Scoring 50 goals in the NHL in a single season is an incredible feat, and one that not many past or present players can say they’ve accomplished.
But then there’s a small group of players who can say they’ve done it more than once, and an even smaller group who can say they’ve done it at least five times.
Steve Yzerman played all 1,514 games in a Detroit Red Wings jersey, and scored 692 goals and 1,755 points during that time. Any other franchise around the league, those would be franchise-highs, but because Gordie Howe played for the Red Wings Yzerman is in second place for most records in franchise history. From 1987-1993, Yzerman scored 50 goals or more in five of the six seasons, and had back-to-back seasons of 60+ goals in 1998-89 and 1989-90.
Like father, like son. Both Brett and Bobby Hull find themselves on this list, as they each hit the 50-goal mark five different times during their careers. Bobby finished his NHL career with 610 goals in 1,063 games, but he also scored 303 goals in 411 games with the Winnipeg Jets in the WHA, where he hit the 50-goal mark four different times including 77 goals in 78 games in 1974-75. Meanwhile Brett sits 4th on the NHL’s all-time goals list with 741.
Pavel Bure played the fewest amount of NHL games out of anyone on this list, barely cracking the 700-game mark. In his 702 games, Bure scored 779 points and scored 50 goals or more five times and hit the 60-goal mark twice. However, he’s the only player on this list who didn’t make the 500-goal club, as he finished his career with 437.
Before Guy Lafleur went on his tear with the Montreal Canadiens in the 70’s, Phil Esposito was doing something similar with the Boston Bruins. From 1970-1975, Esposito recorded four seasons with 60 goals or more, with one of them being a 76-goal campaign, and also had a season where he scored 55 goals. He’s also one of the eight players in NHL history to hit the 700-goal mark during their career.
Mario Lemieux might be one of the most remarkable players in NHL history. In just 915 games, Lemieux scored 690 goals and 1,723 points, and he’s the only player inside the NHL’s top 25 leading scorers of all-time who didn’t crack the 1,000-game mark. Super Mario scored 50 goals or more in six different seasons, with two of them being 69-goal campaigns, one being a 70-goal campaign, and the other being an 85-goal campaign, which came right after the 70-goal season.
Guy Lafleur is one of the three players on this list who didn’t crack the 600-goal club during his career, but he did score 560 goals during his NHL days. From 1974-1980, Lafleur was nearly unstoppable as he scored 50 or more goals in six straight seasons and hit the 60-goal mark once during that time. He also picked up 766 of his 1,353 career points in those six seasons.
Marcel Dionne is one of the greatest goal scorers and players to ever play the game, but because he spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Kings well before their glory days, he might be one of the least talked about legends of the game. Dionne sits 5th on the NHL’s all-time goals list and is one of just eight players who have scored 700 or more goals during their career (731).
Alexander Ovechkin is the only current player on this list, and there’s a very good chance he’ll finish his career either tied for or in sole possession of first place on this list, but the shortened season definitely gets in the way of his run. Ovi has won the Rocket Richard Trophy seven of the past eight years and scored 50 or more goals four of the times he won. After all, this man scored 52 as a rookie so we can’t be that shocked that he’s in the running for the record.
Mike Bossy only played 10 seasons in the NHL and the second-fewest amount of games out of anyone on this list, but he made every moment of his career count. In 752 games, Bossy scored 573 goals and holds the NHL record for most goals per game in a career (.762). In his 10 seasons, Bossy’s lowest goal total was 38, which came in his final season, and had three straight seasons where he scored 60 goals or more. In total, Bossy scored 50 goals or more in a season in nine seasons, and scored 60 goals or more in five seasons.
Wayne Gretzky did it nine different times during his NHL career. Are you really surprised he's tied for the record?
