NHL: Who is the greatest goal scorer of their generation?

The NHL has seen many great goal scorers over the course of time. Each generation has had their dominant scorer that everyone feared. We will now settle the debate of who was best.

The 2018-19 NHL season has started off with an explosion of goals scored by the league’s elite snipers. It has made many start thinking, who was the greatest goal scorer who ever played the great game of hockey?

We will take an adventure through time, starting with the original days of the NHL through until today, and we will take a look at the best goal scorers over the years. Think of it as holding a title belt in wrestling or MMA. You’re king until someone knocks you off the top of the mountain.

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Now, before you shout out “Gretzky! It was Gretzky! Gotta be Gretzky!”, there are more factors than just goal totals in their career that we need to take into account.

Firstly, we have to think about how easy or difficult goal scoring was at their time. The art of goal scoring has changed drastically over time, with new techniques and technology being discovered and perfected. Goal scoring was different in the days of wooden flat-bladed sticks and goalies that weren’t allowed to dive on the ice. Then, banana-blade sticks came into existence and goalies eventually developed the butterfly technique. Things change.

Secondly, each of the players we will visit through has had their stranglehold over the NHL scoring crown over a period of time. It’s one thing to be the king of scoring for a year or two, but if that player can keep the crown for a longer period of time, it’s all the more impressive.

Thirdly, we will look at how many scoring titles each player has won through their time. It’s no use being the king of scoring if you can’t lead the league in scoring over and over again. So the more scoring titles the player had during his reign of dominance, the better consideration they’d get for the all-time throne.

Lastly, in order to quantify how many goals each player was good for during the seasons they played in, we have to take into account how many goals they scored per game they could have played, not just games they played in. It’d be very difficult to be a threat to score if you’re in the press box watching.

Once we go through all the options, we can come to our conclusion. This research was done scientifically with math. Which means everything I say here is gospel.

Now that we’ve set up our criteria, let’s go back 101 years to the very beginning of the NHL, to December 19, 1917, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Ottawa Senators (not who you think) hosted the Montreal Canadiens at Dey’s Arena, and Montreal took the game by a 7-4 margin. The Canadiens had five of their goals scored by our first featured player, Joe Malone.

Joe Malone

Reign: 1917-20
Teams: Montreal Canadiens, Quebec Bulldogs
Goals scored during Reign: 90
Games Played: 52 out of a possible 64
Adjusted Goals per Game: 1.41
Goals per Game of Era: 4.70
Scoring Titles: 2

Malone was the first true king of scoring in the NHL. His 44 goals in just 20 games played for Montreal in the 1917-18 season would be a record that was held until 1945, in a season that had 50 games played, and no one’s scored anywhere near the rate of 2 goals per game ever since.

He missed most of the 1918-19 season with an arm injury and did not participate in the infamous influenza-ridden Stanley Cup Final that year. Phantom Joe joined the Quebec Bulldogs for the 1919-20 season, and set a record for 7 goals in one game, and led the league in scoring again.

The Bulldogs didn’t do well financially, and relocated to Hamilton, Ontario the following year. Malone was the top scorer of the Tigers for the next couple of years, but he was taken over by Cecil “Babe” Dye of the Toronto St. Pats.

Bill Cook

Reign: 1926-30
Team: New York Rangers
Goals Scored during Reign: 95
Games Played: 174 out of a possible 176
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.54
Goals per Game of Era: 2.08
Scoring Titles: 1

Bill Cook began his career with the New York Rangers, who had just been added to the NHL for the 1926-27 season. Cook led the league in scoring that year with 33 goals, eight more than second place Babe Dye and Montreal’s Howie Morenz. Cook was not in the top 5 the following few years, but in a league with a very low scoring rate during the time, Cook’s steady production on the “Bread Line” with brother Bun Cook and Frank Boucher was invaluable.

Cook was a power forward and known as “The Original Ranger”, and was widely known as the best right winger the league had ever seen by the time he retired after 11 fine seasons on Broadway. He helped lead the Rangers to a couple of Cups during a time people tend not to remember when talking about the Rangers.

Cook kept on scoring after his reign of being the best ended, but another famous line had formed in 1930 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, called the “Kid Line”. This line had Busher Jackson, Joe Primeau, and our next king, Charlie Conacher.

