Gabriel Landeskog’s 1,347-day wait for a goal, one of the longest NHL goal droughts in history, is finally over.
Across different eras, some players went hundreds of games without scoring. Others waited seasons for their first career goal, and a few never found the net at all.
While 273 games without a goal remains the NHL’s longest drought, it’s not as famed as a 255-day dry spell for one reason.
Here are five of the longest NHL goal droughts in history.
Longest consecutive NHL games without a goal
Allen Pedersen holds the longest scoreless run in NHL history, going 273 consecutive games without finding the net.
Pedersen carved out a role as a stay-at-home defenceman, logging heavy minutes and blocking shots rather than joining the rush.
Scoring was never part of his job, but the length of the drought still stands out in a league where even defensive specialists chip in occasionally.
Despite the run, he remained a regular in NHL lineups and earned the trust of multiple coaches.
Longest streak that eventually ended
The longest drought that eventually ended belongs to Ken Daneyko, who went 255 straight games without a goal before finally breaking through in 2002.
His wait became one of the league’s most talked-about dry spells because it had a clear beginning and a memorable finish.
Daneyko built his career on defence and physical play, spending little time in attacking positions.
Even so, the streak grew into a running storyline for New Jersey fans as each season passed without a goal.
When the drought finally ended, it felt like a reward for a player who had done everything except score.
The streak remains one of the NHL’s most recognisable droughts because it closed with a rare and popular moment.
Longest wait for a first NHL goal
David Hale holds the record for the longest wait for a first NHL goal, reaching 231 games before he finally scored in his sixth season.
The milestone came in November 2008 during his spell with the Phoenix Coyotes.
Hale’s drought followed him through stints with the Devils and Flames, where he established himself as a depth defenceman trusted for steady minutes rather than offensive output.
The rarity of the wait made his first goal stand out even more, especially after years of assists, trades, and role changes.
The streak remains the longest start to an NHL career without a goal and has become one of the league’s most shared pieces of trivia.
Most career games without ever scoring
Steven Halko holds the NHL record for the most career games without a goal, finishing with 155 appearances and zero goals.
His entire NHL career came with the Carolina Hurricanes, where he was used as a depth defenceman across five seasons.
Halko arrived in the league after captaining the University of Michigan and spending time with multiple AHL teams.
His NHL shifts focused on simple, low-risk play, which kept him out of scoring positions even as his assist numbers grew.
By the time his career ended, the absence of a single goal had become the defining footnote of his time in the league.
Longest modern-era drought by days
Gabriel Landeskog owns one of the longest NHL goal droughts measured in days, going 1,347 days between regular-season goals.
The stretch covered three missed seasons, multiple knee surgeries, and a lengthy conditioning assignment before he returned to the Avalanche lineup.
His goal against Anaheim ended a wait that began back in March 2022, when he scored shortly before Colorado’s Stanley Cup run.
The drought lasted longer than his recovery timeline, as setbacks forced him to miss the entire 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons and most of the following year.
Landeskog finally ended the wait with a second-period goal in a 4–1 win over Anaheim, his first regular-season strike since March 2022.
He joked that he half-expected another challenge after having two goals overturned earlier this year.
After the game, he said the moment mattered most because his son had been asking when he would score again.
“My son will be happy when he wakes up. He keeps asking me, and I’m like, ‘No, not yet.’
