Playoff Scoring Leaders (1927-2022)

[jigglysquishy]

I thought this was here somewhere but I couldn't find it. Playoff scoring leaders since the NHL/WCHL merger.

Season	Leader	Points
1926-27	Harry Oliver Percy Galbraith	6
1927-28	Frank Boucher	10
1928-29	Butch Keeling Ace Bailey	3
1929-30	Cooney Weiland Marty Barry	6
1930-31	Cooney Weiland	9
1931-32	Frank Boucher	9
1932-33	Cecil Dillon	10
1933-34	Larry Aurie	10
1934-35	Cy Wentworth Baldy Northcott	5
1935-36	Buzz Boll	10
1936-37	Marty Barry	11
1937-38	Johnny Gottselig Gordie Drillon	8
1938-39	Bill Cowley	14
1939-40	Phil Watson Neil Colville	9
1940-41	Milt Schmidt	11
1941-42	Don Grosso	14
1942-43	Carl Liscombe	14
1943-44	Toe Blake	18
1944-45	Joe Carveth	11
1945-46	Elmer Lach	17
1946-47	Maurice Richard	11
1947-48	Ted Kennedy	14
1948-49	Gordie Howe	11
1949-50	Pentti Lund	11
1950-51	Maurice Richard Max Bentley	13
1951-52	Gordie Howe Ted Lindsay	7
1952-53	Ed Sandford	11
1953-54	Dickie Moore	13
1954-55	Gordie Howe	20
1955-56	Jean Beliveau	19
1956-57	Bernie Geoffrion	18
1957-58	Fleming MacKell	19
1958-59	Dickie Moore	17
1959-60	Henri Richard Bernie Geoffrion	12
1960-61	Gordie Howe Pierre Pilote	15
1961-62	Stan Mikita	21
1962-63	Gordie Howe Norm Ullman	16
1963-64	Gordie Howe	19
1964-65	Bobby Hull	17
1965-66	Norm Ullman	15
1966-67	Jim Pappin	15
1967-68	Bill Goldsworthy	15
1968-69	Phil Esposito	18
1969-70	Phil Esposito	27
1970-71	Frank Mahovlich	27
1971-72	Phil Esposito Bobby Orr	24
1972-73	Yvan Cournoyer	25
1973-74	Rick MacLeish	22
1974-75	Rick MacLeish	20
1975-76	Reggie Leach	24
1976-77	Guy Lafleur	26
1977-78	Guy Lafleur Larry Robinson	21
1978-79	Guy Lafleur Jacques Lemaire	23
1979-80	Bryan Trottier	29
1980-81	Mike Bossy	35
1981-82	Bryan Trottier	29
1982-83	Wayne Gretzky	38
1983-84	Wayne Gretzky	35
1984-85	Wayne Gretzky	47
1985-86	Doug Gilmour Bernie Federko	21
1986-87	Wayne Gretzky	34
1987-88	Wayne Gretzky	43
1988-89	Al MacInnis	31
1989-90	Mark Messier Craig Simpson	31
1990-91	Mario Lemieux	44
1991-92	Mario Lemieux	34
1992-93	Wayne Gretzky	40
1993-94	Brian Leetch	34
1994-95	Sergei Fedorov	24
1995-96	Joe Sakic	34
1996-97	Eric Lindros	26
1997-98	Steve Yzerman	24
1998-99	Peter Forsberg	24
1999-00	Brett Hull	24
2000-01	Joe Sakic	26
2001-02	Peter Forsberg	27
2002-03	Scott Niedermayer Jamie Langenbrunner	18
2003-04	Brad Richards	26
2005-06	Eric Staal	28
2006-07	Jason Spezza Daniel Alfredsson Dany Heatley	22
2007-08	Sidney Crosby Henrik Zetterberg	27
2008-09	Evgeni Malkin	36
2009-10	Daniel Briere	30
2010-11	David Krejci	23
2011-12	Anze Kopitar Dustin Brown	20
2012-13	David Krejci	26
2013-14	Anze Kopitar	26
2014-15	Patrick Kane Tyler Johnson	23
2015-16	Logan Couture	30
2016-17	Evgeni Malkin	28
2017-18	Evgeny Kuznetsov	32
2018-19	Ryan O-Reilly	23
2019-20	Nikita Kucherov	34
2020-21	Nikita Kucherov	32
2021-22	Connor McDavid	33

Player	Times Lead (min. 2)
Wayne Gretzky Gordie Howe	6
Phil Esposito Guy Lafleur	3
Rick MacLeish Peter Forberg Nikita Kucherov Maurice Richard Mario Lemieux Joe Sakic Frank Boucher Evgeni Malkin Dickie Moore David Krejci Cooney Weiland Bryan Trottier Anze Kopitar	2

This is all done manually so please report any errors.


