Flukiest 50-Goal scorer

[Al Bundy*]

I say it's Jacques Richard, mainly because of the disparity between that season and other seasons.

Comparing some other unexpected 50-goal scorers:

Milan Hejduk had 36 goals in 1999-00 and 41 in 2000-01.

Bernie Nicholls was a consistent 30+ goal scorer, plus he already had seasons of 41 and 46 goals long before Gretzky came to LA.

Jonathan Cheechoo had a 37 goal season the year after he had 56.

Gary Leeman scored 30 and 32 goals in the seasons before he went off for 51, so it's not like he couldn't find the net prior to that season.

Brian Bellows had 2 40-goal seasons prior to his 55-goal season, and he added a third a few years later.

Contrast that to Jacques Richard, whose next best season was 27 goals. At least most of the other members could hit at least 30 goals.

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[begbeee]

Tryin' to make a mess... Pierre Turgeon? Quite unorthodox choice, but look when he did it and what kind of other seasons he had.
EDIT: But J. Richard is obvious answer for me.

 

[Passchendaele]

Rick Kehoe

 

[hyzer23]

Definitely Cheechoo

 

[connellc]

Mike Bullard


The only 50 goal scorer without a game winner.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Definitely Cheechoo

I don't think it's him at all. He would have been a solid 30-40 guy if he hadn't lost his speed to knee injuries. Next to a prime Joe Thornton, most players who normally score in the high 30s or low 40s would have a good shot at 50.

 

[Ghost of Dale Hunter]

Tim Kerr

 

[mja]

Tim Kerr

 

[Hardyvan123]

I would go Richard, Cheechoo, Leeman, Tim Kerr and Charlie Simmer although the last 2 with an *.

Although to be fair Tim did it for 4 straight years and charlie had 2 but I will explain about them below.

Richard, people sometimes forget was a prolific goal scorer in Jr, although we all know that high scoring players from the Q back then were very risky propositions as pro players, and went 2nd overall in the 72 draft.

He was quite simply a flop as a pro an average offensive player who had a Cinderella year with that Quebec team in 81 that had a ton of offense talent in an offensive era. His 52 goals adjusted is 40 goals as well.

Cheechoo was a hardnosed hard working Don Cherry kind of guy who had good stats in Jr but never projected as a 50 goal guy.

The only reason he ever got over 30 in the NHL was playing alongside Joe Thorton.

Gary Leeman was a very skilled Dman who to converted to a winger, much like Wendel Clark who played with a couple of pretty good offensive guys in Vinny and Eddie in his 50 goal year and had several other productive years as well.

Tim Kerr is only on this list because he never really showed 50 goal potential until he exploded with 54 in 84 and surprisingly only had 9 PP goals that year. In his other 50 goal years he had 21,34 and 26 PP goals along with 25 (out of 48) in 66 games before his career was derailed with injuries.

Now I put Tim in with an * because he doesn't really fit the thread topic but was the most unlikely of 50 goal scorers in history as he was basically a poor mans Phil Esposito and a PP slot machine who played in a high scoring eras as well. his 4 50 plus seasons translate adjusted to 42,43,45 and 49 goals. He was a great goal scorer for a 8 year stretch but no one saw it coming and he was really one dimensional as well.

Charlie Simmer also showed no signs of being a 50 goal scorer never mind being a legit NHL player for quite a while.

Simmer was extremely fortunate to play with Dionne and Taylor and the 3 found chemistry for a short time.

Blaine Stoughton also comes to mind, another guy who played in a high scoring era and was the triggerman for Mike Rogers

 

[sr edler]

kurri never scored 50 without gretzky

 

[RECsGuy*]

Bernie Nicholls was a consistent 30+ goal scorer, plus he already had seasons of 41 and 46 goals long before Gretzky came to LA.

His ONE FULL SEASON as Gretzky's teammate resulted in Bernie scoring more points (150) in a single season than any teammate Wayne ever skated alongside. Took just one season. And Nicholls was on pace for 131 points in '89-'90 at the time of the Sandstrom/Granato trade. If No. 9 and No. 99 had played together longer, Bernie would probably be a Hall Of Famer.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

kurri never scored 50 without gretzky

also, gretzky never scored 200 without kurri. they both suck, am i right?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Now I put Tim in with an * because he doesn't really fit the thread topic but was the most unlikely of 50 goal scorers in history as he was basically a poor mans Phil Esposito and a PP slot machine who played in a high scoring eras as well. his 4 50 plus seasons translate adjusted to 42,43,45 and 49 goals. He was a great goal scorer for a 8 year stretch but no one saw it coming and he was really one dimensional as well.

Charlie Simmer also showed no signs of being a 50 goal scorer never mind being a legit NHL player for quite a while.

