Obligatory "you're wrong" comment

Only THG can get annoyed at a list he made 😂

Mario's 2000-01 where he had 35 goals in 43 games was insane. After 3 years off, in a defensive-minded era, ridiculous. If not for all his injuries, cancer, and 3-year retirement, he may have ended up surpassing Gretzky's mark.

Dino Cicarelli never makes enough of these lists. Cicarelli is 19th all time in goals scored. Apart from a stint in Detroit, he played on below average or worst teams for his entire career and without the benefit of skating alongside an elite Center. He scored over 50 goals twice, the first time was in his sophomore season in Minnesota. He was above the 30 goal mark 11 seasons, and would have had many more were it not for injuries. At 36 years of age, he was still able to pot 36 goals playing with a terrible expansion roster for Tampa Bay during the Deadpuck era. Cicarelli was also money in the playoffs with 73 goals in 141 games. That's pretty close to Gretzky's playoff goal pace and all the while playing for lesser teams. In his sophomore season, he led the entire NHL in playoff goal scoring with 14 goals in 19 games during the Northstar's Cinderella run to the Cup Finals. I get it, you can't include every amazing goal scorer over a 40 year period in a top 20 video. I respect the inclusion of Dave Andreychuk who is also often overlooked. But, purely looking at goal scoring ability, just goal scoring ability, he's way better than Pat LaFountaine even if LaFountaine is a much better and more dynamic player.

Probably doesn’t deserve to be on the list because the number of goals is low but Pavel Datsyuk was just a magical dude out there

I'm a die hard Rangers fan with no love for the Pens or Caps, but having the privilege of watching the career of Ovi and Sid has been a treat. It's funny how fictional it sounds, one well rounded player, one big strong pure goal scorer. That dueling hat tricks game in the playoffs was unforgettable. I am 33, too young to remember Gretzky and Messiers glory days, but I'll always be able to talk about Sid, Ovi, and my favorite, Henrik Lundqvist.

Pens fan, I appreciate how blessed we've been to have had 3 of your top 10 have long or full careers with the team. Plus we had Iggy stop in for a short stint. But Alex Ovechkin is 100% the best goal scorer of all time. Era adjusted, he must blow Gretzky and Lemieux away. A guy like that just doesn't come along often and you're lucky to see him play. Well, I've been lucky, and unlucky as a Pens fan at times, to witness his ridiculous shot over, and over, and over again blow past a lot of Penguins goalies. Not to mention his excellent stick handling, his hard checks and his ability to be in great positions to score. He's always, always had a leg up on every player in scoring goals and at times was far and above the best by a wide margin. Of course age has cut down his numbers some but he still can score goals as well as, what, 95% of the league? That said, it'll always be sad to know Crosby and Lemieux missed big stretches of their prime due to injuries and in Mario's case lymphoma. Though it likely wouldn't have made a massive difference in the end in terms of points per game, I always considered that stat one of the most telling, those guys both suffered so much with injuries. I won't forget the talk of Crosby possibly retiring when he was only in his late 20's from his many concussions and post-concussion symptoms. But that also brings up how some players just go their career rarely experiencing those issues and Ovechkin has being nothing but durable his entire career. You could almost always count on the man to be there for a game. With the love-hate relationship you gain as a fan of the other team, the times I've seen him hurt my favorite time, but with the love and appreciation of the sport, I can say there's no doubt Ovechkin is the all time greatest goal scorer and hopefully he will be able to have that official when he passes Gretzky.

Thanks for mentioning Mogilny. As an older person, I still remember Phil Esposito, Guy Lafleur, Richard Martin, Marcel Dionne, etc from the 1970s. Wholly agree with you about Mike Bossy.

Jagr’s SC goal against the Blackhawks was “the greatest goal I have ever seen” according to Lemieux.

Cam Neely’s 50 in 44 was pretty nuts in 93-94. He only played 49 games that year because of injury. He could score, even without Oates, but it definitely helped.

Ovechkin could be over 900 right now. Hes been incredibly healthy his entire career. But also so unlucky considering the chase. His entire rookie season was obliterated because of a lockout. 2012 shortened because of another lockout. Then 2 covid shortened seasons.

