NHL Power Rankings: Each franchise's career playoff points leader

We're in the final weeks of the 2025-26 NHL regular season. Teams are battling for positioning and playoff spots. And while those teams prepare for what they hope are long playoff runs, some players could add to their playoff point totals.

Players generally don't prioritize individual accomplishments while in the playoffs, but hockey fans love to compare the numbers for all-time greats.

So, who are the leading playoff scorers for every NHL team?

Diehard fans will probably know a lot of the franchise leaders, but there are several surprises throughout.

How we rank: A panel of ESPN hockey commentators, analysts, reporters and editors sends in a 1-32 poll based on the games through Wednesday.

Note: Previous ranking for each team refers to the previous edition, March 20. Points percentages are through Thursday's games.

1. Colorado Avalanche

Previous ranking: 1
Points percentage: 74.6%

Joe Sakic: 188. For those wondering, Nathan MacKinnon has 122 playoff points, so he needs a few to go before catching Burnaby Joe, who is the Avs' president of hockey operations.

Next seven days: vs. WPG (March 28), vs. CGY (March 30), vs. VAN (April 1)

2. Dallas Stars

Previous ranking: 2
Points percentage: 67.4%

Mike Modano: 145. No surprise here for the legend who was recently honored with a statue outside American Airlines Center. What's more surprising is picturing Modano with the Red Wings, who had him for 42 games, because of how connected he is with the Stars/North Stars (though Modano grew up in Michigan).

Next seven days: @ PIT (March 28), @ PHI (March 29), @ BOS (March 31), vs. WPG (April 2)

3. Buffalo Sabres

Previous ranking: 3
Points percentage: 66.7%

Gilbert Perrault: 103. Maybe we are embarking on an era when Tage Thompson will threaten this mark in the next decade, but right now, one of the most iconic Sabres of all time has the postseason record.

Next seven days: vs. DET (March 27), vs. SEA (March 28), vs. NYI (March 31), @ OTT (April 2)

4. Carolina Hurricanes

Previous ranking: 4
Points percentage: 67.6%

Sebastian Aho: 85. The iconic pose in Hurricanes history is of now-head coach Rod Brind'Amour raising the Cup as a player in 2006, but Aho has the Canes' playoff points lead, one he'll be adding to this spring.

Next seven days: vs. NJ (March 28), vs. MTL (March 29), @ CBJ (March 31), vs. CBJ (April 2)

5. Tampa Bay Lightning

Previous ranking: 6
Points percentage: 66.2%

Nikita Kucherov: 171. Kucherov is leading the points race after spending much of the season well out of it. He has scored 75 points in a recent 33-game stretch, the first player to do that since Mario Lemieux in 1996. Incredible.

Next seven days: vs. OTT (March 28), vs. NSH (March 29), vs. MTL (March 31), vs. PIT (April 2)

6. Minnesota Wild

Previous ranking: 5
Points percentage: 64.4%

Zach Parise: 37. With all due respect to Parise, if there's one record that's for the taking on this list, it's this one. Kirill Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes will have something to say about this in the years to come.

Next seven days: @ BOS (March 28), vs. VAN (April 2)

7. Montreal Canadiens

Previous ranking: 8
Points percentage: 63.4%

Jean Beliveau: 176. "Le Gros Bill" remains one of the classiest leaders in sports history, along with one of the best hockey players ever. A role model's role model.

Next seven days: @ NSH (March 28), @ CAR (March 29), @ TB (March 31), @ NYR (April 2)

8. Columbus Blue Jackets

Previous ranking: 11
Points percentage: 60.4%

Cam Atkinson: 26. Atkinson's 26 points in 35 games does the trick, but hopefully, that changes in the future for CBJ. I'd love to see the city of Columbus enjoy long playoff runs with that exciting young core.

Next seven days: vs. SJ (March 28), vs. BOS (March 29), vs. CAR (March 31), @ CAR (April 2)

9. Ottawa Senators

Previous ranking: 13
Points percentage: 59.7%

Daniel Alfredsson: 100. Alfredsson remains with the Senators as an assistant coach. Similar to Mike Modano, he also has the "I played my entire career with one team ... aside from my very last season with the Red Wings" arc.

Next seven days: @ TB (March 28), @ FLA (March 31), vs. BUF (April 2)

10. Pittsburgh Penguins

Previous ranking: 7
Points percentage: 61.1%

Sidney Crosby: 201. Mario Lemieux had 172 points in 107 playoff games. It feels like Sid will hold this record for a long time.

