Who has the most assists in NHL history?

There are many great scorers and assisters in the NHL, but who has the most assists in all of NHL history?

In the NHL, assists and goals go hand-in-hand. Some goals may not be possible without assists. From puck drop to overtime, assists can sometimes make or break the outcome of a game.

Who has the most assists in NHL history?

The NHL player who has produced the most assists in history is Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky played for four different NHL teams throughout his career, but had his most success with the Edmonton Oilers.

Gretzky has 1,963 assists total and holds an edge of just over 700 more assists than the second-place player, Ron Francis. Mark Messier, Ray Borque, Jaromir Jagr, Paul Coffey, Joe Thornton, Adam Oates, Steve Yzerman and Gordie Howe round at the top 10.

Gretzky retired in 1999, but he is still considered one of the best NHL players of all time. He was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame the same year he retired.

Gretzky was constantly raising the bar for himself, which is where a lot of his success in the NHL came from (via Tom Cohen, ESPN).

"“I felt like I’d never done enough. If I had three goals, I wanted five goals. If I had seven points, I wanted to get the eighth point. I kept going every night, played 80 games every year as hard as I could, whether it was Oct. 1 or April 1. Maybe that’s why I was able to have the records that I did eventually get.”"

Wayne Gretzky will forever be a big part of NHL history, and he will always remain an inspiration to hockey players of all levels.