- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1946–1980
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 93.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 93.0
- Longevity
- 99.0
GOAT Rank · 24
Greatest Ice Hockey Players who debuted in the 1940s
This ranking is led by Gordie Howe, Doug Harvey and Red Kelly. GOAT Rank currently ranks 24 eligible Ice Hockey players who debuted in the 1940s using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Quick answer
According to GOAT Rank's current model, Gordie Howe ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 94.2.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →#AthleteGOAT Score
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1947–1969
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 96.0
- Dominance
- 94.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 96.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1947–1967
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 96.0
- Longevity
- 92.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1947–1975
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 90.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 92.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1947–1970
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 90.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1949–1971
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 92.0
- Longevity
- 94.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1948–1962
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 94.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1944–1965
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1942–1960
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1940–1954
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1941–1956
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 92.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1941–1955
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 84.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1943–1960
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1949–1966
- Country
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1942–1957
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1949–1974
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 92.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1947–1965
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1943–1950
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 58.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1940–1954
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1941–1951
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1945–1955
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1944–1961
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1944–1954
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Ice Hockey
- Career
- 1946–1966
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 74.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 74.0
- Longevity
- 90.0
| # | Athlete | Sport | Country | Career | GOAT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Gordie Howe | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1946–1980 | 94.2 |
| 3 | Doug Harvey | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1947–1969 | 93.0 |
| 9 | Red Kelly | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1947–1967 | 91.5 |
| 19 | Jacques Plante | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1947–1975 | 90.4 |
| 39 | Terry Sawchuk | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1947–1970 | 89.4 |
| 45 | George Armstrong | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1949–1971 | 89.1 |
| 70 | Bert Olmstead | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1948–1962 | 88.0 |
| 76 | Ted Lindsay | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1944–1965 | 87.8 |
| 78 | Maurice Richard | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1942–1960 | 87.7 |
| 110 | Elmer Lach | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1940–1954 | 87.0 |
| 112 | Émile Bouchard | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1941–1956 | 87.0 |
| 139 | Bill Mosienko | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1941–1955 | 86.3 |
| 146 | Harry Lumley | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1943–1960 | 86.1 |
| 147 | Sven Tumba | Ice Hockey | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 1949–1966 | 86.0 |
| 174 | Ted Kennedy | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1942–1957 | 85.1 |
| 185 | Tim Horton | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1949–1974 | 84.9 |
| 213 | Tom Johnson | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1947–1965 | 83.8 |
| 219 | Bill Durnan | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1943–1950 | 83.6 |
| 239 | Max Bentley | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1940–1954 | 82.9 |
| 245 | Buddy O'Connor | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1941–1951 | 82.6 |
| 254 | Edgar Laprade | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1945–1955 | 82.3 |
| 258 | Fernie Flaman | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1944–1961 | 82.1 |
| 270 | Herb Carnegie | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1944–1954 | 81.3 |
| 274 | Bill Gadsby | Ice Hockey | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1946–1966 | 81.1 |
Compare the leaders
Gordie Howe vs Doug HarveyRead the full methodology
Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.
Read the full methodologyFrequently asked questions
How is this ranking calculated?
Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Who is included?
According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.
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