DATA: Top 10 goal scorers, 1927 - 2014

[TheDevilMadeMe]

This is a companion piece to Top 10 point scorers.

Why start in 1926-27? It is the first year after the last Western league folded, when the NHL contained all the talent in North America.

Why top ten finishes, rather than top twenty? Two reasons:

1) In a smaller league, I think 11th-20th place finishes start to become less meaningful. In the Original 6 period, teams usually only ran one powerplay unit for the entire powerplay, so there were only 18 forwards getting first unit powerplay time (plus a few extra forwards who would play on the point). So lower top 20 finishes in a smaller league were as much about opportunity as talent.

2) Not a small reason - top ten finishes are much easier to compile using hockey-reference.com.

Like the other thread, I am giving players a point for every top 5 finish and a point for every top 10 finish. It's something of a junk stat that is useful for sorting.

PLAYER | TOP 5- | TOP 10 | TOTAL
Gordie Howe | 14 | 19 | 33
Maurice Richard | 12 | 13 | 25
Bobby Hull | 12 | 13 | 25
Nels Stewart*| 7 | 12 | 19
Phil Esposito | 8 | 9 | 17
Mike Bossy | 8 | 9 | 17
Wayne Gretzky | 8 | 9 | 17
Jean Beliveau | 7 | 10 | 17
Alex Ovechkin | 8 | 8 | 16
Marcel Dionne | 6 | 9 | 15
Mario Lemieux | 6 | 9 | 15
Ted Lindsay | 5 | 10 | 15
Roy Conacher | 6 | 8 | 14
Bernie Geoffrion | 6 | 8 | 14
Frank Mahovlich | 6 | 8 | 14
Jaromir Jagr | 6 | 8 | 14
Stan Mikita | 6 | 7 | 13
Bill Cook** | 5 | 8 | 13
Howie Morenz* | 6 | 6 | 12
Brett Hull | 4 | 8 | 12
Ilya Kovalchuk | 4 | 8 | 12
Norm Ullman | 3 | 9 | 12
Bryan Hextall, Sr | 5 | 6 | 11
Gordie Drillon | 5 | 6 | 11
Guy Lafleur | 5 | 6 | 11
Teemu Selanne | 5 | 6 | 11
Luc Robitaille | 2 | 9 | 11
Charlie Conacher | 5 | 5 | 10
Pavel Bure | 5 | 5 | 10
Busher Jackson | 4 | 6 | 10
Michel Goulet | 4 | 6 | 10
John LeClair | 4 | 6 | 10
Peter Bondra | 4 | 6 | 10
Marty Barry | 3 | 7 | 10
Max Bentley | 3 | 7 | 10
Andy Bathgate | 3 | 7 | 10
Sweeney Schriner | 4 | 5 | 9
Camille Henry | 3 | 6 | 9
Steve Yzerman | 3 | 6 | 9
Jari Kurri | 4 | 4 | 8
Jarome Iginla | 4 | 4 | 8
Steven Stamkos | 4 | 4 | 8
Toe Blake | 3 | 5 | 8
Syl Apps, Sr | 3 | 5 | 8
Sid Smith | 3 | 5 | 8
Tim Kerr | 3 | 5 | 8
Cecil Dillon | 2 | 6 | 8
Syd Howe | 2 | 6 | 8
Dany Heatley | 2 | 6 | 8
Herb Cain | 3 | 4 | 7
Ed Litzenberger | 3 | 4 | 7
Dickie Moore | 3 | 4 | 7
Lanny McDonald | 3 | 4 | 7
Marian Hossa | 3 | 4 | 7
Bill Mosienko | 2 | 5 | 7
Rick Martin | 2 | 5 | 7
Joe Nieuwendyk | 2 | 5 | 7
Joe Sakic | 2 | 5 | 7
Yvan Cournoyer | 1 | 6 | 7
Ken Hodge | 3 | 3 | 6
Aurel Joliat* | 2 | 4 | 6
Dit Clapper | 2 | 4 | 6
Lorne Carr | 2 | 4 | 6
Gaye Stewart | 2 | 4 | 6
Tod Sloan | 2 | 4 | 6
Steve Shutt | 2 | 4 | 6
Cam Neely | 2 | 4 | 6
Markus Naslund | 2 | 4 | 6
Bill Cowley | 1 | 5 | 6
