Zach Parise will soon surpass Dave Christian and become the top NHL goal scorer to come from the state of Minnesota. Who is the top producer to come from each state?

One goal. That’s all Zach Parise needs to become the greatest goal scorer the state of Minnesota has ever produced.

For a moment, though, it looked like he was already there.

Tuesday night in Minnesota, with the Wild on the power play and trailing the Capitals by four, Parise found his place in front of Washington netminder Pheonix Copley when a blast from the blueline came from defenseman Matt Dumba. Before the shot could reach the Capitals crease, it was deflected, bouncing around in front of Copley before sneaking by the outstretched arms of the netminder and trickling across the goal line with Parise swung at the puck. It looked as though he had made contact, putting his 341st goal on the board and moving into first place among all Minnesota-born NHL goal scorers, snapping a tie, coincidentally, with long-time Capital Dave Christian.

Unfortunately, it turns out Parise didn’t make contact at all. The original deflection in front of Copley? That was Washington defenseman Christian Djoos. He’s the one whose stick made contact with Dumba’s shot. And when Parise was swinging at the puck, it turns out he missed altogether. The puck had enough momentum to cross into the net without him so much as nicking it.

Thus, Parise remains one goal shy of passing Christian and earning his piece of Minnesota hockey history, and he’ll look to get that marker Saturday against the visiting Buffalo Sabres.

Parise won’t be the lone active skater who holds a state scoring mark, however. There are a number of current NHLers who have either topped every other player from their birth state or find themselves atop the scoring list given the dearth of NHL talent the state has produced. Here’s a complete state-by-state list of top all-time and active scorers:

(Note: Each state representative is based on listed birthplace. Hence, even if a player was born in one state and played the majority of his hockey in another, he is categorized by birthplace. For example, despite playing minor hockey in Canada, Tyler Myers was born in Texas and is listed below with other Texans.)

ALABAMA

All-Time Goals: Nic Dowd — 10 goals

All-Time Points: Nic Dowd — 28 points

Active Goals: Nic Dowd — 10 goals

Active Points: Nic Dowd — 28 points

The competition, frankly, is slim. There are only three Alabama-born players in NHL history, and Dowd is the all-time leader almost solely by virtue of hanging around. His 145 games played puts him more than 100 clear of the second-place Aud Tuten, and Dowd has double Tuten’s point total.

ALASKA

All-Time Goals: Scott Gomez — 181 goals

All-Time Points: Scott Gomez — 756 points

Active Goals: Brandon Dubinsky — 149 goals

Active Points: Brandon Dubinsky — 28 points

Gomez is the all-time leader in both scoring categories and chances are he’ll remain that way. There’s not much competition, and Dubinsky’s beginning to get too long in the tooth to truly catch him. That said, he might have a shot at the most games played by an Alaskan-born player. He’s 308 behind Gomez, who played 1,079. It’s plausible Dubinsky surpasses that total.

ARIZONA

All-Time Goals: Sean Couturier — 108 goals

All-Time Points: Sean Couturier — 279 points

Active Goals: Sean Couturier — 10 goals

Active Points: Sean Couturier — 28 points

Surely this won’t raise any eyebrows, right? Couturier has represented Canada on the international stage, but he was born in Arizona. Thus, he tops this list. But! But, but, but. Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk are both Arizona born, and given the promising careers ahead of them, either could take the throne by the time their careers are through. (Note: Auston Matthews was raised in Arizona, but he was born in California. Hence, the so-called ‘Big Cactus’ doesn’t appear here.)

CALIFORNIA

All-Time Goals: Jason Zucker — 103 goals

All-Time Points: Lee Norwood — 211 points

Active Goals: Jason Zucker — 103 goals

Active Points: Brooks Orpik — 187 points

By the time the Wild are through on Saturday evening, Parise might be joined on one scoring-leader list as he’s only two points shy of surpassing Orpik as the top active California-born skater. It’s only going to be a matter of time, though, before Matthews (see above) takes over. He’s 38 points back of Zucker, despite playing nearly 200 fewer games.