Yeah, Ovi should be number 1, considering he scored so many in the dead puck era. This is coming from a long time Isles fan, and yes Bossy is my favorite all time player. I could make an argument that Bossy should be ahead of Mario if we are talking about just scoring goals, but I can't make the same argument vs Ovi.

Mario is the only player to score 5 different ways in a single game.

Bossy never scored less than 51 until his last season. He is undoubtedly the best goal scorer ever for a 10 year period and would probably be #1 all time if not for injuries cutting his career short.

While Hull was a prolific goal scorer, I know of at least one of his goals that should have never counted...

I agree as far as Gretzky #4 behind Bossy, Lemieux, and Ovechkin as pure goal scorers. I also agree about Bossy…if his back doesn’t give out he’s well north of 800 goals easily. I’m torn between Lemieux and Ovi for #1…Ovi is lights out especially in a more defensive-minded era, but Super Mario scored so many goals in so many different ways..

Messier's best season was 50 goals. He was more of an assist-leadership guy. I'm a bit puzzled with his 8th place.

I knew Ovi was #1!! I met Brendan Witt a week before Ovechkin was drafted. I worked at a Tower Records 15 minutes from The Capitals practice rink. Alex seemed magic like a myth at that time. Ovechkin can score from anywhere at any time. He has more hits than the the preceding 5 active goal scorers combined. The goals are wonderful, but Ovi brought DC a Cup. It's all I ever wanted.

What a nice, non-controversial topic for a video that surely won't cause any upset in the comment section :)

Stevie Y's, bar down from the blueline, game 7, double overtime goal, was the most perfect goal I've ever seen in 60 years of watching hockey. The replay from the goal is astounding.

Mike Gartner: quite possibly the most 'under the radar' great goal scorer of all time.

Thanks for the Pavel bure reference!! I asked on the stream :). I feel like he’s being forgotten and he’s my fav Canucks player of all time

5'9 180 pounds Joe Mullen, a 50 goal scorer, 7 seasons with 40+goals 10 seasons with 30 +goals Should have been on the list, and he grew up playing roller hockey, got to love that!

Mike Gartner...great player often overlooked and his name is not on the Cup. and Mike Bossy WAS remarkable.

Nice to see Joe Sakic on the list. One of the most versatile centers to ever play

Mentioning Forsberg as an honourable mention for best goal scorers is kinda crazy to me (though I’m too young to speak from authority), but damn would I love to see where he’d place on best passers / playmakers Some of my absolute favourite plays of his are when he just keeps the puck away from everyone just to pass to whomever is now left wide open Love him

I'm a Pens fan so love this list, but I've always been so impressed with Pavel Datsuk--surprised he didn't make the cut.

3:03 Who's the dead man that hit me with the salt shaker?!

Disappointed Peter Bondra didn't get a mention

Considering he's likely going to be the all-time leader, Ovechkin is an obvious choice. But Lemieux's still the goat to me. Not just for the _"If he'd only been healthy"_ fantasies. More for what he actually did with all the he played through. That Lemieux is 2nd all-time in points per game, assists per game, *and* goals per game, despite all the serious health problems, that will never quit being ridiculous to me. Among forwards, I think Gretzky and Lemieux are lightyears ahead of everyone else--to the point that trying to put anyone else in their category is farcical. And lets not forget, Lemieux didn't put all those crazy numbers during the high-flying '80s. He played in the Dead Puck Era too, and was still putting up video game numbers.

As huge a fan as I was of Bossy, when I was a boy, Ovie is just that much more entertaining to behold. I find it difficult to believe that you excluded Datsyuk, and Federov, though. Also, Dale Hawerchuck. And, as a Bruins fan, where's Nealy, Shannon?!

As a Caps fan growing up in the 90’s and watching Lemieux I absolutely loved him which made it all the worse that he played on a team I loathed. Agree Ovi is #1 because of the era.

Alex Ovechkin being number one wasn't a matter of if, but when.

Bossy has the highest goals per game followed closely by Mario. It’s unfortunate that they both had health problems.

Haven’t watched the video, but Mike Bossy is the most consistently great goal scorer I’ve seen in my 65 years.

Two way forwards don’t get enough love. I think you should make a list of the best two way forwards you’ve seen. They’re some of my favorite players!

Very good list Shannon! Ovechkin for me is the number one goal scorer of all time too.

