One season in the NHL in which a hockey player scores 40 or more goals is routine for a player like Alexander Ovechkin. This mark has been surpassed 623 times in the history of the overseas elite league. This was not uncommon, especially during the 1970s and 1980s.
The 2019-20 season saw five players crack the 40-goal mark in the NHL regular season, even though the season was interrupted by a coronavirus outbreak. Last season, when teams played only 56 games, Auston Matthews was even able to reach that milestone.
Once in a while, however, somebody shows up to score more than forty goals in a single season, and then you never hear about them again in that context. Some manage to do it early in their careers, and others find the right chemistry with their teammates and manage to double their usual number of goals. In the chapters below, you will find the 20 most surprising 40-goal scorers in NHL history.
A two-time Stanley Cup winner, Canadian Craig Simpson is one of only 12 players in NHL history to score at least 16 goals in a single playoff game. That indicates he was a good goal scorer; the fact that he was at his best in Edmonton was also a major factor.
Before he was traded by Pittsburgh in 1987-88, he scored 13 goals in 21 games for the Penguins. But with his new teammates in Canada, he scored like a god and scored 43 goals in 59 games, taking his total to 56 after the regular season. During the playoffs, in 19 games, he scored 13 goals and won his first Stanley Cup.
He still managed to break the 30-goal mark twice in the regular season but never came close to his 1987/88 performance. With 634 games and 497 points (247+250), he retired from the NHL in 1995.
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