Charlie Conacher

Reign: 1930-36
Team: Toronto Maple Leafs
Goals Scored during Reign: 170
Games Played: 255 out of a possible 264
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.60
Goals per Game of Era: 2.38
Scoring Titles: 5

Conacher joined the Leafs at age 20, and was an immediate hit with linemates Jackson and Primeau. He scored 20 goals in his rookie season before an injury cost him the final few games of the season. After that, he spent the next 6 years cleaning up scoring titles. The only year he didn’t win the scoring crown was due to a broken collarbone.

In a league where scoring was still not easy, and 48 game seasons, he scored over 30 goals in 4 of his 6 seasons of scoring. In a league where teams averaged just over two goals per game, Conacher was good for one of those almost every year.

Conacher wasn’t a fast skater, but his nickname “The Big Bomber” tells enough about his game. His size and shot were legendarily good. The only trouble for Conacher was his injury troubles, which caught up to him after the 1935-36 season. Conacher played a few more seasons with the Red Wings and the New York Americans before retiring.

The 1936-37 season marked the first season that Conacher wasn’t the big gun in the league. That season also marked the debut of our next feature, Bryan Hextall.

Bryan Hextall

Reign: 1936-43
Team: New York Rangers
Goals Scored during Reign: 138
Games Played: 293 out of a possible 338
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.41
Goals per Game of Era: 2.97
Scoring Titles: 2

Hextall was a member of the Vancouver Lions of the Northwest Hockey League for most of that 1936-37 season, but played three games for the Rangers. He made the team full time the following season, and started filling the net. Hextall was in the top-5 in scoring for all of these years save the 1937-38 season, including leading the league for 1939-40 and 40-41 seasons.

Hextall played his off-wing, meaning he shot left-handed but played right wing. This wasn’t often seen in the NHL, at least not deliberately. This allowed him to have his forehand shot come from the middle of the ice, leaving him in a scoring position more often than most of his counterparts. It wasn’t completely new, but he was one of the first to master it.

Hextall was a big part of the Rangers’ 1940 Stanley Cup winning team, and was a great scorer during a time where many players were off fighting in World War II. Hextall kept the scoring coming through 1943, when a man named Maurice Richard changed the league forever.

Maurice Richard

Reign: 1943-56
Team: Montreal Canadiens
Goals Scored during Reign: 455
Games Played: 778 out of a possible 820
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.55
Goals per Game of Era: 2.91
Scoring Titles: 5

If I told you that the Montreal Canadiens were this close to being moved to Cleveland, would you believe me? Of course not. But, with the Great Depression taking hold, teams in the NHL were falling left and right. It took a herculean effort to make hockey in Montreal a success again, and it started with the Rocket.

Richard was known for a fiery intensity when playing, known for staring down opponents as he drove by and scored. He became the first player in NHL history to hit 50 goals in a season (a season that only featured 50 games), and the first to score more than 40 since Joe Malone in 1917-18. Richard, along with Toe Blake and Elmer Lach, created the “Punch Line”, a line of legendary scorers and Hall of Fame members, leading the Canadiens to eight Stanley Cups, and financial stability in Montreal.

Richard was one of the first truly long time dominant offensive forces in the NHL, so much so that the goal scoring title bears his name. Although, it should be mentioned, he wasn’t the only guy at this time who was cleaning up scoring titles. While Richard has a trophy named after him, he shares this era with Gordie Howe, also known as Mr. Hockey.

Gordie Howe

Reign: 1949-59
Team: Detroit Red Wings
Goals Scored during Reign: 383
Games Played: 688 out of a possible 700
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.55
Goals per Game of Era: 2.63
Scoring Titles: 4

While Richard was filling the net for Montreal, Gordie Howe took over as the lead dog for the Detroit Red Wings. Howe was a member of the famed “Production Line” with Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel, and led the league in goals during each season between 1950-53, which was the height of his goal scoring career.

Howe was known for throwing elbows, shoulders, and playing dirty, while finding the scoring areas and taking care of business. He also rarely missed time from injury, stayed in immaculate playing shape into his 50’s, where he finished his career playing with his sons on the Hartford Whalers.

Howe was constantly productive for his entire career, managing a 100 point season in the 1968-69 season at age 42(!). He spent some time in the WHA after his Red Wing days, and eventually returned to the NHL when the WHA closed up shop. He retired as the most prolific (by far) scorer the league had ever seen.

Looking at the 40’s and 50’s, the title for “greatest current goal scorer” could conceivably go to either Richard or Howe during their playing time. We’ll recognize them both for simply being legends in their time and place, knowing that having a discussion about all-time goal scoring would never be complete without either Richard or Howe.