COLORADO

All-Time Goals: Mike Eaves — 83 goals

All-Time Points: Mike Eaves — 226 points

Active Goals: Jaccob Slavin — 17 goals

Active Points: Jaccob Slavin — 91 points

Eaves is far and away atop the list, but it’s hard not to appreciate how quickly Slavin has made his way into the running despite playing on the blueline. The Hurricanes blueliner’s immense talent is going to put him in the conversation to top this list at some point…that is, if Troy Terry doesn’t hit his stride and catch or pass Slavin first.

CONNECTICUT

All-Time Goals: Chris Drury — 255 goals

All-Time Points: Craig Janney — 751 points

Active Goals: Max Pacioretty — 228 goals

Active Points: Max Pacioretty — 452 points

Pacioretty’s start in Vegas hasn’t gone as planned, but, even still, there’s no doubt he’ll overtake Drury for top spot on the all-time list. If he doesn’t start finding his scoring touch again, though, surpassing Janney might be in question. Could Cam Atkinson, who has 154 goals and 289 points in 465 games, catch up and take the lead?

DELAWARE

All-Time Goals: Mark Eaton — 24 goals

All-Time Points: Mark Eaton — 85 points

Active Goals: N/A

Active Points: N/A

Eaton bounced around the league for 13 seasons with stops in Philadelphia, Nashville, Pittsburgh and New York. His point totals aren’t going to blow anyone’s hair back, but he skated in 650 games. Not bad for the lone NHLer from the state.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

All-Time Goals: Jeff Halpern — 152 goals

All-Time Points: Jeff Halpern — 373 points

Active Goals: N/A

Active Points: N/A



Again, there’s very little competition here, which isn’t all that surprising given the size of D.C. Halpern really only had to top Kevyn Adams, and Halpern either doubled or nearly doubled Adams’ totals in games played, goals and points.

FLORIDA

All-Time Goals: Shayne Gostisbehere — 40 goals

All-Time Points: Shayne Gostisbehere — 159 points

Active Goals: Shayne Gostisbehere — 40 goals

Active Points: Shayne Gostisbehere — 159 points

Back-to-back seasons, back-to-back state records. When he scored his second goal of the season, Gostisbehere surpassed Dan Hinote, who played 503 games in the show and netted 38 goals. He has blown Hinote’s 90 points out of the water, too, particularly thanks to last season’s 65-point output.

GEORGIA

All-Time Goals: Mark Mowers — 18 goals

All-Time Points: Mark Mowers — 62 points

Active Goals: N/A

Active Points: N/A

Three exports makes for a small field, and Mowers leads the class. His career was much more successful than that of any other native Georgian. However, despite playing nearly 200 fewer games, Eric Chouinard is only seven goals and 40 points back, but he left the league in 2006.

IDAHO

All-Time Goals: N/A

All-Time Points: Pat Shea — 1 point

Active Goals: N/A

Active Points: N/A

The next goal an Idaho-born player scores in the NHL will be the first. There hasn’t been an Idahoan in the NHL since 1958.

ILLINOIS

All-Time Goals: Ed Olczyk — 342 goals

All-Time Points: Chris Chelios — 948 points

Active Goals: Ryan Dzingel — 49 goals

Active Points: John Moore — 101 points

There may be a few challengers for the Illinois goal scoring crown, but it’s going to take a good long while. Ryan Dzingel and Christian Fischer are at the top of the active list with 49 goals and 22 goals, respectively. But it’s unlikely any active Illinois born player is going to have a career that sees them surpass Chelios in the points category.

INDIANA

All-Time Goals: John-Michael Liles — 87 goals

All-Time Points: John-Michael Liles — 370 points

Active Goals: Jack Johnson — 67 goals

Active Points: Jack Johnson — 282 points

It might be a big ask at this point in his career, but Johnson has a shot at overtaking Liles in both scoring categories. The averages are pretty clear, too: he’s going to need five-goal, 25-point seasons across the next four seasons. Drake Batherson, who just made his NHL debut, is one to watch, though. He’s got high potential, and as the lone active forward born in the state, both marks are his for the taking.

