Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is about to begin his 20th season in the NHL. Over the past two decades, he’s compiled 1,596 points in 1,272 games thanks to 592 goals and 1,004 assists.
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He currently ranks second in franchise history behind Mario Lemieux, who tallied 1,723 points in 915 games with 690 goals and 1,033 assists. Le Magnifique is the NHL’s eighth-highest scorer, just two spots above Crosby, who just climbed into the top 10.
Anyone looking at the league’s record book will see Wayne Gretzky at the top of every scoring category, and he may stay in that position (except for his goals record) until the end of this century.
However, The Great One played for four franchises, which isn’t as much as Jaromir Jagr, the NHL’s second-leading scorer, who dressed with nine clubs.
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As we continue down the list, Mark Messier (third) suited up for three organizations, while Gordie Howe (fourth) played for two NHL clubs. In fifth place is Ron Francis, who skated with three teams, while many people tend to forget that Marcel Dionne (sixth) did not spend his entire career with the Los Angeles Kings.
This leads us to the seventh-highest scorer, Steve Yzerman, who played his entire career with the Detroit Red Wings, amassing 1,755 points in 1,514 games. He scored 692 goals and collected 1,063 assists.
Heading into the 2024-25 season, Yzerman is the NHL’s leading scorer in every category—goals, assists, and points—for one franchise.
But Yzerman is not alone in the top 10. Right behind him in eighth place is Lemieux, who played every game in a Penguins sweater. Meanwhile, in ninth place is another player, Joe Sakic, who skated in the same era as Yzerman and Lemieux.
As a member of the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise, which relocated in 1995, he scored 625 goals and 1,016 assists for 1,641 points in 1,378 contests.
After Crosby, the next closet player to dress for one team during their entire career and collect at least 1,400 points is Alex Ovechkin (Washington), who has 1,550 and counting, with Hall of Famer Stan Mikita (Chicago) next in line with 1,467 points.
Only six players who rank among the top 25 highest scorers of all time achieved all their successes with one organization.
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Even though Crosby first has to chase down Sakic (45 points), he’s 127 points away from tying Lemieux for eighth place while overtaking his once-untouchable franchise records.
If Crosby signs an extension and finishes his career with the Penguins, he can surpass Yzerman and become the NHL’s single franchise leading scorer.
The math breaks down like this:
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Assists: Crosby 1,004, Yzerman 1,063
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Difference: 59
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Points: Crosby 1,755, Yzerman 1,596
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Difference: 159
Considering Crosby’s career yearly averages are as follows: goals (31), assists (52), and points (84), there’s a chance that a three-year extension to age 40 would allow him to break all of Yzerman’s milestones.
For now, though, all Pittsburgh fans can do is wait patiently for news to break off his extension; then, they can shift their focus to rooting him on to win another Stanley Cup and chase down several milestones held by Hall of Famers.
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