Alex Delvecchio | 1 | 5 | 6
Rod Gilbert | 1 | 5 | 6
John Bucyk | 1 | 5 | 6
Mike Gartner | 1 | 5 | 6
Brendan Shanahan | 1 | 5 | 6
Keith Tkachuk | 1 | 5 | 6
Clint Smith | 2 | 3 | 5
Doug Bentley | 2 | 3 | 5
Red Hamill | 2 | 3 | 5
Ted Kennedy | 2 | 3 | 5
Sid Abel | 2 | 3 | 5
Wally Hergesheimer | 2 | 3 | 5
Mickey Redmond | 2 | 3 | 5
Bryan Trottier | 2 | 3 | 5
Rick Vaive | 2 | 3 | 5
Glenn Anderson | 2 | 3 | 5
Owen Nolan | 2 | 3 | 5
Alexander Mogilny | 2 | 3 | 5
Ziggy Palffy | 2 | 3 | 5
Rick Nash | 2 | 3 | 5
Marian Gaborik | 2 | 3 | 5
Jeff Carter | 2 | 3 | 5
Corey Perry | 2 | 3 | 5
Bun Cook | 1 | 4 | 5
Paul Thompson | 1 | 4 | 5
Jean Pronovost | 1 | 4 | 5
Paul Kariya | 1 | 4 | 5
Milan Hejduk | 1 | 4 | 5
Harry Oliver** | 2 | 2 | 4
Carson Cooper | 2 | 2 | 4
Cooney Weiland | 2 | 2 | 4
Lynn Patrick | 2 | 2 | 4
Bronco Horvath | 2 | 2 | 4
Claude Provost | 2 | 2 | 4
Kenny Wharram | 2 | 2 | 4
Rick MacLeish| 2 | 2 | 4
Charlie Simmer | 2 | 2 | 4
Dino Ciccarelli | 2 | 2 | 4
Pat Lafontaine | 2 | 2 | 4
Tony Amonte | 2 | 2 | 4
Martin St Louis | 2 | 2 | 4
Thomas Vanek | 2 | 2 | 4
Evgeni Malkin | 2 | 2 | 4
Baldy Northcott | 1 | 3 | 4
Hooley Smith* | 1 | 3 | 4
Alex Shibicky | 1 | 3 | 4
Milt Schmidt | 1 | 3 | 4
Bobby Bauer | 1 | 3 | 4
Woody Dumart | 1 | 3 | 4
Elmer Lach | 1 | 3 | 4
Johnny Peirson | 1 | 3 | 4
Andy Hebenton | 1 | 3 | 4
Jean Ratelle | 1 | 3 | 4
Reggie Leach | 1 | 3 | 4
Pierre Larouche | 1 | 3 | 4
Joe Mullen | 1 | 3 | 4
Alexei Yashin | 1 | 3 | 4
Mats Sundin | 1 | 3 | 4
Bill Guerin | 1 | 3 | 4
Don McKenney | 0 | 4 | 4
Gilbert Perreault | 0 | 4 | 4
Mark Messier | 0 | 4 | 4
Eric Lindros | 0 | 4 | 4
Frank Boucher | 1 | 2 | 3
Hec Kilrea | 1 | 2 | 3
Ace Bailey | 1 | 2 | 3
John Sorrell | 1 | 2 | 3
Larry Aurie | 1 | 2 | 3
Joe Benoit | 1 | 2 | 3
Carl Liscombe | 1 | 2 | 3
Mud Bruneteau | 1 | 2 | 3
Harry Watson | 1 | 2 | 3
Dean Prentice | 1 | 3 | 3
Henri Richard | 1 | 2 | 3
Bobby Rousseau | 1 | 2 | 3
Dennis Hull | 1 | 2 | 3
Danny Grant | 1 | 2 | 3
Gary Unger | 1 | 2 | 3
Bill Goldsworthy | 1 | 2 | 3
Danny Grant | 1 | 2 | 3
Bill Barber | 1 | 2 | 3
Danny Gare | 1 | 2 | 3
Blaine Stoughton | 1 | 2 | 3
Dennis Maruk | 1 | 2 | 3
Bernie Nicholls | 1 | 2 | 3
Jimmy Carson | 1 | 2 | 3
Jeremy Roenick | 1 | 2 | 3
Kevin Stevens | 1 | 2 | 3
Dave Andreychuk | 1 | 2 | 3
Ray Sheppard | 1 | 2 | 3
Alexei Kovalev | 1 | 2 | 3
Patrik Elias | 1 | 2 | 3
Glenn Murray | 1 | 2 | 3
Eric Staal | 1 | 2 | 3
Vincent LeCavalier | 1 | 2 | 3
Zach Parise | 1 | 2 | 3
Sidney Crosby | 1 | 2 | 3
Patrick Marleau | 1 | 2 | 3
James Neil | 1 | 2 | 3
Phil Kessel | 1 | 2 | 3
Pit Lepine | 0 | 3 | 3
Neil Colville | 0 | 3 | 3
Vic Stasiuk | 0 | 3 | 3
Dave Keon | 0 | 3 | 3
Dave Balon | 0 | 3 | 3
Bobby Orr | 0 | 3 | 3
Darryl Sittler | 0 | 3 | 3
Rick Middleton | 0 | 3 | 3
Dale Hawerchuk | 0 | 3 | 3
Daniel Alfredsson | 0 | 3 | 3