IOWA

All-Time Goals: Tucker Poolman — 1 goal

All-Time Points: Scott Clemmensen — 3 points

Active Goals: Tucker Poolman — 1 goal

Active Points: Tucker Poolman — 2 points

The all-time leading scorer out of Iowa is…a goaltender? You bet. Your eyes don’t deceive you. Clemmensen has been out of the NHL since 2015, but the Des Moines native’s three points is more than any other Iowan in league history. Of course, Clemmensen’s record is on borrowed time as Poolman is just one point back of matching the mark.

MAINE

All-Time Goals: Danny Bolduc — 22 goals

All-Time Points: Brian Dumoulin— 57 points

Active Goals: Brian Dumoulin — 8 goals

Active Points: Brian Dumoulin — 57 points

Dumoulin may have the points mark, but he still has a way to go before he reaches Bolduc’s goals mark. It might be Garnet Hathaway who gets there first, though. He’s not a prolific scorer, sure, but he’s found twine at about twice the goals per game rate.

MARYLAND

All-Time Goals: Jeff Brubaker — 16 goals

All-Time Points: Jeff Brubaker — 25 points

Active Goals: N/A

Active Points: N/A

Brubaker made his mark on the scoresheet, but not with his offense. A tough customer, Brubaker racked up 512 penalty minutes in 178 games. It’s been nearly a decade since the last Maryland native, Jamie Fritsch, played in the NHL.

MASSACHUSETTS

All-Time Goals: Keith Tkachuk — 538 goal

All-Time Points: Jeremy Roenick — 1,216 points

Active Goals: Chris Kreider — 139 goal

Active Points: Keith Yandle — 482 points

The totals put up by Tkachuk and Roenick are going to be safe for a good, long while. In fact, active leaders Kreider and Yandle aren’t going to come anywhere close to besting the 500-goal or 1,000-point plateaus. You know who might have a chance, though? Jack Eichel. In 227 games, Eichel has 77 goals and 196 points and his best years are ahead of him.

MICHIGAN

All-Time Goals: Mike Modano — 561 goals

All-Time Points: Mike Modano — 1,374 points

Active Goals: Ryan Kesler — 257 goals

Active Points: Ryan Kesler — 570 points

Modano owns the all-time marks, Kesler’s the leading active player and it’s going to remain that way for quite some time. Truly, the only player who might be a threat to Kesler’s marks before the veteran hangs ‘em up is Dylan Larkin, who has 63 goals and 158 points in 261 games.

MINNESOTA

All-Time Goals: Dave Christian and Zach Parise — 340 goals

All-Time Points: Phil Housley — 1,232 points

Active Goals: Zach Parise — 340 goals

Active Points: Matt Cullen — 714 points

MISSOURI

All-Time Goals: Pat LaFontaine — 468 goals

All-Time Points: Pat LaFontaine — 1,013 points

Active Goals: Pat Maroon — 78 goals

Active Points: Pat Maroon — 185 points

Maroon can thank his tenure for his lead in the respective active categories, and he can get ready to kiss it goodbye in the not-too-distant future. Not only is Adam Lowry — 45 goals, 95 points in 298 games — on Maroon’s tail, but Clayton Keller is going to be chasing down the marks in no time. He already has 28 goals and 79 points in 103 games, and he has the skill level to chase down LaFontaine’s all-time goals mark if he has a long enough career.

MONTANA

All-Time Goals: Bill Lindsay — 83 goals

All-Time Points: Bill Lindsay — 224 points

Active Goals: N/A

Active Points: N/A

Unlike most states that have a single export, Montana’s single skater, Lindsay, was a long-tenured and productive player. The state hasn’t had another NHL representative since Lindsay, who left the league in 2004.