Just 752 GP and Bossy comes in at 3rd. Still holds the record for goals per game, just slightly above Lemieux, who also had an abbreviated career of 900+ GP. By comparison, Ovi and Gretz have 1,400+ GP.

I guess Guy Lafleur was just before your time watching hockey. Six seasons with 50+ goals ... like Bossy, injuries & age did him in far too early.

On Iginla I'll never forget what he did for Linden's last game where he Instigated a Handshake line after the regular season game which was Linden's last and got all of his team mates to come back out on the ice and shake Trevor's hand It was beautiful.

Consider this about Ovechkin: yes, he scored goals during a low-scoring era. But, also, he was negated 167 games--more than 2 full seasons of his career--because of lock-outs and Covid. If he would have been able to play those games and score at his career pace, he would be closing in on 1000 goals right now. Most people don't consider that his first season, where he would have entered the league as a 19 year-old was canceled. He didn't start playing in the league until he was 20 years old.

Mike bossy was amazing and I agree he probably would have had over 900

As a man in his fifties, Mario Lemieux was the greatest hockey player I had ever seen live. Guys that size didn’t skate like ballerina. TV doesn’t come close to seeing how insanely good of a skater he really was. Before the back surgery, he would rush the net like a freight train. His hands were disgustingly skilled. See the time he fooled Bourque. I definitely list him ahead of Ovechkin who never had as much skill as Lemieux.

If I was building a team I would still have Mogilny as my first line winger. Of all the players I saw play live he impressed me with how many ways he could score a goal and it didn’t matter who was playing center with him. Also far more Physical than he got credit for. Props for putting Gartner on the list. 🤘🏻

You can't put him on the list of course, but Johan Franzen was one of the most freakishly natural goal scorers I've seen. You look at the way he scored goals for a few years there, he could do anything. Ridiculous shot, could make nice moves, hard to stop because of his size, and sometimes the puck just went in somehow. It was nuts.

Same opinion. I think Ovi is the best goal scorer desipte him growing increasingly old and dropping off fast is because even tho he still basically just stands in his spot everyone has known for a decade, he still scores. It still goes in. It still adds up. And at this point, him getting the record is a given, watching him play through his entire career has been amazing even if we're in the absolute twilight of it. He will be remembered as a machine.

Great list, me being older than you and watching hockey in the mid 70's , I got to see Lafleur at his best. He'd be on " "This Hockey Guy's " list. Probably #6.

Forsberg says himself he could do pretty much everything except shoot the puck 😂 Probably fair to keep him off

Gretzky's goal totals his first 8 years in the league: 51, 55, 92, 71, 87, 73, 52, 62. Total - 543 goals in 632 games. He is #'s 1, 2, and 3 on this list.

Pretty good Top 20. I'm 45 and I'm very happy to see Mike Bossy and Mike Gartner in these kind of lists. Too often forgotten. Many can argue for Neely, Robitaille, Goulet, Shanahan, Ciccarelli, Nieuwendyk, etc. For me, it would be Petr Bondra. Very few players scored more goals than assists in their careers, but only 2 players of this era scored 100+ goals than they had assists: Ovechkin and Bondra. Maybe he'll be included in a couple of years when THG will do his 30 Best Goal Scorers list.

Sergei Fedorov could have been elite of the era, skate like the wind and could play any position. Yet once he won the Hart in 1994 the Red Wings brass were very wary of him slacking off not really caring anymore about giving it his all and just desiring future earnings. His father started getting involved, then Sergei then got involved with missy golden tennis ball and then he was distracted even more. Still a great player for Detroit's historical overview, took less money to go to the Ducks in a strange move. Guy lost about $28 million in very poor investments.

Messier was the most unimpressive 600+ goal scorer in NHL history…can’t remember a single regular season goal of his.

The ones I miss on this list is Luc Robitaille, Brendan Shanahan and Dino Ciccarelli. Pat Lafontaine's 1,17 ppg (1013 points in 865 games) is the best among all American hockey players, active or retired.

honorable mentions : Bondra and Kariya sadly didn't have the longevity but man growing up in the mid-late 90s those guys where amazing

As e left handed person I'm just so blown away by your board writing skills!!!