*Nels Stewart, Howie Morenz, Aurel Joliat, and Hooley Smith had top 10 seasons in NHL goals before 1926.

**Bill Cook and Harry Oliver had significant seasons in the western competitors to the NHL before consolidation

#Bobby Hull had significant seasons in the WHA after leaving the NHL

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[TheDevilMadeMe]

This is similar to seventieslord's consistency in goalscoring thread from 2009.

Improvements from his 5 year-old thread:

1) He included finishes from before 1926 when the talent was spread through multiple leagues. I don't think that's comparing apples to apples. EDIT: To clarify, he tried to consolidate goal scoring finishes from between the different leagues, which if done right, would allow a comparison of earlier players. It wouldn't fit in a pure data thread like this, however.

2) Updated past 2009 (so you can see just how historically impressive Alexander Ovechin's consistency as a goal scorer has been).

Seventies also included top 2 finishes (in addition to top 5 and top 10 finishes), which may be better than what I have here.

________________

Interesting to see 3 original 6 players (Howe, Hull, Richard) dominate here. It makes sense when you think about who the best goal scorers since the O6 period have been - Phil Esposito was a late bloomer, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux had injury-shortened careers, and Gretzky's decline as a goal scorer in the second half of his career is talked about a lot.

We'll see if Alexander Ovechkin can break through. As of now, he's tied with Gretzky, Esposito, and Bossy for 4th All-Time in Top 5 finishes in goals, and only 1 behind the three of them in Top 10 finishes.

 

[The Cheat]

Where's Crosby?

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Where's Crosby?

In this part of the table:

Frank Boucher | 1 | 2 | 3
Hec Kilrea | 1 | 2 | 3
Ace Bailey | 1 | 2 | 3
John Sorrell | 1 | 2 | 3
Larry Aurie | 1 | 2 | 3
Joe Benoit | 1 | 2 | 3
Carl Liscombe | 1 | 2 | 3
Mud Bruneteau | 1 | 2 | 3
Harry Watson | 1 | 2 | 3
Dean Prentice | 1 | 3 | 3
Henri Richard | 1 | 2 | 3
Bobby Rousseau | 1 | 2 | 3
Dennis Hull | 1 | 2 | 3
Danny Grant | 1 | 2 | 3
Gary Unger | 1 | 2 | 3
Bill Goldsworthy | 1 | 2 | 3
Danny Grant | 1 | 2 | 3
Bill Barber | 1 | 2 | 3
Danny Gare | 1 | 2 | 3
Blaine Stoughton | 1 | 2 | 3
Dennis Maruk | 1 | 2 | 3
Bernie Nicholls | 1 | 2 | 3
Jimmy Carson | 1 | 2 | 3
Jeremy Roenick | 1 | 2 | 3
Kevin Stevens | 1 | 2 | 3
Dave Andreychuk | 1 | 2 | 3
Ray Sheppard | 1 | 2 | 3
Alexei Kovalev | 1 | 2 | 3
Patrik Elias | 1 | 2 | 3
Glenn Murray | 1 | 2 | 3
Eric Staal | 1 | 2 | 3
Vincent LeCavalier | 1 | 2 | 3
Zach Parise | 1 | 2 | 3
Sidney Crosby | 1 | 2 | 3
Patrick Marleau | 1 | 2 | 3
James Neil | 1 | 2 | 3
Phil Kessel | 1 | 2 | 3

If you have a PC, you can use Control-F to find a specific player by his name. (Mac has a similar command)