Top 20 NHL Wings of All Time

(last updated on November 3, 2025)

Introduction

In ice hockey’s fast-paced and exciting world, wingers play a pivotal role in generating offense and contributing to their team’s success. These skilled players occupy the left and right sides of the ice, flanking the center forward, and their primary responsibilities include scoring goals, facilitating puck movement, and engaging in offensive and defensive plays. This post will examine the best wingers in NHL history to commemorate their outstanding play.

Points Galore

Wingers can be productive in multiple facets, but the metric of how many points they generate throughout their career is an excellent place to start. Here are some of the NHL wings that have been productive in this metric to help determine the best wingers in NHL history.

This star right wing of the New York Islanders provided some punch on the top line of Isles during the franchise’s glory years. Bossy’s 1,126 career points, fueled by scoring 573 goals, make him a worthy candidate on this list.

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Though Teemu played on multiple teams during his career, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks franchise is where he made his hay. Selänne’s 1,457 points, 18th all time, put him well within the conversation of the greatest wings in NHL history.

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The two-time Hart Trophy winner and Chicago Blackhawks stalwart left wing Bobby Hull set the standard for producing at his position for years. Hull was very productive in his time on the ice, scoring 1,170 points throughout his NHL career, including stints with the Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers.

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Cool Hand Luc had a very successful 19 NHL seasons donning the colors of the LA Kings (on multiple stints), Pittsburgh Penguins, NY Rangers, and Detroit Red Wings. Robitaille placed 668 pucks in the net to generate 1,394 points in his career on the big-league ice.

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When Richard retired, he led all goal scorers in NHL history. Though multiple skaters have surpassed Richard’s astounding numbers, this man is still a legend. Known as the “Rocket”, the Quebec native skated for his home province with the Montreal Canadiens top line for 18 seasons, burying the puck 544 times to help the Habs claim eight Stanley Cup titles.

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Skating for an impressive 19 seasons on NHL ice, Ciccarelli had 608 of his shots get past the opposing goalies. Dino skated on some amazing lines with the Minnesota North Stars, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers.

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Tkachuk wore the colors of the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, and Atlanta Thrashers over his 18 seasons on NHL ice. The former Boston University Eagle put up 1,065 points in the NHL from the left wing.

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What Shanahan did in his 21 NHL seasons is remarkable. The long-time left-side winger produced 1,354 points in his career, which saw him skate for the Devils, Blues, Whalers, Red Wings, and Rangers.

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The Sabers’ first-round draft pick spent most of his career in Buffalo. Andreychuk also spent time in Toronto, New Jersey, Boston, Colorado, and Tampa, scoring 640 goals and dishing 698 assists. 

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The fans of professional hockey were treated to the talents of Mahovlich during his 18 NHL seasons and an additional four in the World Hockey Association. The Big M had a well-balanced NHL career of 533 goals and 570 assists.

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Assists

They may line up on the outside, but the wings on the right and left of the front lines of NHL platoons sure know how to bring action to the net. A big part of that is setting the table for teammates to score. Here are some top assist makers who played left or right wing in major pro hockey.

Twenty-two years and eight different franchises proved productive for this right wing. Recchi is best known for his play as a Philadelphia Flyer and Boston Bruins skater, but he won Stanley Cups with the Penguins, Hurricanes, and Bruins. Mark scored most of his 1,533 career points from assisting others.

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Though Bucyk started his NHL journey with the Detroit Red Wings, he didn’t blossom to his full potential as a left winger until he spent a few seasons in Boston. Johnny used his 813 career assists to help take the Bruins to great heights, including two Stanley Cups.

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Kurri was known for setting up scoring opportunities for his teammates for 18 years on the WHA and NHL professional ice. Jari had 797 assists in his career, which saw him capture titles with the Edmonton Oilers, feeding the Great One on many occasions. Kurri later skated with the Kings, Rangers, Ducks and Avalanche.

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With 793 NHL career assists, Lafleur was a long-time member of the dominant Habs teams of the 1970s. The opposition had to always pay attention to #10, as he loved to feed his teammates with scoring opportunities.

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Goals

The most popular measurement of how good a winger is usually how many times they stuck the puck in the back of the net. Let’s look at the top goal scorers from the left and right wing positions.

The “Great Eight,” Alex Ovechkin, has scored more goals than any other NHL player. The thing is … his numbers are still climbing as we write this piece. Who knows where they may go from here? We know that this Russian-born Washington left wing has been a very formidable force for opposing defenders.

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One of only three players in NHL history to score 800 goals, you cannot talk about NHL scoring without the great Gordie Howe’s name coming up. Mr. Hockey had 1,850 total career points with 801 goals (plus another 174 goals in the WHA). He skated for the Detroit Red Wings and later the Hartford Whalers.

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Jágr skated in the NHL for almost a quarter century! His career path saw him winning Stanley Cup championships with the Mario Lemieux Penguins scoring goals in over 50 NHL arenas and tallying 1,921 career points.

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Brett was the son of an NHL legend, but he made a name for himself as a winger for Calgary, St. Louis, Dallas, Detroit, and Phoenix with 1,391 points to his credit powered by 741 goals. This Hall of Famer was the NHL MVP in 1991.

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Gartner scored 708 career goals from his right-wing position with the Capitals, North Stars, Rangers, Maple Leafs, and Coyotes. The Ottawa native even made the 100 Top NHL Skaters list for the 100th NHL Anniversary team.

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Messier had some position flexibility during his career, but he is much remembered as the left wing of the Edmonton Oilers Dynasty of the 1980s. Mark also spent many minutes on the ice as a Ranger and a Canuck having the puck find its way past opposing goalies on 694 of his shots.

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Conclusion

So, who is the best winger in the NHL’s long history? As you can see above, there are many worthy candidates for both left wingers and right wingers. The real question may be … why choose just one when you can relish the memories of these 20 skaters who graced us with their talents?

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FAQs

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 29th, 2023 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Top NHL Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.