For me it's Mario Lemieux at number 1. He could score whatever way you wanted. He could shoot, deke, carry guys on his back, score while being dragged down. 5 goals 5 different ways, in 1 game. Injuries caused by the abuse he took from other players, and then Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, and he kept coming back strong? Yeah, Mario.

Have you ever made a video about the best defensive forwards you've ever seen? If not I think that would be a cool video.

shout out to Tomas Holmstrom who should have had about 70 more goals than he ended up with

My favorite goal is Ovi scoring on his back from behind. That was ridiculous.

A top 20 playmakers as well would be nice!

Bondra deserves to be on here. If you look up pure goal scorer in the dictionary, that is him. Like Ovi is now, he was the Caps offense.

Selanne is probably glad you forgot his time in Colorado 😉

I heard a Bossy quote a few years ago that he regretted retiring so early. He felt he recovered enough from his back injury that he could have come back and played again, and he wished he hadn't given up. One can only wonder how many more goals he had left in his tank. I was born in the mid-80s so I never got to see him play.

For me Mike Bossy is the best pure goal scorer the NHL as ever seen, and the thing is he was even better in the playoffs winning 4 stanley cups. RIP Boss

Because different eras can vary widely with regard to the number of goals scored, a fair way to compare goal scorers might be to judge them by the number of times they led the league in goals scored. Ovechkin : 9 times Lemieux : 3 times Bossy : 2 times Gretzky : 5 times Brett Hull : 3 times Bure : 3 times Matthews : 3 times* Messier : 0 times Jagr : 0 times Crosby : 2 times Kurri : 1 time Selanne : 3 times Gartner : 0 times Sakic : 0 times Yzerman : 0 times McDavid : 1 time* Stamkos : 2 times* Iginla : 2 times LaFontaine : 0 times Andreychuk : 0 times also Bondra : 2 times * active Historical: Bobby Hull : 7 times Gordie Howe : 5 times Rocket Richard : 5 times C. Conacher : 5 times Beliveau : 2 times Esposito : 6 times LaFleur : 1 time Dionne : 0 times F. Mahovlich : 0 times

I have the same top 5 but a different order. 1.Lemieux 2.Bossy 3.Ovechkin 4.Gretzky 5.Brett Hull

Using Hockey Reference's 'Adjusted Goals' metric (goals adjusted for season length and the season's overall goal scoring), Post-1930 only (since season-length was so short before). This is how I would rank the 'Greatest Goal Scorers In NHL History'. Players with a 65+ adjusted Goal season, one other 60+ adjusted goal season, 2 other 50+ adjusted goal seasons The All-Time ELITE 1. Lemieux (71, 67, 59, 56) 2. Gretzky (69, 68, 58, 57) 3. Ovechkin (72, 62, 60, 59) [would be #1 except he never had that 2nd 'all-time great' season of 65 adjusted goals] 4. Br.Hull (78, 63, 61, 52) [had the greatest goal-scoring season of all time, but wasn't as prolific otherwise compared to top3] 5. Esposito (70, 65, 64, 52) 6. Matthews (68, 63, 58, 56) [still has time to pass Esposito, and maybe Hull. Would need 2+ 70+ adjusted goal seasons to be #1] 7. Bure (65, 64, 59, 55) Honourable Mentions (best season 58+, 3 other seasons 47+) Near-ELITE (barely missed my arbitrary cutoff) 8. Stamkos (68, 56, 56, 50) 9. Howe (65, 55, 55, 55) Other all-time goal-scoring GREATS 10. Selanne (62, 60, 54, 53) 11. Jagr (60, 57, 55, 54) 12. Bo.Hull (58, 57, 57, 54) 13. Bondra (60, 59, 50, 49) [criminally underrated] 14. Iginla (60, 56, 48, 48) 15. LeClair (59, 52, 49, 49) [also underrated] 16. Bossy (58, 52, 48, 48) [overrated b/c of the high-scoring era]

Pavel Bure before he got the big contract, May not have been number one, but He was one of the best I ever saw. After he got the contract, he seemed to suffer from fat cat disease, but he could have been the most exciting player in the game for about three years.

