Alex Ovechkin added one more record to his arsenal of recoreds set during the 2018-19 season. He led the NHL in goals, once again, this time with 51 goals. This is the eighth time he has led the league in goals, which is the most times any player has done so. It broke a tie with Bobby Hull.
Ovechkin had previously led the league in goals during the following seasons:
2007-08,
2008-09,
2012-13,
2013-14,
2014-15,
2015-16,
2017-18.
He will be presented with his eight Rocket Richard Trophy at the NHL Awards Ceremony this summer in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Rocket Richard trophy has only been awarded for the Top NHL goal scorer since the 1998-1999 season. Ovechkin has received that award more times for his career than anyone else.
Bobby Hull had lead the NHL in goals during the 1959-60, 1061-62, 1963-64, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68, and 1968-70 seasons. Among other prominent NHL greats, Phil Esposito had lead the league in goals in six consecutive seasons, from 1969-70 through 1974-75.
Wayne Gretzky had lead the league five times, including consecutive seasons from 1981-82 through 1984-85 and also in 1986-87; Maurice “Rocket” Richard had led the league or tied for the league lead in five different seasons: 1944-45, 1946-47, 1949-50, 1953-54, and 1954-55; Gordie Howe had led the league three consecutive years from 1950-51 through 1952-53 and again in 1956-57.
By Diane Doyle
Today was “Sack the Coach Day” 2019 in the NHL. Here’s a knowledgeable assessment of the circus with the Sabres in Buffalo: “Kim Pegula is the female version of the late Leafs owner Harold Ballard—always wanted a winner, but kept interfering all the time with his GMs and coaches. Never knew when to leave well-enough alone. Refused to pay his players, coaches, and GMs what they were worth (similar to the Bruins’ Jacobs clan). He was always the smartest one in the room, and woe unto the person who challenged or crossed him. He got rid of Lanny McDonald, Darryl Sittler, Mike Palmateer, Davey Keon, Punch Imlach, and many others who so much as looked at him wrong. The same thing is happening with the Sabres—Kim Pegula (and Terry Pegula to a lesser extent) have NO CLUE how to run a professional sports franchise, let alone two of them. However, they did do something right for once: they canned Housley. Housley was a talented but soft player, and the Sabres were an extension of his personality and philosophy—talented but oh-so-soft. Welp, back to the drawing board for the umpteenth time in Pegulaville!”
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