There are 45 members of the NHL's exclusive 500-goal club.

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 45 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.

February 2, 2017

Patrick Marleau (45) is the all-time Sharks leader in goals, even strength
goals, power play goals, points, shots and games played having spent his entire
 NHL career with the Sharks since being drafted second overall by the franchise
 in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. He was the youngest player in the 1997 draft
class, and he debuted immediately at the start of the 97-98 season. This
conceptually makes him the youngest player to ever play in the NHL. Let us
explain, thanks to Wikipedia and Hockey';s Future.com. In the modern draft era,
 it would be impossible to debut at an earlier age than Marleau, as he was born
 on the last day of the draft cut-off, and he debuted immediately in the first
game of the next season.Patrick Marleau (Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports)

October 18, 2016

Marian Hossa (44) has made five NHL All-Star Game appearances and played in
three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals with three different teams, finally
winning the Stanley Cup in 2009-10 with the third team, the Chicago
Blackhawks. Hossa also grew up with Marián Gáborík and Zdeno Chára in
Tren─├¡n, and remained close friends with them through his NHL career. Tren─├¡n
 honored the trio by naming three streets after each skater in 2015

January 10, 2016

Alexander Ovechkin (43) (Александр Михайлович Овечкин
 for those fluent in Cyrillic) has the most goals out of anyone in the NHL
since he came into the league during the 2005-06 season. Ovechkin has led the
NHL in goal scoring, and won the Rocket Richard Trophy, six times in his career
 - you can add three Hart Memorial Trophies, three Lester B. Pearson awards and
 an Art Ross to his trophy case as well. On January 11, 2017, Ovechkin scored
his 1,000th career point, becoming the 37th person in NHL history to reach
1,000 points with only one team.LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of
the Washington Capitals celebrates with the Stanley Cup (Photo by Jeff
Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)

January 7, 2012

Jarome Iginla (42) (or Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla as
 he';s known back home in Edmonton) made his NHL debut in the 1996 Stanley Cup
 playoffs, as he was signed to a contract and flown to Calgary immediately
after his junior season ended in Kamloops. He appeared in two games for the
Flames in their series against the Chicago Blackhawks. In his first NHL game,
Iginla assisted on a Theoren Fleury goal to record his first point -  he
scored his first goal in his second game.

He also received one of the best compliments ever when former Calgary Flames
general manager Craig Button described Iginla as being grounded: "He doesn';t
carry himself with any attitude or arrogance. He';s confident in his abilities.
 He';s self-assured. He';s genuine. He';s a better person than he is a player,
and we all know what kind of player he is."

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 20 goals in March, most ever by anyone in a calendar
month.MONTREAL 1990';s: Teemu Selanne #13 of the Winnipeg Jets skates against
the Montreal Canadiens in the early 1990';s at the Montreal Forum in Montreal,
Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Denis Brodeur/NHLI via Getty Images)

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.

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 scored 8 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!Brendan Shanahan #14 of the Detroit Red Wings (Tom Pidgeon
/NHLI/Getty Images)

January 2, 2002

We all know how valuableHall-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. On December 31, 1999 at 9:30 pm Central Time, Hull tallied
 his 601st NHL goal. He scored his 600th earlier in the same game.

January 31, 1996

There have been 7 rookies in NHL history to put up 100-points or more in their
first season. Dale Hawerchuk (23) was the first to do it in 1982. He was also
the first 18 year-old to record 100 points in the NHL. Too bad he retired at
the relatively young age of 34.

January 17, 1996

Steve Yzerman (22) scored every one of his 692 career goals with the Detroit
Red Wings. He was named team captain in 1986 at the age of 21 and served in
that capacity for the next 20 years. When he retired, he had been the
longest-serving captain of any team in North American major league sports
history. That's loyalty!Steve Yzerman (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty
Images)

November 6, 1995

Among other things, everyone knows that Mark Messier (21) was one of the
greatest players to ever play the game. His all-time stats prove it. He's the
only professional athlete to have captained

two different championship teams. Yeah, most real hockey fans already know
that. Did you know that Messier was the last active player that had played in
the 1970s? Also interesting is the fact that to this day, Mark Messieris second
 only to Gretzky in playoff goals scored 122-109. But his teams missed the
playoffs for the last 7 seasons of his career! Just think of what might have
been had he finished his playing days in say, Detroit or Ottawa or San Jose or
Philadelphia.

October 26, 1995Mario Lemieux - 1992 (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty
Images)

If we're going to play "what if", then there's no one more suitable to
speculate with than Mario Lemieux (20).  For an all-time record holder in so
many categories, "The Magnificent One" only played 915 regular season games, a
limited number for a superstar of his era. In 1988-89, the Pittsburgh Penguins
scored 347 goals. Mario won the scoring title that season with 199 points. That
 means he was in on 57.3% of Pittsburgh's total offence. Incredible! He even
missed four games due to injury. Yes, 57.3% is an NHL record.

