The NHL's 60 Goal Club

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Apr 9, 2008

The NHL's 60 Goal Club

Phil Esposito

1970-71: 76 in 78 games 1971-72: 66 in 76 games 1973-74: 68 in 78 games 1974-75: 61 in 79 games The Bruins' Hall of Fame center was the first to reach the mark, by scoring 76 goals in 1970-71. It was the first of his four 60 campaigns, all of them accomplished before Philadelphia's Reggie Leach became the second 60-goal player, in 1975-76.

Reggie Leach

1975-76: 61 in 80 games The right winger for the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Broadway Bullies became the second NHL player to score 60 goals when he tallied 61 in 1975-76. The total was his career high, and he tacked on another 19 in 16 playoff games that spring.

Steve Shutt

1976-77: 60 in 80 games Drafted fourth overall by the Canadiens in 1972, the left wing scored his career-high 60 in 1976-77 while the Habs were in the midst of a run of four straight Stanley Cups. Though he never broke 50 in any of his other 13 NHL seasons, Shutt did have three 40-goal campaigns.

Guy Lafleur

1977-78: 60 in 78 games Montreal's famed Flower, who once scored 130 goals in 62 games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, netted his NHL career-high 60 in 1977-78 during a run of four straight Stanley Cups from 1975-79. It was also the high point of his six successive 50 goal seasons.

Mike Bossy

1978-79: 69 in 80 games 1980-81: 68 in 79 games 1981-82: 64 in 80 games 1982-83: 60 in 79 games 1985-86: 61 in 80 games The Islanders' Hall of Fame right winger is considered by many to be the best pure goal-scorer of all time. He reached his career high of 69 in 1978-79 and topped 60 three times during the Isles' run of four successive Cups. In all, Bossy had five 60-goal seasons during his injury-shortened, 10-year NHL career.

Wayne Gretzky

1981-82: 92 in 80 games 1982-83: 71 in 80 games 1983-84: 87 in 74 games 1984-85: 73 in 80 games 1986-87: 62 in 79 games The Great One holds three of the NHL's top six single-season goal-scoring marks, including his staggering record total of 92 in 1981-82. Among Gretzky's five 60-goal seasons, was a blazing run of 323 total goals in a four-season span from 1981-85.

Dennis Maruk

1981-82: 60 in 80 games The pint-sized (5' 8", 165) and explosive center is the first Washington Capital to score 60, doing so in 1981-82. It was the follow-up to his first 50-goal season, but also the high-water mark of his career. He would not score more than 31 in any of his five remaining years in the NHL.

Lanny McDonald

1982-83: 66 in 80 games A reliable 30- or 40-goal man, the Flames' distinctive right wing reached his career-high 66 in 1982-83 in a memorable goal-scoring duel with Wayne Gretzky, who finished with 71. Interestingly, McDonald failed to break the 100-point mark that season, but he won the Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Jari Kurri

1984-85: 71 in 73 games 1985-86: 68 in 78 games Wayne Gretzky's right wing scored 71 goals for the Oilers in 1984-85 and followed it with 68 the next season. Kurri ranks second all time to Jaromir Jagr among European goal scorers, with 601.

Mario Lemieux

1987-88: 70 in 77 games 1988-89: 85 in 76 games 1992-93: 69 in 60 games 1995-96: 69 in 70 games Super Mario scored 70 goals in 1987-88, his fourth NHL season, and trumped it with his career high of 85 the following year. Lemieux had four 60 goal campaigns in all, a total surely stunted by the back injury and illness that shortened his stellar career.

Bernie Nicholls

1988-89: 70 in 79 games Another anomaly in the club, the Kings' center lit the lamp 70 times in 1988-89, bettering his career-high by 24 and never again scoring more than 27 in his 11 NHL seasons thereafter.

Steve Yzerman

1988-89: 65 in 80 games 1989-90: 62 in 79 games Detroit's revered captain was at the peak of his offensive powers during a six-season span from 1987 to 1993. He scored his career high of 65 in 1988-89, the first of his two successive 60 seasons.

Brett Hull

1989-90: 72 in 80 games 1990-91: 86 in 78 games 1991-92: 70 in 73 games While his Hall of Fame father Bobby, who popularized the slap shot, never reached the 60 mark, The Golden Brett did it three times, in succession, including his career high of 86 in 1990-91. That total remains the NHL's single-season mark by a right wing.

Alexander Mogilny

1992-93: 76 in 77 games The swift Russian right wing exploded in 1992-93 for his career-high of 76 goals in 77 games as part of the Sabres' lethal scoring punch with Pat LaFontaine, who tallied a team-leading 148 points.

Teemu Selanne

1992-93: 76 in 84 games The Finnish Flash still holds the NHL's rookie goal-scoring record of 76, set with the Winnipeg Jets in 1992-93.

Pavel Bure

1992-93: 60 in 83 games 1993-94: 60 in 76 games The Canucks rode the second of the Russian Rocket's two successive 60-goal seasons to the 1993-94 Stanley Cup Final. He scored an even 60 each time. While skating for the Panthers, Bure fell two goals shy of the 60 mark in 1999-2000 and one goal short in 2000-01.

Luc Robitaille

1992-93: 63 in 84 games Lucky Luc's 63 goals for the L.A. Kings in 1992-93 still stand as the NHL's single-season mark by a left wing. Robitaille remains the NHL's all-time goal-scoring leader among LWs, with 668.

Jaromir Jagr

1995-96: 62 in 82 games The Czech right wing gave the Penguins an unstoppable tandem with Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. Jagr lit the lamp a career-high 62 times while Lemieux scored 69. It is Jagr's only 60-goal season thus far.

Alexander Ovechkin

2007-08: 65 in 82 gamesOn March 21, the electrifying Russian winger, who is only 22, became the first NHL player in 12 years to reach the milestone. His 60th tally tied Dennis Maruk's franchise record, set in 1981-82.