1992-93 NHL Top 5 Goal Scorers

The 1992-93 National Hockey League season saw all of the top 5 goal scorers with 60 or more goals. Offense was rampant over the 84 game schedule, largely due to the combined 21 wins by the Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks in a total of 168 games.

Two players tied for the goal scoring lead at 76 goals apiece. Alexander Mogilny of the Buffalo Sabres got the nod in the tie break over rookie Teemu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets, playing seven less games.

Alex Mogilny – Buffalo Sabres

It was a career year for Mogilny with the 76 goals and 127 points in his fourth year in the NHL. He played in the league from 1989-90 to 2005-06 with the Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs. Alex had one more 50+ goal season, scoring 55 with the Vancouver Canucks in 1995-96.

 

Alex played 990 regular season games in the NHL and scored 473 goals. Those numbers would have been much higher considering Mogilny never played the full schedule in any of his 16 seasons.

Teemu Selanne – Winnipeg Jets

Teemu Selanne set the mark for first year players with his 76 goals for the Jets in 1992-93, although he was 22 and had played three years of elite level hockey in Finland prior to his arrival in the NHL. Selanne retired from the National Hockey League after the 2013-14 season, playing his final season for the Anaheim Ducks. Along the way, he has had two 50+ goal seasons, both with Anaheim. Selanne has also played for the San Jose Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche.

Mario Lemieux – Pittsburgh Penguins

Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins finished third for goals in 1992-93. However, his numbers were a thing of awe. Lemieux played just 60 of Pittsburgh’s 84 games and scored 69 goals. On that pace, if he’d played the full season he would have scored between 96 and 97 goals. Numbers like that would have topped Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 92 goals.

Luc Robitaille – Los Angeles Kings

Luc Robitaille of the Los Angeles Kings finished fourth with 63 goals. 1992-93 saw career highs for Robitaille in goals and points (125). Luc totalled 668 regular season goals in 1,431 games in a career that spanned from 1986-87 to 2005-06. He had 50 or more goals in three seasons.

Robitaille also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings during his many years in the National Hockey League. Luc is one of five players to have their numbers retired by the Los Angeles Kings.

Pavel Bure – Vancouver Canucks

Pavel Bure rounded out the top five with 60 goals. The second year player would score exactly the same the following season but while playing seven fewer games. Bure played in the NHL from 1991-92 to 2002-03 with the Canucks, Florida Panthers and New York Rangers. Pavel scored 437 goals in just 702 regular season games.

Despite his relatively short NHL career, Bure was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012. Pavel joined Mario Lemieux, who was inducted in 1997, and Luc Robitaille, who entered the Hall in 2009.

5 Over 40 in Men's Hockey at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games

With the exclusion of Joe Thornton, Martin Brodeur and Martin St. Louis, Canada’s roster for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games cannot be called an ‘old boys club’ like in previous years. In fact, the oldest players on the team are Roberto Luongo, Patrick Marleau and Chris Kunitz, all 34 years of age.

However, at the other end of the spectrum, there are five players that will be competing in Men’s Ice Hockey at the Sochi Olympics that are over 40 years old. Two of those players are on the Czech Republic roster.

Jaromir Jagr – Czech Republic (42 on February 15)

The current member of the New Jersey Devils in the National Hockey League began his pro career in 1988-89 with HC Kladno of the Czech Extraliga, a team he now has a 70% ownership stake in. Jagr was the fifth overall pick at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. If he continues to play into the 2014-15 NHL season, Jaromir will reach the 1,500 regular season game plateau.

Jagr has played in the NHL since 1990-91 with the Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins and the Devils. He has also played in the Russia based KHL.

For Jagr, this will be his fifth Olympic Games for the Czech Republic. He competed in 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010, appearing in 23 games. Jaromir has also competed in eight IIHF World Championships for his home country between 1990 and 2011, appearing in 60 tournament games.

Petr Nedved – Czech Republic (42)

Nedved’s long NHL career ended after the 2006-07 season but he has continued on in the Czech Republic’s Extraliga since. He is in his sixth year and sixth year as team captain with Bili Tygri Liberec.

Petr has played pro hockey since 1990-91 in the NHL, Extraliga, IHL and AHL. He was the second overall pick at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. Nedved played 982 regular season NHL games between 1990-91 and 2006-07 with the Canucks, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers. Over that time, Petr scored 310 goals and assisted on 407 for 717 points.

Nedved played in one previous Winter Olympics. In a twist, Petr played for Canada at the 1994 Olympic Games. He played in the World Championships for his home country in 2012. Petr had played a total of 51 games on the international front.

