List of NHL players with 50 goal seasons Scoring 50 goals in one season is one of the most celebrated individual achievements in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . The feat was first accomplished in 1944 – 45 by Maurice Richard . Bernie Geoffrion became the second player to reach the milestone 16 years later in 1960 – 61 . Fifty - goal seasons increased in frequency during 1970s and 1980s as offense increased across the league . By 1980 , it had been reached 24 times in NHL history ; the plateau was reached 76 times in the 1980s . Wayne Gretzky scored his 50th goal in his 39th game in 1981 – 82 , the fastest any player has done so . He also shares the record for most 50 - goal seasons with Mike Bossy , each having reached the milestone nine times in their careers . A record fourteen players exceeded 50 goals in 1992 – 93 , after which offence declined across the league , and with it the number of players to reach the total . For the first time in 29 years , no player scored 50 goals in 1998 – 99 . The mark has been reached 185 times in NHL history by 87 players . Three players reached the 50 - goal plateau in 2009 – 10 : Alexander Ovechkin , Steven Stamkos and Sidney Crosby History . Joe Malone scored 44 goals for the Montreal Canadiens – in 20 games – in the NHL ' s inaugural season of 1917 – 18 . It was a record that stood nearly 30 years . The introduction of the centre red line and permission of forward passing out of the defensive zone in 1943 increased scoring ; six players scored 30 goals in 1943 – 44 , the first time in league history so many players reached that total in one season . Maurice Richard averaged a goal per game in 1944 – 45 and surpassed Malone ' s record late in the season . He was as obsessed with reaching the 50 - goal mark as his opponents were at preventing it . Richard faced opponents who repeatedly elbowed , hooked and held him in an effort to prevent him from reaching 50 . As a result , he scored only seven goals in his final 13 games . Richard scored his 50th goal , in 50 games , in the third period of Montreal ' s final game of the season against the Boston Bruins . The league introduced the Maurice " Rocket " Richard Trophy in his honour in 1999 . Richard ' s mark stood untouched for 16 seasons until Bernie Geoffrion became the second player to score 50 goals in 1960 – 61 , doing so in his 62nd game of the season . Early in the 1960s , Chicago Black Hawks teammates Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull began experimenting with curved blades , noticing that different bends made shots more unpredictable for goaltenders . Mikita led the NHL in scoring four times using a curved blade , while Hull became the third player in NHL history to score 50 goals in 1961 – 62 . It was the first of five times he would reach the milestone . Phil Esposito scored 50 goals in five consecutive seasons in the 1970s , led by a then - NHL record 76 goals in 1970 – 71 . By 1980 , 24 players had reached the mark . Mike Bossy joined Richard as the second person in league history to score 50 goals in 50 games in 1980 – 81 . He did so by scoring two goals in the final five minutes of the New York Islanders ' 50th game . Bossy , who had set a league rookie - scoring record with 53 goals in 1977 – 78 , surpassed the 50 - goal mark in each of his first nine NHL seasons . The 1980s represented one of the highest scoring eras in NHL history , and of the 185 50 - goal seasons by 2008 – 09 , 76 of them were accomplished in this decade . Wayne Gretzky was responsible for nine of those seasons , including his league record 92 goals in 1981 – 82 . In that season , Gretzky scored five goals in his 39th game of the season to total 50 , bettering Richard and Bossy by 11 games as the fastest to reach the mark . A record 14 players scored 50 goals in 1992 – 93 . Among them was Teemu Selanne , who scored 76 goals as a rookie , surpassing Bossy ' s record for first - year players by 23 goals . Brett Hull scored over 50 goals five times in the 1990s , equalling his father ' s totals in the 1960s . As teams shifted their focus to defensive play rather than offensive , scoring rapidly declined in the late 1990s . No player scored 50 in 1998 – 99 , the first time that had happened in 29 years , excluding the lockout shortened 1994 – 95 NHL season . Only five players reached the 50 - goal mark between 1999 and 2004 : Pavel Bure , Joe Sakic , Jaromir Jagr , Jarome Iginla and Milan Hejduk . Following the 2004 – 05 lockout that cancelled the season , the league introduced numerous rule changes designed to increase scoring . Five players scored 50 in 2005 – 06 , however the number of players reaching 50 goals has decreased since . Alexander Ovechkin was the only player to do so in 2008 – 09 . Ovechkin scored 50 goals for the fourth time in his career in 2009 – 10 . He was one of three players to reach the mark , joined by Steven Stamkos and Sidney Crosby .