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.