NEBRASKA

All-Time Goals: Jake Guentzel — 44 goals

All-Time Points: Jake Guentzel — 93 points

Active Goals: Jake Guentzel — 44 goals

Active Points: Jake Guentzel — 93 points

When Guentzel entered the league, Jed Ortmeyer was the state’s leading scorer with 22 goals and 53 points. It took the Penguins winger all of a season and a half to surpass Ortmeyer, though, and Guentzel has no competition. He’s the only active player from Nebraska.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

All-Time Goals: Deron Quint — 46 goals

All-Time Points: Deron Quint — 143 points

Active Goals: Tim Schaller — 21 goals

Active Points: Ben Lovejoy — 95 points

Of the dozen NHLers New Hampshire has produced, Quint has the all-time scoring lead and Lovejoy is the active leader, but Schaller has his sights set on all three marks. He’s already nearly halfway to Quint’s goal total in less than half the games and Schaller’s 44 points put him on track to take the points lead, too, if he can continue his career for another five or six seasons.

NEW JERSEY

All-Time Goals: Bobby Ryan — 239 goals

All-Time Points: Bobby Ryan — 517 points

Active Goals: Bobby Ryan — 239 goals

Active Points: Bobby Ryan — 517 points

Ryan has the lead, active and all-time, but don’t count on him keeping it for long. Not only is James van Riemsdyk on his heels with 201 goals and 394 points, but Johnny Gaudreau is making his way up the charts with 103 goals and 307 points in 331 games. It’s only a matter of time before ‘Johnny Hockey’ takes top spot.

NEW YORK

All-Time Goals: Joe Mullen — 502 goals

All-Time Points: Joe Mullen — 1,063 points

Active Goals: Patrick Kane — 324 goals

Active Points: Patrick Kane — 851 points

There are no guarantees, but this is the rare instance where the all-time marks falling to an active player seems like a sure thing. Kane is likely to be a 500-goal player by the time he hangs up his skates, and he’s only 112 points behind Mullen. He might be a season and a half shy of taking the points mark.

NORTH CAROLINA

All-Time Goals: Ben Smith — 29 goals

All-Time Points: Jared Boll — 66 points

Active Goals: N/A

Active Points: Logan Brown — 1 point

There’s nothing saying Smith can’t head back to the NHL, but he was on the margins of the big club and the minor league squad throughout his career. That means Boll, a pugilist more than a point-scorer, is the all-time leading scorer. Once Logan Brown becomes a full-timer with the Senators, he’ll work towards taking top spot.

NORTH DAKOTA

All-Time Goals: Paul Gaustad — 89 goals

All-Time Points: Paul Gaustad — 231 points

Active Goals: Paul Ladue — 4 goals

Active Points: Paul Ladue — 13 points

For such a hockey-mad region, it’s incredible that North Dakota hasn’t produced more top talents. Right now, Gaustad holds the top marks and Ladue is the top active skater. Can Luke Johnson usurp Ladue, though? The Blackhawks rookie has one assist in 12 games and Chicago hopes he can become a decent bottom-six contributor.

OHIO

All-Time Goals: Bryan Smolinski — 274 goals

All-Time Points: Bryan Smolinski — 651 points

Active Goals: J.T. Miller — 87 goals

Active Points: J.T. Miller — 205 points

Landing in Tampa Bay might be the best thing for Miller, who is now part of an unstoppable Lightning attack. Ohio actually has a few promising players, too, as Jets youngster Jack Roslovic is also beginning his pursuit of Smolinski.

OKLAHOMA

All-Time Goals: Tyler Arnason — 88 goals

All-Time Points: Tyler Arnason — 245 points

Active Goals: Jon Merrill — 7 goals

Active Points: Jon Merrill — 41 points

Arnason has held the title of Oklahoma’s top scorer for nearly two decades. He’s not going to lose it anytime soon, either. Merrill isn’t a big-time producer and there aren’t any young guns from the state who have broken into the league quite yet.

OREGON

All-Time Goals: Jere Gillis — 78 goals

All-Time Points: Jere Gillis — 173 points

Active Goals: Jacob MacDonald — 1 goal

Active Points: Jacob MacDonald — 1 point

An undrafted free agent who signed with the Florida Panthers, MacDonald is the lone NHLer from Oregon. He’s also the only hope to catch Gillis, who is the only long-term big-leaguer the state has ever had.

