There Are Presently 42 Members That Belong to the NHL's Exclusive 500
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There are presently 42 members that belong to the NHL’s exclusive 500-goal club. written by Michael Moore presented to you by The Hockey Writers As you might expect, not only have this select few attained the ultimate, lofty benchmark of twine- bulging glory, they’ve also done some pretty extraordinary other things. Scoring 500 regular- season goals in the best hockey league in the world is a highly significant achievement in itself. Along the road to 500, these guys have also accumulated some amazing distinctions that help define their spectacular careers. Below are the top 42 goal scorers in NHL history presented in reverse chronological order by date when they scored their 500th goal. If you are an avid hockey fan, chances are you already know something distinctive about these guys. It’s the additional anecdote placed next to their names that may raise an eyebrow. You talk about records that will never be broken. I’d be really surprised if anybody ever duplicated some of the feats you’ll find here. If you like hockey trivia, you’ll love some of these. Although, many of these triumphs are well beyond mere trivial in status. You decide. January 7, 2012 Jarome Iginla (42) also has 2 Olympic Gold medals and had an assist on Sidney Crosby’s famous overtime goal for Canada at the games in Vancouver. He is only the 15th player to amass 500 NHL goals with one club, the Calgary Flames. April 6, 2008 During the 1996-97 season, Keith Tkachuk (41) took the most ever penalty minutes by a player who led the league in goals. Although he managed to score 52 goals and take the goal-scoring title, he also picked up 228 minutes in penalties. That’s the equivalent of 3.8 games passing time in the penalty box, most ever in one season by a goal-scoring leader. November 10, 2007 You might already know that Jeremy Roenick (40) is one of only four American-born players to score 500 goals in the NHL. Another more significant note is related to how some of these 42 great players also helped fellow members of the 500-goal club attain their milestones. Long before he scored number 500 himself in 2007, Roenick assisted on Michel Goulet’s 500th. The two were Blackhawk teammates in 1992. March 13, 2007 Mike Modano (39) is the all-time goal-scoring and points leader in the NHL amongst American-born players, regular season and playoffs. On April 12, 1994, Mike Modano and Brendan Shanahan became the only two opposing players in NHL history to score their 50th goal of the season in the same game. Odd! January 26, 2007 Mark Recchi (38) is currently 9th in all-time regular season games played in the NHL (1,571) and he’s signed to play with the Bruins again next season (at the time of this writing). By next year, he could be in the top 5. Who knows, the way the youthful, 42 year-old Recchi is still playing, Gordie Howe’s 1,767 NHL games played is suddenly not the untouchable record we thought no one else would ever even approach. December 22, 2006 On Feb 5, 1994, 30 Peter Bondra (37) scored the fastest ever four consecutive goals. He fired a total of five that night, but four of them came in just 4:12. Explosive! Daren Puppa of Tampa Bay was the goalie. He never knew what hit him. Think about it, a goal per minute for four straight minutes. Not even Gretzky could do that playing pond hockey. November 26, 2006 Before he was 23 years old, Teemu Selanne (36) completed a goal-scoring feat that will never be broken. But you say, “records are made to be broken” and “never say never.” Nevertheless, I’m pretty certain nobody in our lifetimes will duplicate the “Finnish Flash’s” 76 goals by a rookie in 1992-93. In that season, Selanne scored 20goals in March, most ever by anyone in a calendar month. October 14, 2006 Mats Sundin (35) scored his 500th goal in October, 2006 and I doubt anyone will ever duplicate the dramatic circumstances surrounding his triumphant goal. Sundin scored in overtime, shorthanded as he completed a hat trick. Regrettably, he is one of only four members of the 500-goal association to never have played in a Stanley Cup final series, let alone win a Cup. Mats Sundin (Mike Lynaugh Photography) November 8, 2005 Pierre Turgeon (34) was still only 17 years old when he was drafted 1st overall in 1987. Although he scored his 500th NHL goal in 2005, he too became an unofficial member of