Both were excellent scorers until late into their careers. At that time, a new kid jumped in the league, wearing the same #9 that both Howe and Richard wore, and revitalized a franchise that had been dormant for years. That kid? Bobby Hull.

Bobby Hull

Reign: 1959-69
Team: Chicago Blackhawks
Goals Scored during Reign: 441
Games Played: 677 out of a possible 710
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.62
Goals per Game of Era: 2.94
Scoring Titles: 7

Bobby Hull burst onto the scene as a teen sensation in 1957. He had a couple of solid seasons for Chicago, but really took off in 1959. The Golden Jet would lead the league in scoring that season, and became the second 50 goal scorer just two years later. Hull then would break that 50 goal barrier three more times in a span of four years between 1965-69, leading the league in scoring in each of those years.

Hull was known as a fast skater with a faster shot. His slap shot was once measured at over 118 mph, which would break any record Zdeno Chara holds from a skills competition. Hull led the league in scoring 7 times in 10 years, which was the best rate since Charlie Conacher in the early 30’s. Hull did that in a league that played double the games, making it that much more difficult.

Like Howe, Hull’s career moved to the WHA for a few years, leading the way for the Winnipeg Jets until his retirement after 1980. Hull could’ve been the greatest scorer in NHL history had he not defected for the WHA. Hull’s NHL exit opened the door for one of his former teammates, Phil Esposito, to take the crown, and take the crown he did.

Phil Esposito

Reign: 1969-75
Team: Boston Bruins
Goals Scored during Reign: 369
Games Played: 465 out of a possible 468
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.79
Goals per Game of Era: 3.16
Scoring Titles: 6

Phil Esposito actually played a few years with Bobby Hull in Chicago until a trade to Boston in 1967. He quickly rose to the rank of the best offensive player by a mile, starting in 1968-69, where he became the first ever player to score 100 points in a season. The next six seasons, he led the league in scoring in each season, destroying the single season scoring record (which was 58 at the time) by scoring a whopping 76 goals in the 1970-71 season.

Esposito wasn’t a great skater, but once he parked himself in the slot, he wouldn’t be moved. He would take sticks, bodies, anything to get him out of the area, then proved those efforts futile by Espo simply staying there and scoring goal after goal.

Esposito’s career eventually took him to New York, where he continued to score, though not at the legendary rate he had in the early 70’s. He retired as the second leading goal scorer of all time, and would have topped that list if not for Gordie Howe’s longevity.

During the last of Esposito’s six straight goal scoring titles, Guy Lafleur, another Canadiens legend, emerged to take the scoring title back to where it had been for so long during the Original Six era.

Guy Lafleur

Reign: 1975-78
Team: Montreal Canadiens
Goals Scored during Reign: 172
Games Played: 238 out of a possible 240
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.72
Goals per Game of Era: 3.34
Scoring Titles: 1

Guy Lafleur was the second best goal scorer in 1974-75, finishing with 53 goals in a breakout campaign. He remained second in scoring the next two seasons, finishing with 56 each until 1977-78, where he put home 60 goals, playing for perhaps one of the greatest teams of all time. He helped lead a dynasty that won four Cups in a row, and five Cups in six years.

Lafleur’s excellent skating and shooting led him to score 50 goals in each season between 1974-80. He was a dominant force on the ice, leading Montreal’s faithful to chant “Guy! Guy!” every time he touched the puck. His defensive play wasn’t very strong, and that led to a less than ceremonious exit from the NHL for a few years.

Lafleur’s scoring helped shape a dynasty that is famous in hockey lore. While Lafleur was still a dominant scorer at the tail end of that dynasty, another young player who could score in droves helped shape another famous dynasty, and took the scoring crown from LaFleur. That player? Mike Bossy.

Mike Bossy

Reign: 1978-81
Team: New York Islanders
Goals Scored during Reign: 188
Games Played: 234 out of a possible 240
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.78
Goals per Game of Era: 3.62
Scoring Titles: 2

Mike Bossy was a highly touted prospect when he was drafted by the Islanders in 1977. Bossy predicted he’d score 50 the following season, and followed through with 53 goals. The next season, he pulled off the first 50 in 50 trick since Rocket Richard, scoring 50 goals in the first 50 games of the season. He would keep the goals coming, and eventually helped deliver the Islanders four straight Stanley Cups.