I could be wrong, but I think if his back had not given out Bossy would have broken 1,000. Especially if he had played as many games as Gretzky

Bobby Hull has to be on this list somewhere

maaaaaaan i cannot stand for not seeing marc-eduard vlasic here,,,, this is so dishonest

I was a huge Sakic and Forsberg fan but I remember seeing Mario come back and score what seemed like 2 goals every game… what a player

Another one who won't make the list because of an injury shorten career is Tim Kerr. Consistent 50 goal scorer when he was healthy and totally immoveable from in front of the crease.

Ovi being as close to Gretzky's record in an era where scoring is far, far harder than it was during Gretzky's era, speaks volumes. He'd already have that record if all the lockouts and covid didn't happen too. There really is no argument to who the best pure goal scorer of all time is. And that's Ovi

I'd only make 2 changes. Top 20? Mogilny has to be on that list. As for honorable mentions, Marion Hossa would be at the top of my list. He was fun to watch.

Ovechkin has scored so many highlight reel, freakishly good goals that it's not even close. The goal in the 2009 playoffs vs NYR, "The goal" against the coyotes (which coincidentally, single handedly got me back into watching the NHL again), the end to end goal against NJD, are three of at least 100+ goals that are crazy enough to be highlight reel material for Ovechkin. Anybody disagreeing because so and so had more goals per game average, blah blah... no. There was never a player in NHL history that you held your breath for when he's on the ice unless you're talking about Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Alex Ovechkin.

Where is Tony Tanti ?? Just kidding :) keep up the good work

I feel like Marcel Dionne needs a spot

As a fan of the Avs since their move to Colorado, seeing Sakic one ahead of Stevie Y really makes me smile.

Loved this list! :D

Ton of respect for Ovi. I think Ovi, Mario is extremely fair. Mario just did things on the ice that I've never seen since. Ovi and Mario are for sure better pure scorers than Crosby and Wayne who were more of the complete package counterparts. Its opinions, and I love that you shared yours. Thanks!

This is one heck of an "A-list" and the perfect case for the Mt. Rushmore of hockey to be extended to 20 faces.

Im a bit older, so on a tough list like Shannon's i would have to find a spot for Guy Lafleur,imagine him with a true #1 centerman, Marcel Dionne..........room for Lanny McDonald?? Denis Savard??? Or HM

Great video! I thought of another honorable mention: Rick Nash. I always thought he was a pretty solid goal scorer.

Tough list to make, because there's no single stat that makes it completely obvious. You have to compare eras where defensive strategies and goaltending styles/gear/height were different, and consider that some guys had careers shortened by injuries while others played well into their late 30s. That means you can't just look at total goals, and can't just look at goals per game. Kudos for taking such a list on.

I mean bold to put Garry Bettman at #1 Shanon but I love these list videos

Idea for a list video: best playmakers

I totally agree about Mike Bossy

He wasn't healthy long enough to be in consideration for an all-time list, but for about a 6 year span, Tim Kerr was a top three goal scorer.

Having been watching hockey since the early '70's I have to agree with Mike Bossy, who I think may have been the best pure goal scorer in the game. I would compare him to what Auston Matthews is doing in the modern era. For pure overall talent it has to be Mario Lemieux. What he was able to do despite all the injuries is amazing. He would be the equivalent of what Connor McDavid is today.

Crosby does not belong on this list His goals per game is way way below most of the others

That jersey is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 go pens!

Ovi forever will be the greatest goal scorer

I would put Guy Lafleur ahead of Jerome Iginla.

Lemiuex was basically a 6'5 230 lb Connor McDavid, i dont understand how a human that size skated as fast and moved as effortlessly as he did. I think Gretzky is the GOAT because his brain was 10 moves ahead of everyone ever but Lemiuex to me is the most talented player of all time.

Bossy for me is in a class of his own, a total runaway..I can only imagine how many goals he would have scored if the injury didnt end him..he would have easily got 1000 in an era with no fake overtime goals 4 on 4 or even worse now 3 on 3

I’m way to young to have seen him play but statistically Bossy is absolutely the greatest goal scorer considering he was healthy for only half his career over 1000 points in like 750 games or something like that!

I agree with your former list. Ovi, Bossy, Gretzky...

I think your list is very solid Shannon. I'm so glad that Mario has gone up I truely believe he was the greatest of all time. As for the full top 20 the only thing i can think of is that i really think marcel dionne should be there. I remember watching him as a kid and his goals were pretty magical.

Honorable mention: Ron Hextall