Top American Hockey Players (All-Time) National Hockey League

Ted Talks Hockey’s

Top American Hockey Players (All-Time NHL)

#1 Patrick Kane

Career NHL stats: 962 games, 383 goals, 629 assists RW (2008-present)

Patrick Kane was drafted 1st overall in 2007 by the Chicago Blackhawks. He has played his entire 14-year NHL career with Chicago, winning three Stanley Cups (2010, 2013, and 2015). He has won numerous NHL awards, including the Conn Smythe Trophy, the playoff MVP in 2013, the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s MVP, and the Art Ross Trophy 2015-16 scoring champion. He is also the only American-born player to win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s scoring leader and the first American-born player to win the Hart Trophy. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players. On January 19, 2020, Patrick Kane became the youngest American-born player to register 1,000 regular-season points in a career.

#2 Pat LaFontaine

Career NHL stats: 865 games, 468 goals, 545 assists C (1984-1998)

Pat Lafontaine was selected 3rd overall in 1983 by the New York Islanders. Lafontaine played NHL hockey for three NHL teams from 1983-1998. The Islanders 1983-91, Buffalo Sabres 1991-1997, and the New York Rangers1997-98. LaFontaine was a dynamo; in 1982-83, the only season he played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), he amassed 104 goals and 130 assists for Verdun in only 70 games.

LaFontaine scored the goal known as “Easter Epic” when he and his Islanders defeated the Washington Capitals in the fourth overtime period of game seven. LaFontaine later reminisced, “It was the most memorable moment in my hockey life,” Even today, wherever I go, people come up to me and start telling me where they were during the Easter Epic.”

Lafontaine was forced to retire from hockey in 1998 due to concussions. His points per game average are the best among American-born NHL players, active or retired. In 2017 he was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players in history.

#3 Mike Modano

Career NHL stats: 1,499 games, 561 goals, 813 assists , C (1990-2011)

Mike Modano was one of the most prolific goal scorers of his generation. Modano was drafted 1st overall in 1988 by the Minnesota North Stars. He played in the NHL from 1988-2011; he played for the North Stars for five years before he and the team relocated to Dallas, where he played from 1993-2010; he played his last year of professional hockey for the Detroit Red Wings in 2010-11.

He remains one of the top American hockey players in NHL history, being the all-time goal-scoring and points leader among American-born NHL players in history. He won the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999, defeating the Buffalo Sabres in six games. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 17, 2014. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players.

Modano was an effortless skater, gliding up and down the ice with his jersey fluttering behind him.

#4 Chris Chelios

Career NHL stats: 1,651 games, 185 goals, 763 assists D (1984-2010)

Chris Chelios was drafted 40th overall in 1981 by the Montreal Canadians. Chelios played in the NHL from 1983-2010 with the Montreal Canadians, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and the Atlanta Thrashers. During his final year in the NHL, Chelios was the oldest active player and the second oldest player to play NHL hockey, the other being Gordie Howe. He is also a three-time winner of the Stanley Cup, one with Montreal in 1986 and two others with Detroit in 2002 and 2008.

Chelios was a fierce hard-nosed defenseman who was best known for his competitiveness and leadership abilities. He holds the record for most games played by a defenseman and is seventh overall with 1,651 games. He holds the record for most career playoff games played with 266 and is tied with Gordie Howe for most NHL seasons played with 26. On May 1, 2009, he appeared in the playoffs for an NHL record 24th time. In 2017, Chelios was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players in history. On November 8, 2013, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2020 he was admitted into the IIHF All-Time USA Team.

#5 Frank Brimsek

Career NHL stats: 514 games, 2.70 goals-against average G (1939-1950)

Frank Brimsek played ten seasons in the NHL for the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Black Hawks. Brimsek earned the nickname “Mr. Zero” after collecting six shutouts in his first seven regular-season games as a starting goaltender; Brimsek set the record for the longest shutout streak, 231 minutes and 54 seconds. By the end of Brimsek’s first season, he had recorded the most wins (33), the most shutouts (10), and the lowest GAA (1.56). The Bruins finished in first place. Brimsek and his Bruins dispatched the New York Rangers in the semi-finals and the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Final, winning his first title in his first season. He also won the Calder Memorial Trophy and the Vezina Trophy and was named to the first NHL All-Star Team. He won two Stanley Cups (1939 and 1941). He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966, making him the first American goalie to be inducted, and in 1973 he was inducted into the United States Hall of Fame. In 1988, Brimsek was ranked number 67 on The Hockey News’ list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players; he is the highest-ranked American goaltender.

#6 Joe Mullen

Career NHL stats: 1,062 games, 502 goals, 561 assists RW (1982-1997)

An NHL club never drafted Joe Mullen. Instead, he entered the NHL as a free agent, signing with the St. Louis Blues on August 16, 1979. He is the first American-born player to score 500 goals and accrue 1000 points in his NHL career. Mullen played in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Boston Bruins, winning the Stanley Cup three times, 1989 with Calgary and 1991, 1992 with Pittsburgh. Mullen played in the NHL from 1979-1997.

