The defining figure for every NHL franchise

This isn’t merely a list of players who lead a franchise in games played and/or points…but that is where we start. Getzlaf is the only Duck with over 1,000 regular-season games to his name, and he’s over 1,100. He’s also the only player over 1,000 points. Throw in the fact that he was the captain for a decade, and Getzlaf is the defining Duck.

One of the indelible images, maybe the indelible image, in NHL history is Bobby Orr’s flying goal celebration. He did that as a Bruin. Orr revolutionized playing defense in the NHL with the Bruins. He won eight Norris trophies as a Bruin. Orr is a legend of the game, and he’s the defining Bruin.

Lindy Ruff was close to getting this nod. He played for the Sabres and was the captain for three seasons, and he’s also, by a wide margin, the most successful head coach in franchise history. That being said, Hasek is probably the best goalie in NHL history, and he won six Vezinas and two Hart Trophies as a Sabre, carrying the team to its only Stanley Cup Final. Now, if Ruff ever coaches the franchise to a Cup, we’ll change our mind.

Lanny McDonald and his mustache were the face of the Flames’ only Cup win, but he only played half his Hall of Fame career with the franchise. To put it another way, Iginla played as many seasons with the Flames as McDonald played in his entire career. Iginla had over 500 goals and 1,000 points with the franchise, the only player to do either.

Brind’Amour captained the Hurricanes to a Cup. Then, in 2025-26, he coached the Hurricanes back to the finals. As noted many times, Brind’Amour became the first person to both captain and coach the same franchise to the Stanley Cup Finals since the 1967 expansion. That’s how you become the defining figure in the history of an NHL franchise.

In an instance like this, we do wonder if the young people know of Stan Mikita. There are a bunch of adult Blackhawks fans who were born after the Stan Mikita’s Donuts joke in “Wayne’s World,” much less after Mikita retired at the end of the 1970s. Maybe somebody like Patrick Kane, or even Duncan Keith, would be a better choice? However, any Chicago sports fan interested in the franchise’s history, or who has looked up in the rafters and seen Mikita’s name and number, is still aware of his legacy. He was a career Blackhawk, and he played 1,396 games and racked up a whopping 1,467 points. He still gets the call.

There’s Sakic’s playing career, of course. He captained the franchise for years, going back to the final days of the Quebec Nordiques, and led the team to two Stanley Cups as a player. We specify “as a player,” because after his retirement, Sakic took a role as an executive in the Colorado front office and helped steer the team to another Cup. In essence, for effectively 30 years, Sakic has been in a leadership position with the Colorado Avalanche.

Yes, Sergei Bobrovsky won two Vezinas with the Blue Jackets, but by this point he’s more tied to the Panthers. Zach Werenski may get there someday. Had Nash not left the Blue Jackets, this would be an easier call, but he’s still the choice. In addition to remaining the franchise leader in goals and points, and in addition to being the captain for five seasons, Nash was the first-ever draft pick in franchise history. For a franchise still relatively young, that still holds weight.

Jamie Benn has the benefit of having been the captain of the Stars for many years, something that Modano only did briefly, and having played his entire career with the team once it arrived in Dallas. However, Modano is still the defining figure in Stars history. He’s a Hall of Famer, something Benn won’t be, and he’s the franchise leader in goals, assists, points, and games played. Even if we just include the seasons in Dallas, Modano has more goals and points than Benn.

Gordie Howe is “Mr. Hockey,” but they call Yzerman “The Captain.” Howe has more points as a Red Wing, but Yzerman spent his entire career with the franchise, serving as captain for two decades. Yzerman then bolstered his status as Mr. Red Wing with a stint running the front office, though that proved less well-received.

Of course, we considered Wayne Gretzky, even though he left the Oilers midway through his career. He’s the best player in NHL history, and he still has 400 more points as an Oiler than McDavid. Plus, he has all those rings, and McDavid famously doesn’t have any. That being said, Gretzky cajoled his way out of Edmonton, and that led to a lot of bitterness that makes it harder to be the “defining face” of a franchise. If McDavid never leaves the Oilers (which is up in the air), he will end up with more points than Gretzky with the franchise, and he’s already the longest-tenured captain in franchise history.

