It’s hard to put up a lot of points when you spend a lot of time in the penalty box, but some of the greatest players in NHL history managed to find ways to get on the scoresheet even while spending their fair share of time in the penalty box.
In the history of the NHL, 14 players have recorded 1,500 or more points throughout their career, with the only active one on the list being Joe Thornton. Of those 14 players, half of them put up 1,500 or more points while spending more than 1,000 minutes in the penalty box, and Jumbo Joe is one of them.
Joe Thornton hit the 1,500-point plateau this season, but he was well over 1,000 penalty minutes coming into the 2019-20 campaign. In 1,636 games, Thornton has 420 goals and 1,509 points, to go with his 1,248 penalty minutes; and he’s got some time to add to both totals.
Paul Coffey is one of the two defencemen on this list, and he finished with the second-most penalty minutes out of all the players who qualified. In 1,409 games, Coffey scored 396 goals and 1,533 points, and received a total of 1,802 penalty minutes during his career.
Mark Recchi played important roles wherever he played. Whether you needed him to give the team a boost with his physical play or by getting on the scoresheet, he always managed to find ways to help out. In 1,652 games, Recchi scored 577 goals and 1,533 points, while receiving 1,033 penalty minutes.
Ray Bourque is the other defenceman on this list. One of the greatest players of all-time, Bourque scored 410 goals and added 1,169 assists for 1,579 points in 1,612 games, and received 1,141 penalty minutes during his career.
Three of the top four scorers in NHL history finished their careers with 1,850 or more points, despite spending more than 1,000 minutes in the penalty box.
The most obvious one of them all is Gordie Howe considering there’s the ‘Gordie Howe Hat-Trick’ named after him. In his 1,767 games, Mr. Hockey scored 801 goals and added 1,049 assists for 1,850 points, and spent 1,685 minutes in the penalty box.
Mark Messier leads this entire list in penalty minutes. In his 1,756 games, The Moose scored 694 goals and added 1,193 assists for 1,887 points, and he finished his career with a whopping 1,912 penalty minutes.
Jaromir Jagr has never been know for his physical play, but he managed to qualify for this list. In 1,733 games, Jagr scored 766 goals and added 1,155 assists for 1,921 points - second most in NHL history - and received 1,167 penalty minutes during his career.