Mullen was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1995 to recognize his contributions to ice hockey in the United States. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.

#7 Brian Leetch

Career NHL stats: 1,205 games, 247 goals, 781 assists D (1988-2006)

Brian Leetch was drafted 9th overall by the New York Rangers in 1986. He played 18 seasons in the NHL with the Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Boston Bruins. He won a Stanley Cup with the Rangers in 1994, defeating the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. He is widely regarded as one of the best NHL defensemen ever to play the game. He is a gifted skater with great scoring prowess and exceptional play-making ability. In 2008 he was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2009, in his first year of eligibility, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. In 2017, Leetch was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players in history.

Leetch twice won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman (1992, 1997) and was the first American-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after the Ranger’s Stanley Cup win in 1994. Other accolades include winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1989; he scored 23 goals that year, which remains an NHL record for defensemen. On January 24, 2008, the Rangers retired Leetch’s jersey to the rafters. During the ceremony, legendary teammate and Hall of Famer Mark Messier called Leetch the “Greatest Ranger of All Time.” In 1998 Leetch was ranked #71 on The Hockey News’ list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

#8 Jeremy Roenick

Career NHL stats: 1,363 games, 513 goals, 703 assists C (1989-2009)

Jeremy Roenick was drafted 8th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. He played NHL hockey for the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, and the San Jose Sharks; his NHL playing career spanned 20 years, from 1988 to 2009. On November 10, 2007, he became the third American-born player to score 500 goals, the other two being Joe Mullen and Mike Modano.

After playing, Roenick became an analyst at NBC Sports in 2010. He was fired for inappropriate comments he made about fellow broadcaster Kathryn Tappen.

Roenick was known for his relentless/rambunctious play on the ice; he is also known for being a passionate, outspoken individual off the ice, which garnered him a lot of attention. In the 1996 Western Conference Semi-finals between the Colorado Avalanche and the Chicago Blackhawks, Roenick was tripped on a breakaway in which no penalty shot was awarded. Patrick Roy later said, “I would have saved it anyway,” to which Roenick replied, “I’d like to know where Patrick was in Game 3 (Roenick scored on Roy on a breakaway); probably up trying to get his jock out of the rafters.” When informed of Roenick’s comment, Roy responded, “I cannot really hear what Jeremy says because I’ve got my two Stanley Cup rings plugging my ears.”

#9 Bill Guerin

Career NHL stats: 1,263 games, 429 goals, 427 assists RW (1992-2010)

Bill Guerin was drafted 5th overall in 1989 by the New Jersey Devils. He played 18 years in the NHL with eight different teams, the New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning two Stanley Cups, one with New Jersey (1995) Pittsburgh (2009).

Guerin appeared on the international stage for the United States in the Olympics in 1998, 2002, and 2006. He also played in two Ice Hockey World Championships. He is the first player of Hispanic descent to play in the NHL.

Guerin is the first player to have scored 20 or more goals with seven different teams and one of only three players to have 20-goal seasons with five or more different teams; Eddie Shack and Ray Sheppard are the others.

Awards and achievements

NCAA (Hockey East) Champion 1990
Member of four Stanley Cup-winning teams: New Jersey Devils (1995); Pittsburgh Penguins (2009 as a player, 2016 and 2017 as Assistant GM)
Selected to four NHL All-Star Games: 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007
Named the MVP of the 2001 NHL All-Star Game
NHL Second Team All-Star: 2002
NHL Most Game Winning Goals (10): 2004
United States Hockey Hall of Fame 2013

#10 Jonathan Quick

Career NHL stats: 639 games, .913 save percentage, 2.40 goals-against average (2008-present)

Jonathan Quick was drafted 72nd overall in 2005 by the Los Angeles Kings. The 6 ft 1 in Goaltender has spent his entire NHL career playing for the Kings. He is a two-time Stanley Cup winner (2012, 2014). He is also a two-time Vezina Trophy nominee and Williams Jennings Trophy winner (2014, 2018). He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player during the King’s 2012 Stanley Cup playoff run. On the Olympic stage, he won silver for the United States in 2010.

He has played in the NHL All-Star Game three times (2012, 2016, 2018) and was NHL Second Team All-Star in 2012. He won an ESPY Award for Best NHL Player in 2012.

Conclusion

All the players on this list are amazing athletes, and any team would be happy to have them on their roster, especially when they were in their prime. You may agree or disagree with my selections or on the ranking of my selections, but it sure is fun to remember the greatness of these players and their contributions to the game of hockey.

I tend to give more credibility to the players that were part of championships or tenured players having played at least 500 hundred games as they reached the pinnacle of success, but that does not detract from players that never won a Championship, such as Pat LaFontaine.

Honorable Mentions