By Jared Clinton, features writer
Playing an eternal second fiddle in the
franchise record books is a fate suffered by most players who suit up for the
Edmonton Oilers. Such is life when skating in the seismic shadow of Wayne
Gretzky.
Take Connor McDavid’s Conn Smythe-winning 42-point
performance in the 2024 post-season, for instance. For this generation, it
stands as the most remarkable feat of post-season output. But, statistically,
it doesn’t match The Great One and his NHL record 47-point post-season in 1985.
But McDavid isn’t the only player whose modern spring
heroics are eclipsed by a superstar from bygone days. Evgeni Malkin, too,
understands the futility of chasing his particular franchise’s lore.
‘Geno’ has seen his highest highs fall short of those
authored by Mario Lemieux. To wit, Malkin’s 36-point playoff in 2009 was then
the seventh-best all-time and made him the first player in the post-lockout era
to break 35 points in one post-season. Yet, like McDavid, you won’t find Malkin
on our Countdown of best offensive playoff performances by franchise, as it
fell well short of Lemieux’s mondo 44-point effort in 1991.
Somewhat surprisingly, though, our Countdown isn’t dominated
by stars from yesteryear. Nearly half of NHL outfits have seen franchise-best
playoff marks set in the past 20 years.
1. Edmonton Oilers
Wayne Gretzky (47 PTS, 1984-85)
In the most dominant playoff ever, Gretzky had more
four-plus-point games (six) than games with one point or fewer.
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
Mario Lemieux (44 PTS, 1990-91)
He missed Game 3 of the final, but Lemieux had goals in his
last 10 appearances, guiding Pens to their first Cup.
3. Los Angeles Kings
Wayne Gretzky (40 PTS, 1992-93)
No. 99 dashed the Cup hopes of three Canadian clubs before
Montreal exacted revenge for its compatriots in the final.
4. New York Islanders
Mike Bossy (35 PTS, 1980-81)
Bryan Trottier had three consecutive 29-point playoffs. But
Bossy’s 17-goal, 35-point output hasn’t been matched.
5. Toronto Maple Leafs
Doug Gilmour (35 PTS, 1992-93)
Despite falling short of the final, Gilmour had a
playoff-best 25 assists and finished 15 points clear of any teammate.
6. Colorado Avalanche
Joe Sakic (34 PTS, 1995-96)
His 18-goal, 34-point marks in 1996 are bests, but Sakic
also led 2001 Cup-winning Avs in goals and points.
7. New York Rangers
Brian Leetch (34 PTS, 1993-94)
At the time, Leetch’s 11 goals made him only second ‘D’ with
single-playoff double-digit tally total in NHL history.
8. Tampa Bay Lightning
Nikita Kucherov (34 PTS, 2019-20)
Does a healthy Brayden Point usurp Kucherov? Point finished
one point back in two fewer games during ’20 Cup run.
9. Boston Bruins
Rick Middleton (33 PTS, 1982-83)
Middleton posted 100 career playoff points. His 1983
performance accounts for nearly one-third of that production.
10. Washington Capitals
Evgeny Kuznetsov (32 PTS, 2017-18)
Kuznetsov led all Caps scorers by five points and had
playoff-topping output, but he lost Smythe to Alex Ovechkin.
11. Calgary Flames
Al Macinnis (31 PTS, 1988-89)
Four of MacInnis’ seven goals were winners for champion
Flames, including deciders in Games 4 and 5 of final.
12. Vancouver Canucks
Pavel Bure (31 PTS, 1993-94)
Bure didn’t get a chance at an encore, really. He played
only 15 playoff games across his final nine NHL seasons.
13. Philadelphia Flyers
Daniel Briere (30 PTS, 2009-10)
Briere leads a class of bridesmaids, as Philly’s top four
single-playoff offensive performers each lost in the Cup final.
14. San Jose Sharks
Logan Couture (30 PTS, 2015-16)
Couture deserves credit for his post-season production. He
led the 2016, 2018 and 2019 Sharks outfits in scoring.
