The 500 Goal Club

Thought that this was interesting.

http://thehockeywriters.com/the-500-goal-club/

I went to an NHL Oldertimes game recently. The old guys didn't try overly hard, and consistently played a 2-2-1 (one D-man). They had most of their fun trying to get the idiot celebrities on their team to score. They won about 8-5, with five of their goals coming from the celebrities. There were a number of former 50 goal men on the ice. I'm forgetting who at the moment. Rick Vaive, Gary Leeman were two. The third guy that comes to mind is, in my opinion, the most unheralded 60 goal man in NHL history. We'd die to have him on our team today! I think he could still skate, but just didn't bother to. Ironically, about the same day, an article came out in THE HOCKEY NEWS discussing & remembering him. The writer had the audacity to ask him if it was true that he was too selfish, during his playing days. He spent almost his entire career on non-playoff teams, and was tiny, in a Daniel Briere sense. One year, when I was a kid, O-PEE-CHEE put out a card that commemorate the best lines in hockey at that time. He centre the "TRIPLE M LINE". I could, at that time, also quote every 50 goal scorer in NHL history, and all Stanley Cup winners dating back to the mid-40's. Any guesses who the 60 goal man was!

SCOOP

Oh boy Scoop. You have me there. I didn't really start following hockey until the early eighties. Did he play before that?

70's & 80's

Pat Lafontaine?

Actually, forget it. I see that Lafontaine played in the 80s and 90s and actually never reached 60 goals.

Correct, it's not Lafontaine! No answer from me yet!

As long as we're on this theme. Of the 41 players to score 500 or more goals (regular season) in NHL history, eight never recorded a 50 goal season. Five of the eight scored 46-49 in a single season. One 44 and one 40. The lowest total (for a high season) is 32 and he managed that just once. In fact, he managed 30 goals on just three occasions! Talk about longevity and consistency! 32x15=480. Who is this consistent fellow!

You are full of beans tonight Scoop.

I fear that I have to take this opportunity to admit that my overall hockey knowledge is on par with my knowledge of Operatic Arias of the 18th Century.

Good fun though Scoop and I am looking forward to seeing if anyone can answer you questions correctly.

Hey Scoop was Reggie Leach the 60 goal scorer? I know he scored 60 at least once because when i was a kid i bought a bread bag full of hockey cards at a white elephant sale and his card(cant remember year) with the Flyers i think, scared the hell out me, he looked like a serial murderer and his stats showed a 60 goal season. I will never forget the way he looked on that card scary as hell.

Looks like you nailed it Richard! 75-76.

As a bonus for answering correctly, go ahead and take anyone you like from Joel's roster.

Mike Gartner, whose New York Ranger jersey I have, must be the guy!

Nevermind! I should actually read the whole post before submitting a jackass answer.

The answer to Scoop's second question is of course Ron Francis. That's what 23 seasons in the NHL will do for you when you average 24 goals per season.

Some of the other 500 goal scorers who have never reached 50 goals in a season have to include Mats Sundin, Pat Verbeek and Gilbert Perreault. Chances are Gordie Howe is one of them also. I don't think he ever reached fifty in a season.

I'd be interested to know who the other three are. They're probably pretty obvious, unless they're oldtimers.

Reggie "The Rifle" Leach is a very AWESOME guess. Unfortunately, it's a guess!

- 6 feet tall
- LCB Line

Sorry, Reggie never played on the THREE M LINE

I gave the name WRONG previously. Old age is starting to show. Triple M Line was incorrect!

I actually own both the Reggie Leach card shown above and the LCB Line card. Reggie Leach is a sad story. Top of the world & fell off. He and Jonathan Cheechoo have a variety of things in common, including ancestory and NHL's leading goal scorer for one season.

Ron Francis is the answer to the second question. The guys that never had a 50 goal season.

Howe 49
Mahovolich 49
Beliveau 47
Sundin 47
Verbeek 46
Perreault 44
Makita 40
Francis 32

So. To put you all out of your misery. The guy I watched at the OLD TIMERS GAME was Dennis Maruk.

I wish I knew how to upload the damn pictures!

SCOOP

The #3 pick in the 1970 amateur draft was Reggie Leach, by the Boston Bruins.
The #4 pick in the 1970 amateur draft was Rick MacLeish, by the Boston Bruins.

They both went on to record 50 goal seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers... and each won two Stanley's in Philly! Their backstopper in these championship seasons was former Bruin Bernie Parent...

Bruins fans must have been cranky about this!

Looks like I got all five of my guesses right. Wouldn't have known the other three, as I don't know much about hockey that far back.

Thanks Scoop!