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.
Selected seventh overall in the 2010 NHL Draft, Jeff Sinner immediately hit the NHL like a whirlwind. He collected 63 points (31+32) in 82 games for Carolina in his debut season and won the Calder Trophy for the league’s best rookie. However, he has never surpassed that performance, topping it only twice.
In his first year in Buffalo, he had the season of his life when he was traded – scoring 40 goals and earning an eight-year, $72 million contract. However, it appears that the signing on the sheet that guaranteed him an average annual salary of $9 million through 2027 has put a curse on his hockey life. Performances had plummeted, with Buffalo hoping he could find his way back to the form he had when he signed.
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