15. Chicago Blackhawks
Denis Savard (29 PTS, 1984-85)
He was stopped by the Gretzky-led Oilers, but Savard was
exceptional in 1985, scoring nearly two points per game.
16. Dallas Stars
Steve Payne (29 PTS, 1980-81)
Only three players in NHL history have more goals in one
playoff than Payne, who stunned with 17 tallies in 1981.
17. Carolina Hurricanes
Eric Staal (28 PTS, 2005-06)
Staal’s sophomore season was his best. He paced Canes to
Cup, led playoff scoring and finished fourth in Hart race.
18. Detroit Red Wings
Henrik Zetterberg (27 PTS, 2007-08)
Zetterberg put a point on his Conn Smythe-winning total with
the game-winner that handed Wings the ’08 Cup.
19. Montreal Canadiens
Frank Mahovlich (27 PTS, 1970-71)
Forget passing ‘The Big M.’ No Canadien in past three
decades cracks the top 15 on Habs’ single-year scoring list.
20. Vegas Golden Knights
Jack Eichel (26 PTS, 2022-23)
Small sample, but Eichel has plenty of competition. Five
Knights have scored 20-plus points in one playoff campaign.
21. Florida Panthers
Matthew Tkachuk (24 PTS, 2022-23)
In 2023, Tkachuk tied then-record for OT goals in one
playoff (three), including winner that saved Cats in Round 1.
22. New Jersey Devils
Patrik Elias (23 PTS, 2000-01)
Only fitting that Devils’ all-time leading scorer, Elias,
has the franchise’s best single-season post-season output.
23. St. Louis Blues
Ryan O’Reilly (23 PTS, 2018-19)
Jordan Binnington’s emergence grabbed headlines, but Blues
don’t win 2019 Cup without 200-foot dynamo O’Reilly.
24. Ottawa Senators
Daniel Alfredsson (22 PTS, 2006-07)
Alfredsson’s 14 goals during 2007 playoffs are most by any
player 34 or older in one post-season in league history.
25. Buffalo Sabres
Gilbert Perreault (21 PTS, 1979-80)
The first truly great Sabre, Perreault pairs a
franchise-leading point total with unmatched single-playoff heroics.
26. Winnipeg Jets
Blake Wheeler (21 PTS, 2017-18)
Wheeler is one of seven forwards in NHL history to notch
20-plus points in one playoff with three or fewer goals.
27. Anaheim Ducks
Ryan Getzlaf (20 PTS, 2014-15)
Getzlaf held or tied for scoring lead in nine of 11
post-seasons with Ducks, including 17 points in 2007 Cup run.
28. Minnesota Wild
Marian Gaborik (17 PTS, 2002-03)
In his – and Minnesota’s – first post-season, Gaborik
powered the Cinderella Wild to the Western Conference final.
29. Nashville Predators
Filip Forsberg (16 PTS, 2017-18)
Forsberg hit 16 points in consecutive playoffs. In 2017, he
did so in 22 games. In 2018, he reached the total in 13 games.
30. Seattle Kraken
Yanni Gourde (13 PTS, 2022-23)
Of Gourde’s 13 points, none was bigger than the OT-winner
that gave Seattle a Game 1 victory in the second round.
31. Columbus Blue Jackets
Artemi Panarin (11 PTS, 2018-19)
Panarin helped power the biggest playoff upset ever, as the
Jackets swept the Lightning in the opening round.
32. Utah Mammoth
N/A
Utah left Jets/Coyotes history behind in the move. Apologies
to Dale Hawerchuk and his 13-point 1987 playoff.
This article appeared in our 2025 Champions issue. Our cover story focuses on the 2025 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, specifically the elite play of defenseman Seth Jones, along with a recap of each game of the Cup final. We also include features on Sharks center Will Smith and Kraken defenseman Ryker Evans. In addition, we give our list of the top 10 moments from the 2024-25 NHL season.
You can get it in print for free when you subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/Free today. All subscriptions include complete access to more than 76 years of articles at The Hockey News Archive.
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