hockey’s elite scoring fraternity when he assisted on Brett Hull’s 500th goal in 1996. February 4, 2003 Even if he never comes back, Jaromir Jagr (33) enjoyed a very full NHL career. His list of personal and team accomplishments make for a near complete hockey resume, including his 646 regular season goals. Did you know that in the 7 games he played between October 16 and November 4, 1999, Jagr either scored or assisted on every single goal his Penguins scored? (7G, 8A) That’s ridiculous! January 17, 2003 Apart from scoring 500, Joe Nieuwendyk (32) also belongs to another exclusive goal scoring club. He’s one of only five players in NHL history to score 50+ goals in their rookie season. In that 1987-88 season, Nieuwendyk scored 31 of his 51 goals (60.8%) on the power-play, most ever by a 50-goal scorer. Joe was a winner almost everywhere he went. He won three Stanley Cups with three different teams in three different decades. December 11, 2002 Joe Sakic (31) holds an NHL record that should belong to him exclusively for many, many years. Sakic scored8 overtime game-winning goals in the playoffs. Outstanding! Next closest is Maurice “Rocket Richard” who held the record at 6 for nearly half a century until Sakic passed him. This record alone is a powerful testament to Joe Sakic’s greatness with the game on the line. March 23, 2002 Prolific goal scorers love to put the puck in the net and they’re ready to strike at any time. Brendan Shanahan (30) is one of only two NHL players in history to record a hat trick in two separate season opening games. The 2nd time was on opening night, October 4, 2001 when he completed his trio of goals in overtime while the Red Wings were shorthanded. After one game, he was on pace to score 246! January 2, 2002 We all know how valuable Hall-of-Famer Ron Francis (29) was almost everywhere he played. His 1,731 games are 3rd most ever. There are a few members of the 500-goal club that never had a 50 goal season. Oddly, Ron Francis never even had a 40-goal season. His total career goals are most ever by a player who never scored 40 in any one season. In fact, his highest output was just 32 goals in 1989-90. It was thanks to his consistency and durability that he was able to score 549 goals in his long, illustrious career. March 22, 2000 Pat Verbeek (28) scored 522 regular-season goals over 20 seasons in the NHL. Imagine how many he might have scored if he didn’t spend the equivalent of 48 games in the penalty box. His 2,905 PIMs are the most by a 500-goal scorer. The “Little Ball of Hate” had one of his thumbs cut off in an off- season farming accident early in his career. His father found it, wrapped it up and brought it to the hospital where it was successfully sewn back on. And Verbeek still went on to score over 500 goals. Incredible! January 7, 1999 Like most 500-goal scorers, “Lucky” Luc Robitaille (27), has a well-stocked trophy cabinet and owns many NHL and L.A. King franchise records. Including Robitaille, the 2002 Detroit Red Wings won a Stanley Cup with four 500-goal scorers on the team, most ever. Regular season overtime was reinstated in 1983 and in 1989, Luc Robitaille became the first player to take a penalty shot in regular season overtime. He didn’t score. March 15, 1997 Dave Andreychuk (26) is the NHL’s all-time leader with 274 power-play goals. He won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004, but it was a while in waiting in his NHL career. Andreychuk played 1,759 regular season and playoff games before winning Cup, more than anyone, ever. At age 40 years, 7 months, he was the oldest player ever to make his Stanley Cup Final debut. Dave Andreychuk scored 640 goals and yes, he has a Cup ring. March 14, 1997 Joe Mullen (25) became the first American–born player to score 500 in 1997. Mullen holds the distinction of being the only player in NHL history to have a penalty shot goal disallowed. Huh? Apparently his stick was measured after he scored and it was found to be illegal. NO GOAL! This had never happened before and the rule has since been changed so it will probably never happen again. Bizarre, but all kinds of things can happen when there’s a natural goal scorer around. December 22, 1996 Brett Hull (24) may have been one of the most outspoken and controversial 500-goal scorers, but he made the Hall-of-Fame nonetheless. It’s somehow fitting that a player who scored 741 NHL goals would score the very last goal of the 20th century.