Bossy was known for his elusive quickness and deceptively quick shot, to which he used often during his 10 seasons on Long Island. His nine straight 50+ goal seasons was unprecedented at the time, locking him in as one of the greatest goal scorers the league has ever seen.

Bossy’s biggest problem came on late in his career, which would be his ailing back. After the 1986-87 season, he wanted to take some time to recover and heal, but never made it back to the NHL. His bright career was cut short, leaving many to wonder what would have happened had his back not given out.

Bossy belongs up there as the greatest pure scorers ever, and one could only imagine what his numbers would have looked like if not for the injury bug. Early on in his brilliant career, like the Islanders’ dynasty, the scoring title he had a firm hold on had been snatched away by the Edmonton Oilers an Wayne Gretzky.

Wayne Gretzky

Reign: 1981-87
Team: Edmonton Oilers
Goals Scored during Reign: 437
Games Played: 473 out of a possible 480
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.91
Goals per Game of Era: 3.89
Scoring Titles: 5

If the goal of this article was to find the most dominant offensive player of all time, the article would have a grand total of two words in them, Wayne and Gretzky, in that order, end of discussion. But we’re not here to find the best offensive player, we’re looking at pure goal scoring. Gretzky held the assists title for 13 years running, but only had five goal scoring titles in his illustrious career.

Gretzky spent the early 80’s re-writing the record books. His 1981-82 season included Gretzky scoring his 50th goal in just 39 games, making what Bossy did just a couple years prior look like child’s play. Gretzky finished that year with 92 goals, and scored over 70 in each of the following three seasons.

His goal scoring prowess came back down to earth after those seasons, clearing 50 just three times in his career after 1985, and none since 1989. His assists kept coming, but the goals slowed down as he did. His hockey IQ and creativity was off the charts good, despite having below average speed and strength, which led to his gaudy assist numbers.

As Gretzky continued to dominate in everything but goal scoring, another legend of the era emerged and took the league by storm, and in turn becoming the savior of a previously moribund franchise in Mario Lemieux.

Mario Lemieux

Reign: 1987-97
Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
Goals Scored during Reign: 468
Games Played: 530 out of a possible 862
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.54
Goals per Game of Era: 3.40
Scoring Titles: 3

At the time Mario Lemieux got drafted by the Penguins, the Pens’ franchise was in awful shape, drawing few fans and having little success winning hockey games. In comes Super Mario, and everything changes in the Steel City. Mario scored 70 goals in the 1987-88 season, leading the way for the league. His following season was somehow even better, potting 85 goals and totaling 199 points on the season, second most all time to Gretzky’s 212 points in 1981-82.

Lemieux was the first and only player to score five different ways in an NHL game, scoring at even-strength, power play, shorthanded, on a penalty shot, and into an empty net in an 8-6 win against New Jersey. He also helped lead the Penguins to their first two Stanley Cups in the early 90’s.

Lemieux may very well have been the greatest goal scorer of all time in terms of the games he did play, but the amount of games he missed due to various ailments sadly leaves us with more what if’s than definitive answers. He never played a full season’s worth of games, and missed full seasons due to cancer. He would eventually return, playing a handful of games with a young Sidney Crosby, passing the torch to the next great Penguin.

When Lemieux stayed relatively healthy for the 1995-96 season, he scored 69 goals, leading the league, and 50 the following season before retiring due to cancer related issues. He then saved the franchise from bankruptcy a second time by buying the Penguins, playing a handful of games here and there between 2000-06.

During the time that Lemieux missed, a couple of up and coming contenders took the crown from him. The first one may look familiar if you’ve read previous parts of this article. He’s the son of Bobby Hull, Brett Hull.

Brett Hull

Reign: 1989-92
Team: St. Louis Blues
Goals Scored during Reign: 228
Games Played: 231 out of a possible 240
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.95
Goals per Game of Era: 3.54
Scoring Titles: 3

How many players in NHL history scored 70+ goals in at least 3 straight seasons? Wayne Gretzky and Brett Hull. End of list. When you’re the only one in a group with Wayne Gretzky when discussing offense in the NHL, you deserve a pat on the back and a Hall of Fame vote (Brett’s in, don’t worry).

Hull’s shot mirrored that of his father, Bobby, and the numbers backed this up. He scored 72 goals in 1989-90, followed that up with a jaw-dropping 86 in 1990-91, and another 70 in 1991-92, leading the league all three seasons.