Obviously playoff scoring comes with the massive caveat that not all players have the same opportunity nor the same amount of games played. So it's very much not an apples to apples comparison. But still, Gretzky and Howe each doing it 6 times is very impressive.

Gretzky lead playoffs or regular season in scoring a record 17 times. Howe 12 times. Lemieux and Esposito 8 times. McDavid and LaFleur 6 times. Mikita 5 times. Jagr 5 times.

Click to read more...

 

[daver]

Hard to say if Crosby was unluckier with winning playoff scoring titles than he was in winning regular season scoring titles.

Loses to an all-time great performance in 2009 by Malkin.

Wins the Smythe in 2016 while playing a more of a 2-way role with weak wingers.

Misses two games with yet another concussion in 2017 and misses out by one point.

Could have possibly won a "Three Rounder" title in 2010 and 2018.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

How many lead the playoffs in points, but didn't make the cup finals ? Just McDavid ?

 

[Dingo]

How many lead the playoffs in points, but didn't make the cup finals ? Just McDavid ?

Forsberg both times

 

[jigglysquishy]

How many lead the playoffs in points, but didn't make the cup finals ? Just McDavid ?

McDavid 2022
Forsberg 2002
Forsberg 1999
Gilmour and Federko - 1986
Esposito 1969
Goldsworthy 1968

 

[Staniowski]

How many lead the playoffs in points, but didn't make the cup finals ? Just McDavid ?

Also, Gilmour and Federko in '86.

That was an interesting year because St. Louis played the maximum number of games they could've played, just slightly behind the finalists, Montreal and Calgary. And it was also helped by the particular situations of the finalists. Montreal was a defensive team, largely led by its defensive forwards, goaltender, and defensemen; and Calgary's best players were defensemen - Reinhart and MacInnis. So, no star offensive forward leading either team, which opened the possibility of a non-finalist to take the lead.

And.....Gretzky only played 2 (of 4) rounds, and finished tied for 3rd in scoring with 19 points in 10 games. So, it was entirely possible that Gretzky could have led the playoffs in scoring without even making the semis in 1986.

 

[Hockey Stathead]

I thought this was here somewhere but I couldn't find it. Playoff scoring leaders since the NHL/WCHL merger.

Season	Leader	Points
1926-27	Harry Oliver Percy Galbraith	6
1927-28	Frank Boucher	10
1928-29	Butch Keeling Ace Bailey	3
1929-30	Cooney Weiland Marty Barry	6
1930-31	Cooney Weiland	9
1931-32	Frank Boucher	9
1932-33	Cecil Dillon	10
1933-34	Larry Aurie	10
1934-35	Cy Wentworth Baldy Northcott	5
1935-36	Buzz Boll	10
1936-37	Marty Barry	11
1937-38	Johnny Gottselig Gordie Drillon	8
1938-39	Bill Cowley	14
1939-40	Phil Watson Neil Colville	9
1940-41	Milt Schmidt	11
1941-42	Don Grosso	14
1942-43	Carl Liscombe	14
1943-44	Toe Blake	18
1944-45	Joe Carveth	11
1945-46	Elmer Lach	17
1946-47	Maurice Richard	11
1947-48	Ted Kennedy	14
1948-49	Gordie Howe	11
1949-50	Pentti Lund	11
1950-51	Maurice Richard Max Bentley	13
1951-52	Gordie Howe Ted Lindsay	7
1952-53	Ed Sandford	11
1953-54	Dickie Moore	13
1954-55	Gordie Howe	20
1955-56	Jean Beliveau	19
1956-57	Bernie Geoffrion	18
1957-58	Fleming MacKell	19
1958-59	Dickie Moore	17
1959-60	Henri Richard Bernie Geoffrion	12
1960-61	Gordie Howe Pierre Pilote	15
1961-62	Stan Mikita	21
1962-63	Gordie Howe Norm Ullman	16
1963-64	Gordie Howe	19
1964-65	Bobby Hull	17
1965-66	Norm Ullman	15
1966-67	Jim Pappin	15
1967-68	Bill Goldsworthy	15
1968-69	Phil Esposito	18
1969-70	Phil Esposito	27
1970-71	Frank Mahovlich	27
1971-72	Phil Esposito Bobby Orr	24
1972-73	Yvan Cournoyer	25
1973-74	Rick MacLeish	22
1974-75	Rick MacLeish	20
1975-76	Reggie Leach	24
1976-77	Guy Lafleur	26
1977-78	Guy Lafleur Larry Robinson	21
1978-79	Guy Lafleur Jacques Lemaire	23
1979-80	Bryan Trottier	29
1980-81	Mike Bossy	35
1981-82	Bryan Trottier	29
1982-83	Wayne Gretzky	38
1983-84	Wayne Gretzky	35
1984-85	Wayne Gretzky	47
1985-86	Doug Gilmour Bernie Federko	21
1986-87	Wayne Gretzky	34
1987-88	Wayne Gretzky	43
1988-89	Al MacInnis	31
1989-90	Mark Messier Craig Simpson	31
1990-91	Mario Lemieux	44
1991-92	Mario Lemieux	34
1992-93	Wayne Gretzky	40
1993-94	Brian Leetch	34
1994-95	Sergei Fedorov	24
1995-96	Joe Sakic	34
1996-97	Eric Lindros	26
1997-98	Steve Yzerman	24
1998-99	Peter Forsberg	24
1999-00	Brett Hull	24
2000-01	Joe Sakic	26
2001-02	Peter Forsberg	27
2002-03	Scott Niedermayer Jamie Langenbrunner	18
2003-04	Brad Richards	26
2005-06	Eric Staal	28
2006-07	Jason Spezza Daniel Alfredsson Dany Heatley	22
2007-08	Sidney Crosby Henrik Zetterberg	27
2008-09	Evgeni Malkin	36
2009-10	Daniel Briere	30
2010-11	David Krejci	23
2011-12	Anze Kopitar Dustin Brown	20
2012-13	David Krejci	26
2013-14	Anze Kopitar	26
2014-15	Patrick Kane Tyler Johnson	23
2015-16	Logan Couture	30
2016-17	Evgeni Malkin	28
2017-18	Evgeny Kuznetsov	32
2018-19	Ryan O-Reilly	23
2019-20	Nikita Kucherov	34
2020-21	Nikita Kucherov	32
2021-22	Connor McDavid	33