Teemu Selanne – Finland (43)

Selanne has played pro hockey since 1989-90 in Finland’s Liiga and the NHL. Teemu was the tenth overall pick at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets. Like Jagr, if he plays into the 2014-15 season, Selanne will reach the 1,500 NHL game plateau. Teemu has been in the NHL since 1992-93, playing for the Jets, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche. He is currently in the ninth year of his second stint with the Ducks.

Teemu has played for Finland at the Olympic Games on five previous occasions between 1992 and 2010. Selanne has also played for his home country at the IIHF World Championships on five occasions between 1991 and 2008.

Sandis Ozolins – Latvia (41)

Ozolins has played pro hockey since 1990-91 in the Soviet Union, IHL, NHL, AHL and KHL. He was a second round pick by the San Jose Sharks at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, 30^th overall. Sandis played 875 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1992-93 and 2007-08 with the Sharks, Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks and New York Rangers.

Currently, Ozolins is the team captain of Dinamo Riga of the KHL. 2013-14 is his fifth year in the KHL. Sandis played for Latvia at the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics. He also played for his country at the 1998, 2001 and 2002 World Championships.

Daniel Alfredsson – Sweden (41)

Alfredsson has played pro hockey since 1990-91 in Sweden’s Division 1 and SHL, along with the NHL. Daniel was a lowly sixth round pick by the Ottawa Senators at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, 133^rd overall. He has played in the NHL since 1995-96 with the Senators and Detroit Red Wings. 2013-14 is his first year with Detroit after being team captain in Ottawa from 1999-00 to 2012-13.

2014 will be Alfredsson’s fifth time on the Sweden roster at the Olympics. He has also competed for his home country at the IIHF World Championships on seven occasions.

 

Hockey Trivia: NHL 70 Goal Scorers

In the history of the National Hockey League, the 50 goal plateau has been met 189 times (the latest in 2010-11 with Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks scoring exactly 50) and the 60 goal plateau has been met 38 times. However, the 70 goal plateau truly separates the men from the boys.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of the NHL’s 70+ goal scorers with the following four trivia questions.

Q. Which NHL player was the first to surpass the 70 goal plateau?

A. In 1970-71, Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins added 18 goals to the NHL record previously held by Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks. Esposito scored 76 goals in 78 games for the Bruins. With an additional 76 assists that season, his 152 points were also an NHL record at the time.

Q. Which NHL player is the only player to surpass the 70 goal plateau on four occasions?

A. Who else but Wayne Gretzky could accomplish this feat?! Gretzky scored 92 in 1981-82 (current NHL record), 71 in 1982-83, 87 in 1983-84 and 73 in 1984-85. Brett Hull came close. In a three year stretch with the St. Louis Blues between 1989-90 and 1991-92, Hull scored 72, 86 and 70 goals. He followed that up with two more 50+ goal performances but never would get above 60 again. Age and injuries played a factor in his reduced production but the NHL also had entered an era of boring low scoring hockey that persists today.

Q. Who is the only first year NHL player to surpass the 70 goal plateau?

A. The Finnish Flash, Teemu Selanne, scored 76 goals in 1992-93 as a rookie with the Winnipeg Jets, tying him for the NHL lead in goal scoring with Alexander Mogilny of the Buffalo Sabres. Due to injuries and NHL labour problems, it would take until 1996-97 before Selanne would exceed the 76 POINT mark again. Of course, Teemu was not your typical rookie in 1992-93. After playing pro in Finland before coming to North America, Selanne was already 22 when he scored his 76 goals, the age of third year player.

Q. Playing on a line with Wayne Gretzky could boost the offensive performance of any player. Which Los Angeles Kings player scored 70 while playing with the Great One?

A. Bernie Nicholls scored exactly 70 in 1988-89 while playing with Gretzky. Over the rest of his career, Bernie’s best goal production would be just 27. Wayne scored 54 and assisted on 114 for 168 points while Bernie added 80 assists for 150 points. Despite the high totals, neither led the NHL that year. Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins finished first with 85, Nicholls finished second, Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings finished third with 65 and Gretzky placed fourth. In points, it was Gretzky placing second and Nicholls placing fourth.

Jari Kurri is another who rode Gretzky’s coattails enroute to a 70 goal season. Kurri scored 71 in 1984-85 with the Edmonton Oilers while his linemate Gretzky scored 73. The two finished one-two in NHL goal scoring. They also finished first and second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with Wayne totalling 208 points and Jari settling with 135.