Modern-Day (80 Game) Great Players Who Surprisingly Didn't Score 50 Goals in a Season

[Tofveve]

- Darryl Sittler (best was 45, even with a 10 pt game record)

- Dennis Savard (47)

- Peter Stastny (47)

- Eric Lindros (47)

- Matts Sundin (47)

- Pavel Datsyuk (32)

- Ron Francis (32)

- Peter Forsberg (30)

I just found some of these names surprising. Lindros' name actually surprises me the most. That Legion of Doom line was so amazing in the 90s - his linemate Leclaire had 3 consecutive 50+ goal seasons.

On the low end, I'm surprised at Forsberg's and Datsyuk's low goal-scoring numbers. Not so surprised at Francis', as he was that perennial playmaker.

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[East Coast Icestyle]

Dont think I ever saw datsyuk as a 50 goal guy. Pretty much one of the best playmakers in the league every single season.

 

[izzy]

half of those arent that surprising, playmakers

 

[DFC]

Lindros does surprise me. The rest, not so much. I'm actually pretty surprised Sundin got so close. His big thing, it always seemed to me, was consistency, rather than gaudy numbers. Having Ron Francis on the list is kind of like having Adam Oates on it.

 

[DFC]

Ziggy Palffy scored 40+ three times, but topped out at 48. Tough to say what kind of numbers he could have put up if his health had held out. One of the game's forgotten goal-scorers.

 

[95Tal]

There have been a lot of highly skilled European players that I think could have easily broken 50 but didn't for various reasons. A few that come to mind initially:

Alex Kovalev (44)

Kent Nilsson (49)

Tomas Sandstrom (45 in 68 games)

 

[Tofveve]

Lindros does surprise me. The rest, not so much. I'm actually pretty surprised Sundin got so close. His big thing, it always seemed to me, was consistency, rather than gaudy numbers. Having Ron Francis on the list is kind of like having Adam Oates on it.

Yeah, definitely Lindros is the most surprising.

I think Sittler is also quite surprising. Savard too.

 

[Claypool]

Lindros likely has multiple 50-goal seasons if not for having a head full of jelly.

 

[DFC]

Yeah, definitely Lindros is the most surprising.

I think Sittler is also quite surprising. Savard too.

I guess sometimes it feels like 50 goal-scorers grew on trees in the 70s and 80s, but then when you look at it, they really didn't. At least not to the extent it sometimes seems.

 

[Tofveve]

I guess sometimes it feels like 50 goal-scorers grew on trees in the 70s and 80s, but then when you look at it, they really didn't. At least not to the extent it sometimes seems.

But Lindros felt like a Lemieux almost. I mean both Crosby and Malkin scored 50. And like I said earlier, Eric's linemate John Leclair scored 3 consecutive ones. Crazy.

 

[boredmale]

half of those arent that surprising, playmakers

Still both Savard and Stastny played in the high scoring 80s

 

[DFC]

But Lindros felt like a Lemieux almost. I mean both Crosby and Malkin scored 50. And like I said earlier, Eric's linemate John Leclair scored 3 consecutive ones. Crazy.

I never saw Lindros as being close to Lemieux. Nor anyone not named Gretzky, really.

 

[rent free]

i'm surprised those guys got even close to 50 goals in a season

 

[Tofveve]

I never saw Lindros as being close to Lemieux. Nor anyone not named Gretzky, really.

That probably came out wrong. No he wasn't regarded on that level, but before all the injuries there were predictions that he could be the next one in that lineage of generational talents. And when he was healthy he was a unique force, a game-changer similar to the big names before him.

 

[135ace]

I never saw Lindros as being close to Lemieux. Nor anyone not named Gretzky, really.

It’s really just the hype. Lindros had so much damn hype that it’s caused a bias. I was a young kid when he came into the league, but part of me sort of naively assumes/falsely remembers him as being better than he was. For example in the late 90s Jagr was tearing up the league, but until recently looking back on that time in depth I would have said Lindros was the best player in the league (just based off the hype that I still remember). Hell, he probably got more coverage than Jagr, Federov and Forsberg combined, all of whom had more impressive careers than him.

 

[snipes]

It’s always surprising to be reminded that Forsberg topped out at 30.

 

[BannedFromCDC]

Markus Naslund. Probably has the 2nd nicest wrist shot of all time.

 

[Star Ocean]

It’s always surprising to be reminded that Forsberg topped out at 30.

Forsberg played 1 full season.

 

[Dominance]

i'm surprised those guys got even close to 50 goals in a season

You’re surprised that Savard, Stastny, and above all Lindros got close to 50?

 

[Backhandbeauty]

It’s really just the hype. Lindros had so much damn hype that it’s caused a bias. I was a young kid when he came into the league, but part of me sort of naively assumes/falsely remembers him as being better than he was. For example in the late 90s Jagr was tearing up the league, but until recently looking back on that time in depth I would have said Lindros was the best player in the league (just based off the hype that I still remember). Hell, he probably got more coverage than Jagr, Federov and Forsberg combined, all of whom had more impressive careers than him.

It wasn't just hype. If you look sr his early years he had a really high ppg rate one of the highest ever. I can't remember exactly but I think it was around top 5 or 6 over his first 5 years. People used that to rank him in a historic sense ignoring that it was always going to drop and he was never going to be able to stay healthy.

His early season numbers were impressive as hell, though. Guy had the total package but health even before the brain damage.

 

[DFC]

It’s really just the hype. Lindros had so much damn hype that it’s caused a bias. I was a young kid when he came into the league, but part of me sort of naively assumes/falsely remembers him as being better than he was. For example in the late 90s Jagr was tearing up the league, but until recently looking back on that time in depth I would have said Lindros was the best player in the league (just based off the hype that I still remember). Hell, he probably got more coverage than Jagr, Federov and Forsberg combined, all of whom had more impressive careers than him.

Lindros and Fedorov are comparable to me. Both had dominant peaks, but spent most of their careers being a shell of the players we remember them as. I had pretty much the same experience with Lindros as you. I was pretty young, but I clearly remember the hype, and people literally calling him "the next Gretzky." Maybe because Gretz was still around, we didn't realize just how rare that caliber of player is.

It seems, in hindsight, like there was a brief period (I think when Mario was out with cancer?) where Lindros probably was the best player in the league. And that LOD line, as a unit, was the most feared thing in hockey. So yeah, I was genuinely surprised to see he topped out at 47.

 

[PurpleMouse]

Stastny and Savard are the only truly surprising ones to me on this list.

Lindros and Sundin would hit 50 if they had the exact same type of careers, but were born a few years earlier.

Francis, Datsyuk and Forsberg are pass first guys.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Lindros was a unique and dominant physical player but his peak was just a lot shorter than most others. If you watched him play you’d understand why the raw numbers don’t really do him justice.

 

[authentic]

It’s always surprising to be reminded that Forsberg topped out at 30.

I don't think there has been a better forward who has a lower career high in goals. He actually has a higher goals per game in the playoffs than the following players though:

Crosby
Malkin
Jagr
Fedorov
Selanne
Stamkos
Kovalchuk

 

[ek93]

Ziggy Palffy scored 40+ three times, but topped out at 48. Tough to say what kind of numbers he could have put up if his health had held out. One of the game's forgotten goal-scorers.

You ain't lying. Literally read the name and said, "holy shit I forgot about that guy."