The NHL single-season record for points by one player is 215, set by Wayne Gretzky in 1985–86.
Gretzky reached the total with 52 goals and 163 assists in 80 games for the Edmonton Oilers. His 163 assists were also an NHL single-season record, and his 215 points remain the highest regular-season total in league history.
The performance came during Gretzky’s dominant Oilers era, when Edmonton won the Stanley Cup in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988. Gretzky had already set the previous points record, 212, in 1981–82, then surpassed it by three points.
The record is sometimes confused with Gretzky’s 1988–89 total of 168 points, which led the league but was far below his 1985–86 peak. Points combine goals and assists, so the record does not mean 215 goals.