We’ve now (somehow) wrapped up another year as we enter 2026. After an extremely eventful year in the NHL and with the Edmonton Oilers, there are plenty of recaps and reviews to get through. Inspired by Morgan Geekie of the Boston Bruins unexpectedly nearly leading the entire NHL in goals over the 2025 calendar year, I wanted to take a look at the Edmonton Oilers scoring leaders by each calendar year.
Obviously, a couple of eras will be dominated by the expected suspects, the dynasty era by Wayne Gretzky and the modern era by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. But in the years in between, let’s see who we can unearth as Edmonton Oilers scoring leaders by calendar year.
The Beginnings: 1979 – 1989
| Year | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Blair MacDonald (23) | Wayne Gretzky (34) | Wayne Gretzky (53) |
| 1980 | Wayne Gretzky (49) | Wayne Gretzky (91) | Wayne Gretzky (140) |
| 1981 | Wayne Gretzky (88) | Wayne Gretzky (128) | Wayne Gretzky (216) |
| 1982 | Wayne Gretzky (72) | Wayne Gretzky (127) | Wayne Gretzky (199) |
| 1983 | Wayne Gretzky (83) | Wayne Gretzky (131) | Wayne Gretzky (214) |
| 1984 | Wayne Gretzky (85) | Wayne Gretzky (115) | Wayne Grezky (200) |
| 1985 | Jari Kurri (62) | Wayne Gretzky (137) | Wayne Gretzky (196) |
| 1986 | Wayne Gretzky (65) | Wayne Gretzky (148) | Wayne Gretzky (213) |
| 1987 | Jari Kurri (55) | Wayne Gretzky (122) | Wayne Gretzky (175) |
| 1988 | Craig Simpson (46) | Mark Messier (69) | Jari Kurri (107) |
| 1989 | Mark Messier (45) | Mark Messier (71) | Mark Messier (116) |
It should come as absolutely no surprise who dominates the early years. Five consecutive years in his prime, Wayne Gretzky led the Oilers in goals, assists, and points until his most well-known winger stole the spotlight in goals in 1985.
One name that may get overlooked as a key scorer on the earliest Oilers teams is Blair MacDonald, who led the team in 1979 and was second behind Gretzky in 1980. His best years were in Edmonton, and he was one of Gretzky’s first linemates in the NHL. With four consecutive 30-goal seasons and a career high of 46 in the team’s first NHL season, MacDonald was a big part of Edmonton’s transition to the NHL.
After Gretzky’s departure, Mark Messier took over the team for the rest of the decade.
The tumultuous years: 1990 – 1999
| Year | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Petr Klima, Craig Simpson (32) | Mark Messier (68) | Mark Messier (94) |
| 1991 | Petr Klima (40) | Joe Murphy, Esa Tikkanen (42) | Joe Murphy (69) |
| 1992 | Craig Simpson (31) | Bernie Nicholls (50) | Bernie Nicholls (73) |
| 1993 | Shayne Corson (28) | Shayne Corson (33) | Shayne Corson (61) |
| 1994 (lockout-shortened) | Jason Arnott (19) | Doug Weight (29) | Doug Weight (41) |
| 1995 | David Oliver (29) | Doug Weight (70) | Doug Weight (91) |
| 1996 | Jason Arnott (27) | Doug Weight (65) | Doug Weight (86) |
| 1997 | Ryan Smyth (34) | Doug Weight (60) | Doug Weight (84) |
| 1998 | Bill Guerin (29) | Boris Mironov (37) | Bill Guerin (57) |
| 1999 | Ryan Smyth (26) | Doug Weight (51) | Doug Weight (61) |
The 90s were not a great time for the franchise. The dead puck era significantly reduced the totals of leading scorers. Combining that with a mass exodus of talent throughout the decade, and you have plenty of years with no one even close to a point per game, with a low point potentially in the 1998 season when Bill Guerin led the team with just 57 points in an entire calendar year.
The only player to have a sweep of all three categories was Shayne Corson. A name most Oilers fans would rather have kept repressed deep in the memory banks. He led the offence in 1993.
Mixed in with the peak of the star of the decade, Doug Weight, was one unexpected goal-scoring leader, David Oliver. His 29 goals in 1995, the latter half of his rookie season and the beginning of his sophomore season, led the team that year. Oliver would only score 20 more goals in his nine-year NHL career.
