Counting stats
NHL Assists Leaders: Washington Capitals
2020-21All situationsThrough 57 team games
Nicklas Backstrom (WSH) leads NHL skaters with 38 assists for the Washington Capitals in 2020-21, ahead of 
John Carlson (WSH) (34).
Leaders: Assists, Washington Capitals, 2020-21
- 1stNicklas BackstromWSH · 55 GP38
- 2ndJohn CarlsonWSH · 52 GP34
3rdJustin SchultzWSH · 46 GP24
4thT.J. OshieWSH · 53 GP21
5thTom WilsonWSH · 47 GP20
The full ranked table, with filters, follows.
What Assists measures
This board ranks every NHL skater by total assists this season, regular season only. Total assists this season, all situations.
Totals reward games played and ice time as much as skill; see the per-60 version for the rate view.
Assists credit the last one or two players to touch the puck before a goal. Playmaking centres and power-play quarterbacks on the blue line top the list, and secondary assists make the totals noisier than goals suggest. Assists are a standard category and pile up for players on the top power-play unit. A defenseman racking up assists is usually on PP1; check the power-play points board to confirm. In 2020-21, 26 skaters qualify for this board; the median is 11 and Nicklas Backstrom leads at 38.
Assists leaderboard
| # | Player | Team | A | GP | Per game | G | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicklas BackstromFWSH | WSH | 38 | 55 | 0.69 | 15 | 53 | — |
| 2 | John CarlsonDWSH | WSH | 34 | 52 | 0.65 | 10 | 44 | 98% |
| 3 | Justin SchultzDWSH | WSH | 24 | 46 | 0.52 | 3 | 27 | — |
| 4 | T.J. OshieFWSH | WSH | 21 | 53 | 0.40 | 22 | 43 | — |
| 5 | Tom WilsonFWSH | WSH | 20 | 47 | 0.43 | 13 | 33 | 93%▼1.1 |
| 6 |  Evgeny KuznetsovFWSH | WSH | 20 | 41 | 0.49 | 9 | 29 | — |
| 7 |  Alex OvechkinFWSH | WSH | 18 | 45 | 0.40 | 24 | 42 | 88%▼4 |
| 8 |  Brenden DillonDWSH | WSH | 17 | 56 | 0.30 | 2 | 19 | 7.3%▼1.6 |
| 9 |  Lars EllerFWSH | WSH | 15 | 44 | 0.34 | 8 | 23 | 4.9%▲0.8 |
| 10 |  Anthony ManthaFWSH | WSH | 14 | 56 | 0.25 | 15 | 29 | 32%▼6.4 |
| 11 |  Dmitry OrlovDWSH | WSH | 14 | 51 | 0.27 | 8 | 22 | 33%▲7.5 |
| 12 |  Garnet HathawayFWSH | WSH | 12 | 56 | 0.21 | 6 | 18 | 5.8% |
| 13 |  Nick JensenDWSH | WSH | 12 | 53 | 0.23 | 2 | 14 | 0.5%▲0.5 |
| 14 |  Carl HagelinFWSH | WSH | 10 | 56 | 0.18 | 6 | 16 | — |
| 15 |  Zdeno CharaDWSH | WSH | 8 | 55 | 0.15 | 2 | 10 | — |
| 16 |  Conor ShearyFWSH | WSH | 8 | 53 | 0.15 | 14 | 22 | 0.1% |
| 17 |  Michael RafflFWSH | WSH | 7 | 44 | 0.16 | 4 | 11 | — |
| 18 |  Daniel SprongFWSH | WSH | 7 | 42 | 0.17 | 13 | 20 | — |
| 19 |  Nic DowdFWSH | WSH | 4 | 56 | 0.07 | 11 | 15 | 3.2% |
| 20 |  Trevor van RiemsdykDWSH | WSH | 2 | 20 | 0.10 | 1 | 3 | 0.6% |
| 21 |  Michael SgarbossaFWSH | WSH | 2 | 5 | 0.40 | 0 | 2 | — |
| 22 |  Daniel CarrFWSH | WSH | 1 | 6 | 0.17 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 23 |  Brian PinhoFWSH | WSH | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 24 |  Philippe MailletFWSH | WSH | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 25 |  Garrett PilonFWSH | WSH | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | — |
Frequently asked questions
Who leads the NHL in Assists in 2020-21?
Nicklas Backstrom leads with 38. The median of the 26 qualified skaters is 11.
Which defenseman leads in Assists in 2020-21?
John Carlson leads NHL defensemen with 34; the top forward is Nicklas Backstrom at 38.
How is Assists calculated?
Total assists this season, all situations. Regular season only, from the NHL's official game data.
How reliable is Assists?
Totals reward games played and ice time as much as skill; see the per-60 version for the rate view.