filled with expansion teams. Scoring by the Original Six teams skyrocketed during this time due to the porous defense by the expansion teams. The competitiveness of the league during this time needs to be front and center to provide context. Orr was great, no doubt, but every little thing matters when comparing elite resumes. Howe played 1687 games in the NHL. How can we say Orr was better than Howe given the fact that Howe played at an elite level for nearly three times as many games? That’s a tough argument to make. Gretzky played in a more difficult league, set more records, and was the greatest playoff performer of all-time. He has to be number one, IMO.

  3. You don’t have Mats Sundin as a top 200 player ever? You have TWO goalies ahead of Dominik Hasek. Scott Stevens ahead of Zdeno Chara? Duncan Keith that high? At least I’ll give you, you put Malkin in an appropriate place. The NHL didn’t even have him in the top-100 a few years ago.

    1. Hey Bill, thanks for stopping by. Hasek was an elite goaltender and likely had the greatest eight-year stretch by any goaltender ever. However, Roy played nearly 300 more regular-season games and twice as many playoff games. Brodeur played over 500 more regular-season games and four times as many playoff games. Given that longevity plays a significant factor in these rankings, the contrast is just too substantial to rate Hasek ahead of either Roy or Brodeur.

      Duncan Keith is one of only two players who have debuted since 1991 to win multiple Norris Trophies. He is one of only three defensemen in history to win multiple Norris Trophies, a Conn Smythe, and three Stanley Cups. Whether anyone realizes it or not, his place in history is secure.

      Stevens vs. Chara is a close call by any measure. I have Stevens ahead on the count that he has a Conn Smythe, was a lynchpin for three Stanley Cup winners, played 22 seasons without a single negative plus/minus season, and received votes in the Norris voting in 17 seasons.

      I have no problem if someone wants to throw Mats Sundin into the top-200. I have him just on the fringe. He never had a truly elite season. He finished in the top 10 in Hart voting just once and that was an 8th place finish. He also had zero playoff success. There are just too many players with better resumes for me to slide Sundin into the top-200.

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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