Roberto Luongo is a Hall of Famer, a Panthers icon, the first player in franchise history to have his number retired, and he’s got some “Let’s keep the franchise legend around” role in the front office. However, the day Barkov retires, the Panthers will begin planning his number retirement. In addition to being the franchise leader in points and the captain of the franchise’s two Cup wins, he has three Selke trophies and is heading to the Hall of Fame.

Gretzky, who made the Kings the center of the hockey world briefly, was considered. So were Luc Robitaille and Marcel Dionne. In the end, though, we went with the recently retired Kopitar, the only career King of this quartet. Slovenia’s greatest hockey player in its history, Kopitar played over 1,500 regular-season games with the franchise and was the captain for a decade. In addition to over 1,300 points, Kopitar also won two Selkes. When it comes to the Kings as a franchise, Kopitar is the choice.

With all due respect to long-tenured Wild players like Jared Spurgeon or Mikko Koivu, Kaprizov gave the Wild star power. He gave the franchise panache. Quinn Hughes doesn’t come to Minnesota if Kaprizov isn’t already there. Oh, and if you are wondering, “What about Marian Gaborik?” Kaprizov already has more goals with the franchise.

When a hockey-mad city riots because you got suspended, you are probably the defining individual for a franchise. You could make a real argument that Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur were better players, but that is a piece of the puzzle. “Rocket” Richard was the first NHL player to score 50 goals in a season. His wild-eyed, tenacious demeanor on the ice made him an icon. Oh, and he did have 966 points in 978 regular-season games and scored 82 playoff goals en route to winning eight Cups. It’s not like he was a slouch on the ice.

For the first time on this list, we have a guy who never played a minute for the franchise. And yet, this was an easy call. Trotz was the first coach in Predators history, and then the only coach for 15 seasons. He coached 1,196 games for Nashville. Peter Laviolette is second with 451. Then, after his tenure as head coach of the Islanders ended, he briefly served as the franchise’s GM as well.

Brodeur has played more games and picked up more wins than any NHL goalie. All but seven of his games and three of his wins came with the Devils. The whole St. Louis Blues thing at the end is still weird. Sure, Brodeur’s time with the Devils coincides with the team being the face of the clutch-and-grab, neutral-zone-trap style of play that squeezed the fun out of the NHL, but he won four Vezinas and three Cups. He’s not our favorite goalie, but he is the legend of New Jersey sports.

Maybe someday it’ll be Matthew Schaefer, but it’s way too early for that. The thing about those iconic Islanders teams of the 1980s, the ones that won four Cups in a row, is that there were three stars at the center. Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, and Denis Potvin all finished with over 1,000 points with the franchise. Bossy had the most goals, but the other two played over 1,000 games with the franchise. With those three stealing votes, we turn to the man in charge. Arbour coached the Islanders from 1973 through 1994. He coached them for 1,500 games exactly, though that includes one in the 2007-08 season. Why do you give a guy that chance, though? Because he is the defining figure in your franchise’s history.

Speaking of the NHL’s indelible images, one of those is Messier, as captain of the Rangers, celebrating with the Stanley Cup. In 1994, the Rangers ended a 54-year title drought, and Messier was the captain. He made the guarantee. He helped deliver on it. On top of that, he had 691 points in 698 regular-season games with the franchise. Messier did more with the Oilers, but he gave the Rangers their greatest moment in the last 75 years of hockey.

Well, Alfredsson had 1,108 points as a Senator, and nobody else has more than 687. Also, he was captain for 13 seasons, and the franchise has only been around for 33 seasons. So yeah, this was about as easy a choice as it gets.

On the one hand, Clarke’s track record as a front-office executive with the Flyers is checkered. His feud with Eric Lindros was infamous even at the time, and growing awareness of concussions clearly puts Clarke in the wrong on that one. On the other hand, he has spent decades in some sort of role with the Flyers’ front office, and he was the best player in the franchise’s history. He has over 300 more points than any other Flyer; he won three Hart Trophies, and he captained the team to its two Cup titles.

