With the 2017-18 NHL season winding down, we take a look at all of the players most likely to pop 50 goals this year.
Hitting the 50 goal mark in the NHL is pretty tough, unless you come straight out of a video game like Wayne Gretzky. He did it eight times in his career, including a couple of shots at 100. Don’t think too long about that last fact; we can’t guarantee that it’s healthy.
To net 50 is like a holy grail in the NHL. It means you’re pretty good, and also that you likely have some sweet mitts ripe for scorin’.
But it doesn’t happen as often these days as you might think. In fact, only seven different players have done it since 2008. One of them is on this list. That’s a far cry from the 1990s, when players hoarded goals like they were curbside at a yard sale. In the ’92-93 season alone, 14 (!) players scored 50 or more. Two of them potted 76. They, sadly, are not on this list. Because that is far too long ago for them to still be playing.
But with that, let’s take at the gander at the guys who are still playing, and their chances at scorer’s glory this year.
Eric Staal, Center, Minnesota Wild
Eric Staal has seen a bit of a resurgence the last two years. After going the better part of five seasons with just more than 20 goals on average (that’s still solid), he found the back of the net 28 times in his first year with the Wild. In his second, he’s dropped 39, the most since 2010-11 with the Carolina Hurricanes.
But the question becomes, could he find those coveted 11 more with only 9 games remaining?
The likely answer is no. The possibility is there, certainly. He’s scored a scorching 20 goals in his previous 25. He’s also come fairly close before, with 45 in his second year and 40 in the ’08-09 season.
But just as well, these streaks have come and passed for him. Multiple times he’s been absent on the goal sheet for four to six games. He’d need to score oodles with no lulls and not much time left to get to this mark.