Player	Times Lead (min. 2)
Wayne Gretzky Gordie Howe	6
Phil Esposito Guy Lafleur	3
Rick MacLeish Peter Forberg Nikita Kucherov Maurice Richard Mario Lemieux Joe Sakic Frank Boucher Evgeni Malkin Dickie Moore David Krejci Cooney Weiland Bryan Trottier Anze Kopitar	2

This is all done manually so please report any errors.


Obviously playoff scoring comes with the massive caveat that not all players have the same opportunity nor the same amount of games played. So it's very much not an apples to apples comparison. But still, Gretzky and Howe each doing it 6 times is very impressive.

Gretzky lead playoffs or regular season in scoring a record 17 times. Howe 12 times. Lemieux and Esposito 8 times. McDavid and LaFleur 6 times. Mikita 5 times. Jagr 5 times.

Nice!

Would also add Andy Blair in 1928-1929, Busher Jackson and Charlie Conacher in 1934-1935, Floyd Curry and Metro Prystai in 1951-1952, and Brad Marchand in 2018-2019.

 

[daver]

McDavid 2022
Forsberg 2002
Forsberg 1999
Gilmour and Federko - 1986
Esposito 1969
Goldsworthy 1968

Honourable mention to Gilmour in "93. Loses to Wayne and his total of 35 leads every other playoffs since save for 2009.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Had the Pens got eliminated after three rounds in 2009. Crosby and Malkin would have still led with 28 points in 17 games

 

[TheGoldenJet]

Misses two games with yet another concussion in 2017 and misses out by one point.

Missed one game, lost by one point but Malkin held the goals tiebreaker. Note that Crosby actually played more minutes than Malkin that playoff run.

 

[Beige Van]

Gretzky (3 times) and Lemieux are the only players to reach 40+ points.

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

Krejčí hella’ underrated.

 

[Forge]

That 02-03 season sticks out like a sore thumb in modern history

 

[ForsbergForever]

Matthew Tkachuk could end up winning it this year if Florida keeps their run going.

 

[Azzuro]

How many lead the playoffs in points, but didn't make the cup finals ? Just McDavid ?

Draisaitl

 

[Azzuro]

How many lead the playoffs in points, but didn't make the cup finals ? Just

Draisaitl, Boucher, marner, Reilly. That’s 5 of the top ten. I don’t know what ur smoking. But I’m smoking the real stuff lol

 

[jigglysquishy]

Draisaitl

Draisaitl has never lead playoffs in scoring.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Gretzky (3 times) and Lemieux are the only players to reach 40+ points.

Don't think we ever see 40 again in the playoffs

 

[morehockeystats]

Don't think we ever see 40 again in the playoffs

If Edmonton fixes the defense/goaltending and gets to the finals we might. McDavid did have 20 points in 2 rounds.

 

[bobbyking]

Don't think we ever see 40 again in the playoffs

Malkin had 36 in a far tighter checking era. McDavid has a good shot If Edmonton plays 6 game rounds.

 

[The Panther]

If Edmonton fixes the defense/goaltending and gets to the finals we might. McDavid did have 20 points in 2 rounds.

And 26 points in two rounds, last year.