NHL: The 30 most prolific scorers of in NHL history

NHL: 30 most prolific scorers of all-time

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 18: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his empty net goal against the New York Islanders which tied him with Steve Yzerman on the NHL all time goal scoring list at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on January 18, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. The Capitals defeated the Islanders 6-4. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

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Auston Matthews (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

NHL: 30 most prolific scorers of all-time: No. 30 Auston Matthews

Auston Matthews will be the only player on this list that is this early in his career, but it seems almost impossible to talk about the greatest pure goal scorers and leave him off. This is his fifth season in the league. He’s broken 40 goals twice, including 47 goals in 70 games when the pandemic put a freeze on the 2019-20 season. As of this writing, he has 21 goals in 30 games this season.

Matthews is impossible to stop. His goals come at all strengths, at all different times during the game, and they come in bunches. Teams will put two players on him despite the fact that William Nylander, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner all play for the Toronto Maple Leafs as well. He still finds a seam and puts the puck in the back of the net with consistency.

The former number-one overall pick has exceeded expectations for the most popular team in the NHL. It’s hard to live up to said expectations over a full year. For Matthews to do it in just five years is incredibly impressive. Matthews is expected to get even better as he ascends into his prime. At the time of writing this, he is going to surpass 200 goals in only his sixth season. His .57 goals per game is the tenth best in history, and it’s better than every current player who isn’t number one on this list.

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