Counting stats
NHL Assists Leaders: Pittsburgh Penguins
2025-26All situationsThrough 83 team games
Erik Karlsson (PIT) leads NHL skaters with 51 assists for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2025-26, ahead of 
Sidney Crosby (PIT) (45).
Showing 2025-26 · 2026-27 becomes the default after ~10 games per team2026-27 so far →
Leaders: Assists, Pittsburgh Penguins, 2025-26
- 1stErik KarlssonPIT · 75 GP51
- 2ndSidney CrosbyPIT · 68 GP45
3rdEvgeni MalkinPIT · 56 GP42
4thBryan RustPIT · 72 GP36
5thAnthony ManthaPIT · 81 GP31
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 2025-26, 38 skaters qualify for this board; the median is 7 and Erik Karlsson leads at 51.
Assists leaderboard
| # | Player | Team | A | GP | Per game | G | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik KarlssonDPIT | PIT | 51 | 75 | 0.68 | 15 | 66 | 95% |
| 2 | Sidney CrosbyFPIT | PIT | 45 | 68 | 0.66 | 29 | 74 | 99% |
| 3 | Evgeni MalkinFPIT | PIT | 42 | 56 | 0.75 | 19 | 61 | 84%▼1 |
| 4 | Bryan RustFPIT | PIT | 36 | 72 | 0.50 | 29 | 65 | 80%▼2.9 |
| 5 | Anthony ManthaFPIT | PIT | 31 | 81 | 0.38 | 33 | 64 | 32%▼6.4 |
| 6 |  Kris LetangDPIT | PIT | 31 | 74 | 0.42 | 3 | 34 | 54%▼2.9 |
| 7 |  Ryan SheaDPIT | PIT | 29 | 80 | 0.36 | 6 | 35 | 19%▼2.6 |
| 8 |  Parker WotherspoonDPIT | PIT | 27 | 80 | 0.34 | 3 | 30 | 13%▼1.6 |
| 9 |  Tommy NovakFPIT | PIT | 26 | 82 | 0.32 | 16 | 42 | 37%▼0.5 |
| 10 |  Rickard RakellFPIT | PIT | 24 | 60 | 0.40 | 24 | 48 | 70%▼6.3 |
| 11 |  Egor ChinakhovFPIT | PIT | 21 | 72 | 0.29 | 21 | 42 | 39%▼5.5 |
| 12 |  Ben KindelFPIT | PIT | 18 | 77 | 0.23 | 17 | 35 | 45%▼5.3 |
| 13 |  Justin BrazeauFPIT | PIT | 17 | 64 | 0.27 | 17 | 34 | 8.9%▼0.8 |
| 14 |  Connor DewarFPIT | PIT | 16 | 78 | 0.21 | 14 | 30 | 3.4% |
| 15 |  Samuel GirardDPIT | PIT | 16 | 60 | 0.27 | 3 | 19 | 28%▲5 |
| 16 |  Noel AcciariFPIT | PIT | 12 | 67 | 0.18 | 13 | 25 | 4.1%▲0.8 |
| 17 |  Blake LizotteFPIT | PIT | 12 | 55 | 0.22 | 7 | 19 | 0.2% |
| 18 |  Ilya SolovyovDPIT | PIT | 7 | 30 | 0.23 | 1 | 8 | 0.1% |
| 19 |  Jack St. IvanyDPIT | PIT | 7 | 20 | 0.35 | 0 | 7 | 0.0%▼3.2 |
| 20 |  Elmer SoderblomFPIT | PIT | 6 | 59 | 0.10 | 7 | 13 | 4.0% |
| 21 |  Ville KoivunenFPIT | PIT | 5 | 39 | 0.13 | 2 | 7 | 16%▼0.8 |
| 22 |  Connor CliftonDPIT | PIT | 4 | 50 | 0.08 | 2 | 6 | 5.7%▼0.8 |
| 23 |  Kevin HayesFPIT | PIT | 4 | 28 | 0.14 | 4 | 8 | 0.0% |
| 24 |  Rutger McGroartyFPIT | PIT | 3 | 24 | 0.13 | 3 | 6 | — |
| 25 |  Filip HallanderFPIT | PIT | 3 | 13 | 0.23 | 1 | 4 | 9.7%▼1.7 |
Frequently asked questions
Who leads the NHL in Assists in 2025-26?
Erik Karlsson leads with 51. The median of the 38 qualified skaters is 7.
Which defenseman leads in Assists in 2025-26?
Erik Karlsson leads NHL defensemen with 51; the top forward is Sidney Crosby at 45.
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.