Next seven days: vs. DAL (March 28), @ NYI (March 30), vs. DET (March 31), @ TB (April 2)

11. Boston Bruins

Previous ranking: 10
Points percentage: 61.1%

Ray Bourque: 161. Though the most iconic moment of No. 77's career was receiving the Stanley Cup from Joe Sakic while with the Avs in 2001, Ray Bourque is a Bruins legend. He even brought the Cup to Boston after winning it as an Av, with thousands attending the ceremony.

Next seven days: vs. MIN (March 28), @ CBJ (March 29), vs. DAL (March 31), @ FLA (April 2)

12. Anaheim Ducks

Previous ranking: 14
Points percentage: 59.7%

Ryan Getzlaf: 120. Anaheim's longest-serving captain spent his entire career with the Ducks and won a Cup early in his career, along with two Olympic gold medals. Is he a future Hockey Hall of Famer?

Next seven days: @ EDM (March 28), vs. TOR (March 30), @ SJ (April 1)

13. New York Islanders

Previous ranking: 9
Points percentage: 59.6%

Bryan Trottier: 168. A (maybe not so) bold prediction: Matthew Schaefer is the one to break this. He's the heartbeat of the Isles for this generation. He could become the greatest thing to happen on Long Island since the '80s dynasty, and is already racking up points as an 18-year-old.

Next seven days: vs. FLA (March 28), vs. PIT (March 30), @ BUF (March 31)

14. Utah Mammoth

Previous ranking: 15
Points percentage: 54.8%

N/A. Because the Mammoth are technically a new NHL team (not an expansion franchise), the career playoff points leader will officially be whoever gets the first Mammoth playoff points, whether that's this spring or in the future. Dylan Guenther maybe? But if we're looking at the Coyotes/Jets 1.0 lineage, that record belongs to Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk, with 49 playoff points.

Next seven days: @ LA (March 28), @ SEA (April 2)

15. Detroit Red Wings

Previous ranking: 12
Points percentage: 59.2%

Steve Yzerman: 185. Gordie Howe had 158 points in 154 playoff games for Detroit. Yzerman played in 196, also with more rounds and playoff games available to play -- and in an era when the Red Wings making the playoffs was pretty much automatic.

Next seven days: @ BUF (March 27), vs. PHI (March 28), @ PIT (March 31), @ PHI (April 2)

16. Edmonton Oilers

Previous ranking: 16
Points percentage: 55.5%

Wayne Gretzky: 252. No surprise here as No. 99 is also the only player on this list to top two franchises (spoiler alert), and has the most points in league playoff history with 380; Mark Messier is second with 294.

Next seven days: vs. ANA (March 28), vs. SEA (March 31), vs. CHI (April 2)

17. Vegas Golden Knights

Previous ranking: 17
Points percentage: 54.1%

Jonathan Marchessault: 75. Marchessault also won the Conn Smythe trophy in 2023, when Vegas won the Cup. With him no longer with the team, this record is also up for grabs. Will it belong to Jack Eichel (43 in 40 games) someday?

Next seven days: vs. WSH (March 28), vs. VAN (March 30), vs. CGY (April 2)

18. Philadelphia Flyers

Previous ranking: 18
Points percentage: 57.7%

Bobby Clarke: 119. The subject of one of the most iconic hockey photos in history: missing a bunch of teeth while holding the Cup. Could Trevor Zegras break this record?

Next seven days: @ DET (March 28), vs. DAL (March 29), @ WSH (March 31), vs. DET (April 2)

19. Washington Capitals

Previous ranking: 19
Points percentage: 55.5%

Alex Ovechkin: 147. The big question is, will this be the final number for Ovechkin? The Caps are down but not out; will they make the playoffs this year? If not, does Ovi return for another season? There are lots of questions surrounding the Great 8.

Next seven days: @ VGK (March 28), vs. PHI (March 31), @ NJ (April 2)

20. Nashville Predators

Previous ranking: 25
Points percentage: 53.5%

Filip Forsberg: 59. There was a point, even a couple of months ago, when I thought the current player with the greatest moustache in the NHL wouldn't add to this total for the foreseeable future. Yet, here we are, with the Preds in a wild-card spot as we approach the final weeks.

Next seven days: vs. MTL (March 28), @ TB (March 29), @ LA (April 2)

21. New Jersey Devils

Previous ranking: 22
Points percentage: 53.5%

Patrik Elias: 125. I once asked Elias on the official Devils podcast if he saw Jason Arnott on that famous Stanley Cup-clinching pass in 2000. He said no, but he knew Arnott would be there. And he was. And they raised the Cup.

