Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby became the 10th player in NHL history to score 1,600 points thanks to an assist on a Bryan Rust power play in the first period against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night.
Last year, the 37-year-old Crosby surpassed Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito with his 1,591st point to take sole possession of 10th place on the scoring list.
Additionally, with 52 assists in 2023-24, he became only the 14th skater to collect over 1,000 in his career and remains the active leader in assists and points.
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With 59X goals, Crosby is on the verge of becoming the 21st player to join the 600-goal club. With three seasons to go on his deal, he can reach 700 goals and 1,800 points.
For now, here’s where Crosby ranks in the NHL’s top-scoring list and the names he’ll be chasing for the next few seasons.
Crosby became the latest player with 1,600 points and joins Joe Sakic, Mario Lemieux, and Steve Yzerman as the only players this high on the list to achieve those points with one franchise.
Sakic stayed with the Quebec Nordiques when they became the Colorado Avalanche and went on to captain them to two Stanley Cup titles. As a feared sniper during his playing career, he has the third-fewest career goals (625) in the top ten.
If Lemieux had stayed healthy his entire career, there’s an argument that he wouldn’t rank so low at No. 8. However, he skated in only 915 games and still scored 1,723 points. Lemieux is the only player in the top 50 all-time scorers who didn’t reach 1,000 games.
Yzerman played his entire career with the Detroit Red Wings, and even though scoring was up during his era, his 1,755 points still didn’t match Gordie Howe’s career totals in the Motor City. However, Yzerman remains the longest-serving captain in NHL history, a mark Crosby will soon break.
Marcel Dionne is often considered the greatest NHL player who never won the Stanley Cup. As the third player to score 700 goals, he never played on a contender and only won one scoring title.
Ron Francis quietly became the NHL’s fifth-leading scorer thanks to his abilities as a playmaker. Historically, he ranks behind Gretzky in career assists. With only 549 goals, he ranks dead last in lamplighters by every player in the top ten.
Howe remains one of the most dominant professional players ever. He played for what seemed forever and set every significant record during his 26 seasons in the NHL. Eventually, Gretzky surpassed him and, eventually, a handful of other legends. However, there will always be just one “Mr. Hockey.”
When Mark Messier retired, he was only the third player to collect over 1,800 points, with Gretzky and Howe ranking second in games played behind Howe. Although Patrick Marleau bumped him down a notch on that list, “The Moose” remains the only captain in NHL history to lead two different franchises to the Stanley Cup.
Jaromir Jagr came within 79 points of becoming only the second player to reach 2,000 points. Can anyone imagine his final totals if he hadn’t played in the KHL for three seasons in his prime? As of 2024, Jagr’s place as the NHL’s second-leading scorer is safe for the foreseeable future since Crosby would need 321 points to catch him.
Did you know that if Gretzky never scored a goal, his 1,963 assists would still make him the all-time leading scorer? Since breaking Howe’s point total record in 1989 and his goal record in 1993, Gretzky has been the king of the mountain. Although no one will ever catch his point totals, Alex Ovechkin is inching closer to surpassing his goal total and could become the first player to net 900 goals.
Related: 7 Fascinating Statistics About Sidney Crosby’s Career
Related: Say It Ain’t So! Former Penguins Legend Jaromir Jagr Set to Retire in 2025
Related: Does Mario Lemieux Still Own the Penguins?
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