Simmer was extremely fortunate to play with Dionne and Taylor and the 3 found chemistry for a short time.

if we're going to talk unlikely muckers who scored 50, how about al secord? caught lightning in a bottle with savard and larmer for a few years before injuries did him in.

also a pair of ex-rangers: vic hadfield and adam graves: both were longtime heart and soul guys for the rangers who each had one huge spike year.

i wouldn't call any of these guys "flukes," per se, but i don't know how many people envisioned any of them putting up 50 after their first few years in the league.

 

[BamBamCam*]

I'd say Guy Chouinard. Never scored more than 31 before of after the 50 goal season. 10 year career finished with 201 goal overall. 1/4 quarter of his career goals in 1 season.

Another good one is Wayne Babych. 54 goal season, never scored above 26 in any other season. The 54 goal season represents over 1/4 of his career goal total.

Ray Sheppard. Another one, fluke 50 goal year, never scored above 35, only 3 - 30 goal seasons, the rest are well below that.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

I'd say Guy Chouinard. Never scored more than 31 before of after the 50 goal season. 10 year career finished with 201 goal overall. 1/4 quarter of his career goals in 1 season.

Another good one is Wayne Babych. 54 goal season, never scored above 26 in any other season. The 54 goal season represents over 1/4 of his career goal total.

Ray Sheppard. Another one, fluke 50 goal year, never scored above 35, only 3 - 30 goal seasons, the rest are well below that.

after his 50 goal season, sheppard was scoring at an even higher pace during the lockout season though.

 

[BamBamCam*]

after his 50 goal season, sheppard was scoring at an even higher pace during the lockout season though.

edit: Doh, yeah I see what you saying, sorry slow on the uptake sometimes.

 

[Preisst*]

Mike Bullard


The only 50 goal scorer without a game winner.

Means either zero or nothing. You could score the 2nd goal in an 8-1 win and get credited with a GWG.

 

[kmad]

Means either zero or nothing. You could score the 2nd goal in an 8-1 win and get credited with a GWG.

Fluke or not, that's still a pretty amazing statistic.

 

[TasteofFlames]

Means either zero or nothing. You could score the 2nd goal in an 8-1 win and get credited with a GWG.

While not important, it is interesting that a guy with 50 goals did get a gwg. It's a fun piece of trivia.

 

[Hardyvan123]

I'd say Guy Chouinard. Never scored more than 31 before of after the 50 goal season. 10 year career finished with 201 goal overall. 1/4 quarter of his career goals in 1 season.

Another good one is Wayne Babych. 54 goal season, never scored above 26 in any other season. The 54 goal season represents over 1/4 of his career goal total.

Ray Sheppard. Another one, fluke 50 goal year, never scored above 35, only 3 - 30 goal seasons, the rest are well below that.

Guy Chouinard was a very gifted offensive player and although better known as a set up guy, kinda like Pierre Turgeon, his 50 goal season isn't that surprising. his 50 goals also becomes 42 when adjusted.

It's not much of a surprise that most of the guys listed here are from the 70's and 80's when goal scoring was higher than average and the overall talent and competitive level of the league wasn't at it's highest either.

after his 50 goal season, sheppard was scoring at an even higher pace during the lockout season though.

You beat me to it and Ray Sheppard was known for his excellent goal scoring skills.

Means either zero or nothing. You could score the 2nd goal in an 8-1 win and get credited with a GWG.

Just for fun i looked at 50 goals scorers in a season adjusted and found that the site is screwed up and has done something stupid with players traded within a season so I won't make any comments on it...lol

 

[Slapshooter]

Adam Graves comes to mind. A tough player with good hands, but not really a 50-goal scorer. Graves had a miracle season during the Rangers cup run 1993-94 when he netted 52. Probably not the flukiest 50-goal season, but definitely worth of mention here.

 

[Psycho Papa Joe]

Wayne Babych is another guy who should be mentioned. 54 goals in 81, and his next two best years are 27 and 26. Never again scored more than 20 after his 54 goal year. Injuries seemed to be his issue.

 

[Dominate Kesler]

corey perry.

hes good but i doubt we see another year like last. (his high was only 32 before)

 

[thinkinfeller]

The standout for me is Hakan Loob. 6 NHL seasons with Calgary during the high scoring 80s, he hit 50 goals and over 100 pts in 87-88, just 2 years before heading back to Sweden permanently.

He was a 30+ goal scorer 3 times, and put up 27 and 18 goals in his other 2 pro seasons.

 

[BamBamCam*]

Wayne Babych is another guy who should be mentioned. 54 goals in 81, and his next two best years are 27 and 26. Never again scored more than 20 after his 54 goal year. Injuries seemed to be his issue.

I mentioned him and he does fit in this group