Mike Gartner

Mike Gartner was a fast, durable winger who scored over 700 career goals across stints with Washington, Minnesota, the New York Rangers, Toronto and Phoenix, without ever capturing the Stanley Cup.

Michael Alfred Gartner was born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1959. Washington Capitals selected him fourth overall in the 1979 NHL Draft. His 19-season career produced 708 goals and 627 assists for 1,335 career points. He scored 30 or more goals in 17 consecutive seasons — the most consistent sustained goal-scoring record in NHL history. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001 and named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in 2017. He was considered the fastest skater in the NHL for most of his career — winning the breakaway competition at All-Star Weekend multiple times. He never won the Stanley Cup — traded from Washington to Minnesota and then New York, he was famously traded away from the Rangers just before his 1994 championship run. He was one of the first prominent Christian athletes in the NHL — his faith was public throughout his career. His 708 career goals, without ever winning a championship, make him one of hockey's great individual cases of excellence divorced from team success.

Gartner was renowned for his blazing speed, often considered one of the fastest skaters in NHL history. He combined his exceptional skating ability with a quick, accurate shot and excellent hockey sense to become a consistent goal-scoring threat throughout his career.

Gartner's remarkable consistency and longevity helped establish the template for the modern power forward, proving that speed and skill could be maintained at an elite level well into one's thirties.

• Hockey Hall of Fame (2001)
• 708 career goals (top-10 all-time)
• 7x NHL All-Star

Team Career

Team	Period	GP	Goals
Washington Capitals	1979–1989	758	397
Minnesota North Stars	1989–1990	80	35
New York Rangers	1990–1994	308	174
Toronto Maple Leafs	1994–1996	118	64
Phoenix Coyotes	1996–1998	159	83
Canada	—	122	43