Next seven days: @ CAR (March 28), vs. CHI (March 29), @ NYR (March 31), vs. WSH (April 2)

22. Los Angeles Kings

Previous ranking: 21
Points percentage: 52.8%

Wayne Gretzky: 94. No. 99 needed only five seasons to establish his franchise record with L.A., bringing the Kings to the Stanley Cup Final in 1993 (with the great Barry Melrose behind the bench).

Next seven days: vs. UTA (March 28), vs. STL (April 1), vs. NSH (April 2)

23. Florida Panthers

Previous ranking: 24
Points percentage: 51.4%

Aleksander Barkov: 81. Barkov's absence this season has been felt greatly by the Cats, who will likely miss the playoffs for the first time since 2019 after repeating as Cup champs in 2024 and 2025.

Next seven days: @ NYI (March 28), @ NYR (March 29), vs. OTT (March 31), vs. BOS (April 2)

24. Seattle Kraken

Previous ranking: 20
Points percentage: 52.1%

Yanni Gourde: 13. Another record that is ripe to be taken because Gourde is with the Lightning. Those 13 points came in the 2013 postseason with Seattle.

Next seven days: @ BUF (March 28), @ EDM (March 31), vs. UTA (April 2)

25. Winnipeg Jets

Previous ranking: 26
Points percentage: 50.0%

Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele: 49. Our only tie on the list! This includes only the Atlanta Thrashers/current Jets lineage. The 1.0 Jets (1972-1996) fall under the Coyotes, who were referenced in the Mammoth entry.

Next seven days: @ COL (March 28), @ CHI (March 31), @ DAL (April 2)

26. San Jose Sharks

Previous ranking: 23
Points percentage: 50.7%

Patrick Marleau: 120. Joe Thornton played in 12 Sharks postseasons, along with one each with the Leafs and Panthers; before the Sharks, he skated in five with the Bruins. Marleau played in 17 of them with San Jose. He will probably also hold the record for most NHL regular-season games played (1,779) for a long time.

Next seven days: @ CBJ (March 28), vs. STL (March 30), vs. ANA (April 1), vs. TOR (April 2)

27. Toronto Maple Leafs

Previous ranking: 27
Points percentage: 51.4%

Doug Gilmour: 77. This was one of the more surprising entries; I would have guessed Mats Sundin or someone from the era of Cup-winning Leafs teams. But, Gilmour it is; he finished with 77 points in 52 playoff games; Sundin had 70 in 77 postseason contests, and Dave Keon had 67 in 89.

Next seven days: @ STL (March 28), @ ANA (March 30), @ SJ (April 2)

28. St. Louis Blues

Previous ranking: 29
Points percentage: 50.0%

Brett Hull: 117. Hull spent the bulk of his career in St. Louis, but won his Stanley Cups in Dallas (1999) and Detroit (2022). Remember him as a Coyote?

Next seven days: vs. TOR (March 28), @ SJ (March 30), @ LA (April 1)

29. Calgary Flames

Previous ranking: 31
Points percentage: 47.2%

Al MacInnis: 102. The man responsible for one of the most powerful slap shots in NHL history. MacInnis made the Cup Final twice, both with the Flames, winning it in 1989. He then spent the second half of his career in St. Louis, where he is also a legend.

Next seven days: vs. VAN (March 28), @ COL (March 30), @ VGK (April 2)

30. Chicago Blackhawks

Previous ranking: 30
Points percentage: 46.5%

Stan Mikita: 150. It's all the more impressive when you see a legend from half a century ago on this list -- 150 points in 155 playoff games! A more recent star, Patrick Kane, had 132 in 136 with Chicago.

Next seven days: @ NYR (March 27), @ NJ (March 29), vs. WPG (March 31), @ EDM (April 2)

31. New York Rangers

Previous ranking: 28
Points percentage: 45.1%

Brian Leetch: 89. Just like Mike Modano with the Wings, Brian Leetch has a couple of "do you remember him on that team?" moments; do you remember Brian Leetch with the Toronto Maple Leafs, or Brian Leetch with the Boston Bruins?

Next seven days: vs. CHI (March 27), vs. FLA (March 29), vs. NJ (March 31), vs. MTL (April 2)

32. Vancouver Canucks

Previous ranking: 32
Points percentage: 35.2%

Trevor Linden: 95. Legendary player and a heartbeat in Vancouver, despite parting ways with the Canucks in 2018. But do you remember when he also had brief stints with the Canadiens, Capitals and Islanders?

Next seven days: @ CGY (March 28), @ VGK (March 30), @ COL (April 1), @ MIN (April 2)