Hull would go on to win a Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars, scoring perhaps the most (in)famous goals in Buffalo Sabres’ history. His goal scoring touch was still near the top of the league throughout the rest of his career, but the numbers never quite reached the same level as he did in the late 80’s early 90’s.

While he didn’t match 70 goals following his 1991-92 campaign, another player did. The more interesting fact, is that the player who did was a rookie from Finland, Teemu Selanne.

Teemu Selanne

Reign: 1992-99
Team: Winnipeg Jets, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Goals Scored during Reign: 313
Games Played: 485 out of a possible 544
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.58
Goals per Game of Era: 3.03
Scoring Titles: 3

Teemu Selanne burst onto the NHL scene like no rookie had ever done before him. He scored a hat trick in just his fifth career game, en route to a remarkable 76 goal total, which ranks tops for a rookie ever. While an injury and a lockout held him back for his remaining time in Winnipeg, he still scored in buckets after a trade to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, collecting two more scoring titles in 1997-98 and 1998-99.

Selanne had incredible speed, giving him the nickname “Finnish Flash”. He used that speed to find shooting lanes that lesser skaters couldn’t gain access to, and he scored on many of those additional opportunities. He became the most prolific goal scorer in both Finland’s history as well as Olympic history.

Teemu continued his career in Anaheim, leaving for stops in Colorado and San Jose for a couple of years. His goal totals weren’t as gaudy as they were in his earlier years, but he was an offensive threat every time he was on the ice. The Finnish Flash was the scoring king of the mid-90’s, but was overtaken by a Russian Rocket by the name of Pavel Bure.

Pavel Bure

Reign: 1999-2001
Team: Florida Panthers
Goals Scored during Reign: 117
Games Played: 156 out of a possible 164
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.71
Goals per Game of Era: 2.75
Scoring Titles: 2

Bure always had the skills and speed, but the fact that he was from the Soviet Union caused nearly everyone to become hesitant to select him in his draft year of 1989. Vancouver eventually picked him in the sixth round, and were rewarded as soon as he hit the ice in 1991. Bure’s second and third season saw 60 goals each, including a scoring crown in 1993-94.

Bure had a solid career with the Canucks but decided he no longer wanted to play there for personal reasons, and after a lengthy holdout, was traded to Florida in the 1998-99 season. He then led the NHL in goal scoring the next two seasons, scoring 58 and 59 goals during the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons.

He wasn’t called the Russian Rocket for nothing. His blazing speed and stick-handling skills got him room on the ice that none others could hope to find. However, he had injury troubles throughout his career, and after a brief stint with the Rangers and the lockout, Bure retired from those injuries.

Few could have matched speed with Bure, but when his knees ultimately betrayed him, it again left us with questions as to how good he really could have been. After Bure’s brief stint at the top of the heap, we move on to a player with an entirely different skill set – Jarome Iginla.

Jarome Iginla

Reign: 2001-04
Team: Calgary Flames
Goals Scored during Reign: 128
Games Played: 238 out of a possible 246
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.52
Goals per Game of Era: 2.65
Scoring Titles: 2

Iginla had long been a cornerstone of the Calgary Flames before his days as the most dangerous goal scorer in the NHL. His first few seasons were very good ones, scoring around 30 goals in three of his first five seasons. He would then lead the NHL in scoring for two of the three years prior to the lost season from the lockout, scoring 52 goals in 2001-02.

Iginla was a prototypical power forward, with good size and great strength, and a nice scoring touch. He fit the bill as the kind of player who can score goals at a time where big defensemen ruled, and neutral zones were trapped. He led the Flames in scoring all time once all was said and done, and is almost definitely the greatest player in Flames history.

The lockout that shut down the NHL in 2004-05 had caused a variety of changes to the league, and part of that included more speed and skill rather than brute force to succeed. The next, and final man on this list had plenty of both – Alex Ovechkin.

Alex Ovechkin

Reign: 2005-present
Team: Washington Capitals
Goals Scored during Reign: 607*
Games Played: 1003 out of a possible 1032*
Adjusted Goals per Game: 0.59
Goals per Game of Era: 2.82
Scoring Titles: 7

*numbers counted up through 2017-18 season

While Sidney Crosby was the talk of the league once the lockout was lifted, Alex Ovechkin started to make a name for himself the only way he knew how, and that was scoring goals. His scoring helped lift the sour mood the hockey community harbored after losing a season, and his bombastic and energetic tone certainly amazed all who were able to behold.