PENNSYLVANIA

All-Time Goals: R.J. Umberger — 180 goals

All-Time Points: R.J. Umberger — 392 points

Active Goals: Brandon Saad — 129 goals

Active Points: Brandon Saad — 275 points

Umberger and Ryan Malone battled it out for the title of Pennsylvania’s top scorer for the duration of their respective careers, but there’s a new duo set to go shot for shot in Saad and Vincent Trocheck. The former has slowed down, however, while the latter has only improved with age. Count on Trocheck, who has 131 goals and 225 points, to be Pennsylvania’s top scorer in a few seasons’ time.

RHODE ISLAND

All-Time Goals: Bryan Berard — 76 goals

All-Time Points: Bryan Berard — 323 points

Active Goals: Noel Acciari — 12 goals

Active Points: Noel Acciari — 17 points

Acciari defaults into the top spot among active players as the only active Rhode Islander in the NHL. He’s going to need to pick up the pace if he’s to surpass Berard, a first-overall pick, as the top player the state has produced.

SOUTH CAROLINA

All-Time Goals: Ryan Hartman — 35 goals

All-Time Points: Ryan Hartman — 72 points

Active Goals: Ryan Hartman — 35 goals

Active Points: Ryan Hartman — 72 points

Hartman is the all-time leader, active leader and the only player in NHL history to come from South Carolina. But while he may not have stiff — or any — competition, he’s definitely making it difficult for whoever follows in his footsteps.

TEXAS

All-Time Goals: Brian Leetch — 247 goals

All-Time Points: Brian Leetch — 1,028 points

Active Goals: Tyler Myers — 66 goals

Active Points: Tyler Myers — 236 points

Myers falls into the Couturier column. He plays his international puck for Canada, but he was born in the Lone Star State. The technicality of Myers having the active lead shouldn’t last much longer, however, as Seth Jones, who has 47 goals and 191 points, is a safe bet to take the active lead. Given enough time, maybe he’ll even flirt with Leetch’s goal total.

UTAH

All-Time Goals: Steve Konowalchuk — 171 goals

All-Time Points: Steve Konowalchuk — 396 points

Active Goals: Trevor Lewis — 63 goals

Active Points: Trevor Lewis — 142 points

Utah’s NHLers have been few and far between, and Lewis is the top active scorer. Oddly enough, the Kings have the only other active Utahan, Daniel Brickley. The defender is only beginning his career, though, so he’s 62 goals and 141 points behind Lewis.

VERMONT

All-Time Goals: John LeClair — 406 goals

All-Time Points: John LeClair — 819 points

Active Goals: N/A

Active Points: N/A

How safe is LeClair’s lead for Vermont’s top scorer? Well, there’s no other active players from the state, and the last NHL player the state produced, Graham Mink, played seven games in the league and failed to find the scoresheet.

VIRGINIA

All-Time Goals: Eric Weinrich — 70 goals

All-Time Points: Eric Weinrich — 143 points

Active Goals: N/A

Active Points: N/A

Technically, Virginia could have a representative on the scoring charts in the NHL right now. The issue, though, is that Scott Darling hasn’t registered an assist at any point in his 123-game career between the pipes in the NHL. He’s the state’s only current representative.

WASHINGTON

All-Time Goals: T.J. Oshie — 196 goals

All-Time Points: T.J. Oshie — 478 points

Active Goals: T.J. Oshie — 196 goals

Active Points: T.J. Oshie — 478 points

Oshie has been Washington’s top scorer since his rookie season, surpassing Scott Levins, Wayne Hicks and David Wilkie with ease. The Capitals winger has some company now, though. Tyler Johnson, Derek Ryan, Kailer Yamamoto and Dylan Gambrell will all be in pursuit as they continue their careers.

WISCONSIN

All-Time Goals: Phil Kessel — 339 goals

All-Time Points: Gary Suter — 844 points

Active Goals: Phil Kessel — 339 goals

Active Points: Phil Kessel — 762 points

Before his time is up, Kessel will have total control of the state’s scoring records. However, there’s potential for him to have some company if Joe Pavelski, who has 328 goals, has a few more big years with the Sharks, and there are more than a dozen Wisconsinites in the NHL. Who has the most potential to catch or pass Kessel at some point? Alex Galchenyuk could enter the conversation. He has 263 points in 429 career games.