Average Number of Points by NHL Players
Approximately 70% of NHL players finish their careers with less than 100 points, and less than 2 percent of players reach the 1000 point plateau.
Charts below show how career points are distributed between players. Data includes all skaters who haven't played in the league since the 2008‑09 season as well as a number of players who have publicly announced their retirement. Goaltenders are excluded from the data set. Use the buttons above the chart to switch between different views.
Most players don't record a single playoff point during their careers, which isn't all that surpricing considering that over 40% of players never make it to the playoffs. From the players that do, 25 percent have to settle for 10 points or less.
The tables below show career points summary statistics for regular season and playoffs across player positions. Wayne Gretzky has scored the most points in both regular season and playoffs. Raymond Bourque leads the defensemen with 410 resular season points, while Paul Coffey has the most playoff points.
| Statistic | Regular Season | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Players | 5 510 | 5 510 |
| Minimum Points | 0 | 0 |
| Maximum Points | 2 857 (Wayne Gretzky) | 382 (Wayne Gretzky) |
| Average Points | 112.50 | 8.41 |
| Median Points | 16 | 0 |
On average, forwards retire with roughly 60 more points than defensemen. Median is much lower than the average as one would expect from the shape of the distribution.
What's Related
QuantHockey: NHL All-Time Point Leaders
QuantHockey: Most Points in One Season