Ovechkin has topped 50 goals in a season seven times and has seven scoring titles to go with it, which can only be boasted by him and Bobby Hull. Between 2012-13 and 2017-18, he led the league in goal scoring five out of the six seasons played. His 607 goals are the highest among active players (unless you count Jaromir Jagr), and is already 17th all time. Ovechkin just recently turned 33 and has plenty of time left to rise along the all-time ladder.

Ovi has power, speed, a booming shot, and unequivocally owns his spot on the power play, just above the left circle. His effort, energy, and excitability are second to none. These are all reasons Ovechkin’s reign as the top goal scorer of his time is longer than anyone’s ever. He is a machine that keeps on ticking, and you can know what he’s gonna do and you still can’t stop him.

Who’s The Best?

Now that we have all of our contenders in front of us, let’s determine who has the spot of the greatest goal scorer in history. You deserve as much for making it this far.

Just a disclaimer, all these players were the best of the best, and any argument against them is simply splitting hairs for the sake of this article.

We have our original criteria of what we would be making this judgment on, as found earlier in the introduction. Firstly, era. If goals were easier to come by in your time, your numbers better be higher. Second, term. It’s good to be the king, but it’s better to stay there longer. Third, titles. As Ricky Bobby once said, second place is the first loser, and you gotta be the lead dog in the league as long as you can. Finally, health. It’s great that you score more than other players, but if you’re not on the ice, you can’t score.

Looking at our contenders, we can determine which of whom played in a higher scoring era. Using math, I determined an index of goals per game per team and compared it to the average of those numbers throughout the year. Goals were far above average between 1917-1922, 1942-1946, and 1974-1993. This is a knock against Joe Malone, Guy Lafleur, Mike Bossy, Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull, and above all else, Wayne Gretzky. If you would like to argue that Gretzky’s assists were the reason why scoring was so high during his time, well, it wasn’t just him scoring. Lemieux, Hull, and Bossy also get taken down a peg during this era.

Secondly, how long were guys at the top of the heap? Well, there are a handful of guys who were top cheese for 6+ seasons, and there were those who owned the title for fewer than 4 seasons. So that’s one against Joe Malone, Bill Cook, Guy Lafleur, Mike Bossy, Brett Hull, Pavel Bure, and Jarome Iginla.

Thirdly, scoring titles. How many titles did that player accomplish at his time as the leading scorer? Well, everyone had at least one, but it depends on your reign. For those who’ve only led the league in half the seasons they were at the top, can they really be considered for the most dominant scoring force? That would count against Bill Cook, Bryan Hextall, Rocket Richard, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur, Mario Lemieux, and Teemu Selanne.

Lastly, who stayed healthy? This came into effect from a couple of different directions. First, it prevented them from being on the ice during their playing time. Second, it shortened careers that leaves you with the question of what if they weren’t hurt? This counts against Babe Dye, Charlie Conacher, Mike Bossy, Mario Lemieux, and Pavel Bure.

These four criteria have cited points against all players on our list save three: Phil Esposito, Bobby Hull, and Alex Ovechkin. Splitting the decision between any of these three will take some really extreme hair-splitting. So here goes:

Ovechkin had the longest reign out of any of these three players but also has the smallest Adjusted Goals per Game (goals scored per games his team played during those seasons), as well as the smallest ratio of scoring titles per seasons during the reign. Ovechkin did go through a stretch of five titles in six years, but if not for that, we may have seen someone else take over as the scoring champ through that time. For that reason, Ovechkin will finish in third.

Now, we look at Bobby Hull vs. Phil Esposito for the all-time crown. Both played in an era with roughly average goals scored league-wide, so that’s a wash. Adjusted Goals per Game? Advantage Espo, by a slim margin of 0.79 to 0.72. Length of time at the top? Advantage Hull, 10 years to 6. Scoring titles? Close, but edge to Espo. Esposito led the league six years running, while Hull managed seven titles, but spanning ten years. Additional fuel to the fire is that Esposito absolutely shattered any single season goal records, having the first four 60 goal seasons in NHL history.

So there we have it. The top goal scorer of all time is Phil Esposito. Six straight seasons leading the NHL in goals, and obliterating the record book while doing so, during a time where goals weren’t growing on trees. If you want a top five list, here goes:

5. Charlie Conacher
4. Babe Dye
3. Alex Ovechkin
2. Bobby Hull
1. Phil Esposito

Have any arguments? Comments? Did I miss someone? Feel free to reach out in the comments.