Look, when you put together an ownership group to keep your franchise from moving, you are an easy choice. Sidney Crosby’s resume would have him comfortably the franchise face for most teams, but not the Penguins. Lemieux had six Art Ross trophies, three Hart Trophies, and two Conn Smythe Trophies out of two Cup wins. He’s one of the five best players of all-time, only held back by injury and illness. Plus, again, he literally saved the Penguins franchise

Patrick Marleau got to experience winning and success thanks to Joe Thornton joining the Sharks, but Thornton also pushed Marleau out of being the face of the Sharks as a franchise. Yes, Marleau played a remarkable 1,607 regular-season games with San Jose, 500 more than Thornton, but he barely had 50 more points than Jumbo Joe with the franchise. Thornton was the better player, the one who won an Art Ross and a Hart. Also, he had that beard, which helped him stand out. Hey, that matters.

The Kraken have limited history, but Beniers is, for better or for worse, the face of the franchise. Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle have more points and goals, but they joined an expansion franchise as journeyman veterans in need of a bigger opportunity. Beniers, though, was the first player the Kraken ever drafted, with the hope he’d be the franchise’s first star. He did win the Calder, but since then he’s only succeeded in fits and starts. That’s also true of the franchise. Beniers is the Kraken, and the Kraken are Beniers.

Because Hull bopped around a bit, and because he won Cups with the Stars and Red Wings, it’s easy to underplay Hull’s tenure with the Blues. However, he spent 11 seasons with the franchise, and he was even captain for a few years. Hull is second in points to Bernie Federko, but he’s first in goals by a wide margin. Also? Federko was only captain for one season! We’re going, Hull.

We are still living in the time of Stamkos playing in the NHL for a team other than the Lightning, which may make it hard to picture him as “Mr. Lightning.” After all, Nikita Kucherov is still there! So is Andrei Vasilevskiy! And Victor Hedman! In the end, though, it’s Stamkos. He had 555 goals and 1,137 points with the Lightning. Stamkos was a first-overall pick, and he did play over 1,000 games. He was also captain for a decade and hoisted two Cups in that role. When all is said and done, when Stamkos retires, the Lightning are going to retire his number. He’s the guy.

Maybe we should go back to 1967, the last time the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup. However, recent news put Sundin over the top. He’s second in goals to Auston Matthews already, and Matthews is definitely on track to be the defining figure for the Leafs. Sundin also only retired with 70 more points than Darryl Sittler, but while Sittler is an old-school name, he too didn’t debut until after 1967. Sundin was captain for a decade, and he now runs the front office for Toronto. That last bit of news is what put him over the top.

The Mammoth have eschewed Coyotes history, so this was pretty simple. Keller is the only captain the Mammoth has ever had, and he’s the franchise leader in points by a wide margin. What if we included the Coyotes, though? Well, then it would be Shane Doan, obviously.

Look, we aren’t being cute. We genuinely would have preferred not to do the Sedin twins. The thing is, those weirdos just won’t allow us to bifurcate them. Also, they were great players. Henrik is just ahead of Daniel in games played and points, but they are the only two players with over 1,000 points with the Canucks. Daniel, though, leads the franchise in goals. Now? The Sedins jointly are running Vancouver’s hockey operations. It’s basically impossible to separate them, as they have made certain they are the joint faces of the franchise.

It had to be one of the Golden Misfits that stuck around, a venerated group to Vegas fans. So that’s McNabb, Shea Theodore, and William Karlsson. If we were ranking these three as players, McNabb would be third. As the face of the Golden Knights, though, he’s first. He’s kind of emerged as Mr. Golden Knight, a stalwart defensive figure who has played the most games in franchise history by a good margin. What really took things to the next level, though, was the 2026 Stanley Cup Finals. He took a slapshot to the face, and he was back in action in Vegas’ next game, his nose all stitched up, and he played 36 minutes. That is now the indelible Vegas Golden Knights story.

Some of these are easier than others. Ovechkin has the most goals in NHL history and has played his entire career with the Capitals. He led them to their only Stanley Cup win. The more interesting question is whether or not he is the definitive Washington, D.C., athlete, and off the top of our heads, the answer is yes.

We end with another easy choice. Mark Scheifele is having a great career, and the Jets will retire his number someday. That being said, he’s never won a major award, and likely never will, and his Hall of Fame case is a coin flip at this point. Hellebuyck could retire today and be in the Hall of Fame. His quest is not to be the definitive Jet, or the greatest Jet, but the greatest American goalie of all-time. Hellebuyck has three Vezinas and a Hart, so he’s well on his way.