The years of false hope: 2000 – 2009
| Year | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Ryan Smyth, Doug Weight (28) | Doug Weight (60) | Doug Weight (88) |
| 2001 | Anson Carter (26) | Janne Niinimaa (38) | Anson Carter (63) |
| 2002 | Mike Comrie (32) | Anson Carter (37) | Anson Carter, Mike Comrie (62) |
| 2003 | Ryan Smyth (23) | Ryan Smyth, Mike York (31) | Ryan Smyth (54) |
| 2004 (lockout shortened) | Ethan Moreau, Ryan Smyth (14) | Ryan Smyth (22) | Ryan Smyth (36) |
| 2005 (lockout shortened) | Ryan Smyth (17) | Shawn Horcoff (31) | Shawn Horcoff, Jarret Stoll (40) |
| 2006 | Ryan Smyth (38) | Ales Hemsky (50) | Ales Hemsky (63) |
| 2007 | Shawn Horcoff (27) | Ales Hemsky (40) | Shawn Horcoff (65) |
| 2008 | Dustin Penner (22) | Ales Hemsky (57) | Ales Hemsky (77) |
| 2009 | Dustin Penner (27) | Ales Hemsky (33) | Dustin Penner (57) |
Countless times over this decade, the Oilers gave us glimpses of being a strong team. But it never came to fruition. Hard-fought playoff berths, a surprise Cup Final appearance, and hope surrounding an intriguing prospect pool were the themes surrounding this decade.
An underrated talent to haveplayed in Edmonton in the early 2000s is Anson Carter. Although he only played in Edmonton across three seasons, two full seasons and a partial one, he led the team in scoring over both full years he spent in Edmonton.
In amongst the dominance of Ryan Smyth was Ethan Moreau, tying for the team lead in goals in the lockout-shortened 2004 season. Not usually known for his scoring prowess, Moreau set a career high with 20 goals in the 2003–04 season, 14 of which were in 2004.
Lastly, we can see the talent of one of the most fondly remembered players of this era, Ales Hemsky, as he continually led the team in assists and points in his peak years after 2006. If only the Oilers were better and surrounded him with more talent, he could have put up even more impressive numbers.
(Mostly) decade of darkness: 2010 – 2019
| Year | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Dustin Penner (24) | Ryan Whitney (33) | Dustin Penner (49) |
| 2011 | Jordan Eberle (25) | Jordan Eberle (34) | Jordan Eberle (59) |
| 2012 (lockout shortened) | Jordan Eberle (18) | Jordan Eberle, Jeff Petry (19) | Jordan Eberle (37) |
| 2013 | Taylor Hall (31) | Taylor Hall (57) | Taylor Hall (88) |
| 2014 | Jordan Eberle (23) | Taylor Hall (43) | Taylor Hall (65) |
| 2015 | Jordan Eberle (25) | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (37) | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (58) |
| 2016 | Jordan Eberle, Connor McDavid (25) | Connor McDavid (54) | Connor McDavid (79) |
| 2017 | Connor McDavid (30) | Connor McDavid (72) | Connor McDavid (102) |
| 2018 | Connor McDavid (48) | Connor McDavid (73) | Connor McDavid (121) |
| 2019 | Leon Draisaitl (52) | Connor McDavid (80) | Connor McDavid (122) |
For most of these years, we would much rather forget that anything happened at all. With just one playoff appearance in the decade in 2017, there are very few highlights to note from the latter parts of the decade of darkness.
What we do get to see, however, is just how good Jordan Eberle was in his early career as an Oiler. In five of six years from 2011 to 2016, he led (or tied) for the team lead in goals. In the first two of those, he also led (or tied) in assists and points, nearly a clean sweep in 2011 and 2012.
And of course, as the decade progressed, the leaderboard was obviously taken over by Connor McDavid, and a brief goals lead by Leon Draisaitl in 2019.
The return to contention: 2020 – 2025
| Year | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 (COVID shortened) | Leon Draisaitl (20) | Leon Draisaitl (28) | Leon Draisaitl (48) |
| 2021 | Leon Draisaitl (55) | Connor McDavid (105) | Connor McDavid (157) |
| 2022 | Connor McDavid (57) | Connor McDavid (86) | Connor McDavid (143) |
| 2023 | Leon Draisaitl (48) | Connor McDavid (84) | Connor McDavid (129) |
| 2024 | Leon Draisaitl (51) | Connor McDavid (104) | Connor McDavid (138) |
| 2025 | Leon Draisaitl (45) | Connor McDavid (81) | Connor McDavid (116) |
These have been the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl years. Despite some impressive seasons by Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent Hopkins, neither of them has been able to eclipse the two superstars in offensive production over a calendar year. Every single category thus far has been claimed by one of McDavid or Draisaitl.
The numbers these two have been putting up are the likes of which haven’t been seen since the days of Gretzky or Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, or Steve Yzerman. Generational-type production. So even though a few other players on these Oilers rosters would easily lead many other teams in scoring, they cannot beat McDavid putting up 150 points in a calendar year, or Draisaitl being a consistent 50-goal scorer.
Who surprised you most on this list? Who will be the Edmonton Oilers’ scoring leaders in 2026? Drop a comment down below!
