This was a tough call but I gave Gretzky the silver ahead of Esposito. In 1970-71 nobody else even managed 50, with John Bucyk placing second with 46, a full 24 goals behind Esposito.Įven more impressive, the next three names on that list - Bobby Hull, Ken Hodge, and Dennis Hull - were all 30 or more era-adjusted goals behind Esposito.

Regardless, he had an incredible season in ’70-71.Įsposito’s 76 goals translate to 70 era-adjusted goals. This was a close one between Esposito and Gretzky’s ’83-84, but in the end, I gave Phil the bronze medal. Yeah, you could say Gretzky was pretty good. Rick Vaive, who was fifth in goal-scoring that season, was 29 era-adjusted goals behind and 38 actual goals behind. That being said, the closest player to Gretzky was Mike Bossy, who was 21 era-adjusted goals behind and 28 actual goals behind. It’s something I can barely comprehend when in today’s NHL you could win the Rocket Richard trophy with 45 goals. Just like Mario, while Gretzky was a monster, there were two other 60-plus goal-scorers in 1981-82. If you’re upset that Gretzky’s record-breaking 92-goal season is ranked fourth, well, last week I ranked it sixth. I gave Lemieux the edge over Ovechkin here because even though Nichols was closer to Lemieux than Kovalchuck, Lemieux was light years ahead of Gretzky, Joe Mullen and Joe Nieuwendyk, who were third, fourth, and fifth respectively in goal-scoring that season, for crying out loud.

Can you imagine that in today’s NHL? Three players with 65 goals or more? That’s absurd. Bernie Nichols buried 70 goals that season while Steve Yzerman potted 65. When he scored 85 goals in 1988-89, he was one of a few sniping monsters. With his lethal combination of size, speed and skill, Mario Lemieux is easily one of the most dominant players in NHL history.

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