NHL: 30 most prolific scorers of all-time: No. 6 Phil Esposito
There are players on this list who have led the league in goals more than Phil Esposito, but his six straight years between 1969 and 1975 were so great, nobody could touch him on the score sheet. He led the NHL in goals every year during that run and ended up winning two Pearson Awards and a Hart Trophy. One year, he scored 76 goals in just 78 games!
Esposito started his career with the Black Hawks, but he made his name with the Boston Bruins. He was traded alongside Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield, who also became stars for Boston.
Esposito could score in any situation. He had 20 shorthanded goals over his career, proving that he was a threat even when the other team had the man advantage. Even if he wasn’t hitting his 50-70 goal heights, Esposito was still extremely productive all the way until the end of his career. He was a 30-goal scorer in four of his final five years in the league.
No matter which team he played for, Esposito was in the same place on the ice. He would park himself in front of the net to get those “dirty goals” on a nightly basis. He could very easily beat you with his skill, but he didn’t want to make it too hard. He might as well go where the puck is going to end up anyway. His release time was great, and it made it impossible for players of that time to keep up.