January 8, 1994

It's about time the NHL recognized Dino Ciccarelli (19) for his extraordinary
hockey accomplishments. He is one of the most talented NHL'ers to never win a
Stanley Cup. Nevertheless, his 608 regular-season goals put him amongst the
all-time leaders. Ciccarelli established a playoff record in 1981 thatnobody to
 date has even come close to. His 14 goals as a rookie helped the Minnesota
North Stars advance all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

October 17, 1992

Riding shotgunforWayne Gretzky all those years didn't exactly hinder Jari
Kurri's (18) production. Kurri scored 71 goals in 1984-85, the most ever by
someone who didn't win the goal-scoring title. He continued to do quite well,
thank-you, after Gretzky's departure to L.A. and ended his NHL career with 601
goals. Jari Kurri (not Gretzky) holds the record for the most ever playoff
goals for one team. Between 1981 and 1990, Kurri potted 92 post-season goals
for the Edmonton Oilers.

February 16, 1992

A severe concussion forced Michel Goulet's (17) into early retirement in 1994
but not before this natural-born sniper had amassed 548 NHL goals. In 1983-84,
16 of Goulet's 56 goals or 28.6% were game-winners, most ever by a 50-goal
scorer. To put this amazing statistic into appreciative perspective, the next
best that season was Wayne Gretzky. He had 87 goals but only 11 were game
winners.

October 14, 1991

Mike Gartner (16) is one of only six players in NHL history to score more than
700 goals. He's the only player ever to bag 30 or more in one season with 5
different teams and holds the record for the most 30-goal seasons (17). Gartner
 never won the Stanley Cup nor did he ever even play in a Cup Final. He never
won any major NHL award, never won a scoring title, and was never named to the
postseason All-Star Team. All he did was score and score consistently. It got
him into the Hall of Fame.

February 13, 1990

Bryan Trottier (15) was a core player of the Islanders dynasty of the early
1980's. He accumulated a ton of team and individual silverware in his career.
There are a couple of incredible details in Trottier's career that stand out
and make him one of the best clutch players of all time. Between 1980 and '82,
Trottier recorded at least one point in 27 consecutive playoff games over three
 playoff seasons. Think about that for a second. It's truly astounding! His
closest rival in this category was Wayne Gretzky @ 19. Trottier also stands
alone as the only player in NHL history to record 6 points in one period. (3G,
 3A) - Dec 23, 1978. Nobody before and nobody since has done it.

March 21, 1989

Lanny McDonald (14) scored exactly 500 goals in the NHL. One particularly
spectacular season contributed handsomely to his final goal total. In 1982-83,
McDonald scored 66 times, 2nd only to Gretzky. Amazingly, Lanny did not reach
100 points that season. Earlier in his career, more specifically on Apr 17,
1977, Lanny became the first player to score 4 goals in a playoff game in a
losing cause. His Leafs lost 6-5 to the Flyers. McDonald's sweater #9 was the
first to be retired by the Calgary Flames.

November 22, 1986

There are many secondary records that Wayne Gretzky (13) doesn't own. The rest
are his. It only took "The Great One" 575 games to reach the 500-goal
milestone. He was just 25 years old. One Gretzky record stands out and
demonstrates just how much of an offensive factor he really was. Get this: Of
all the 500-goal scorers to date, Gretzky scored the fewest power-play goals,
as a percentage of his grand total. He scored 894 goals and 204 were with a man
 advantage. That's just 22.8%, the lowest margin of all 500 goal men. Gretzky
didn't need the power-play to prove he was great.

March 9, 1986

In 1970-71 Gilbert Perreault (12) of the Buffalo Sabres smashed a 45-year-old
record when he fired 38 goals, most ever by a rookie. Nels Stewart had scored
34 in 1925-26. Perreault's rookie record didn't last long. The following
season, Perreault assisted on most of the goals by his rookie line mate, Rick
Martin who set a new record when he scored 44. The record has since been
surpassed. The magnificence of Perreault's 1970-71 season has faded - slightly.

January 2, 1986

Mike Bossy (11) was drafted 15th overall in 1977. He was passed over twice by
the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Rangers and once by ten other teams. The
Islanders landed a gem. It took 36 years to duplicate but in 1980-81, Bossy
became the 2nd player behind Rocket Richard to score 50 goals in 50 games. His
fine accomplishments include a record of nine consecutive 50-goal seasons. He
scored 573 goals but only played 10 NHL seasons. One fabulous record Mike Bossy
 holds to himself came in the 1983 Conference Finals against Boston. Bossy
scored the game-winning goal in all four games the Islanders won. No one else
has ever scored all four game-winners in a best-of seven series.

December 20, 1983

Guy Lafleur (10) became the 10th player to score 500 goals in the NHL. He was
the 16th Canadiens'; player to win a scoring championship in 1977-78. Don't
tell your kids, but Lafleur's career took off after three seasons when he began
 playing without a helmet. Of Guy Lafleur's 560 career goals, 97 or 17.3% were
game winners, a margin higher than any other 500-goal scorer.

December 14, 1982

Marcel Dionne (9) has a long list of accomplishments to his credit, including
Hall-of-Fame induction in 1992. His 731 goals rank 4th all-time. Dionne was the
 NHL's first free agent in 1975. The concept was without precedent at the time
so the NHL intervened and demanded compensation for Detroit, the team that lost
 his services. In 1980-81 Marcel Dionne centered the L.A. Kings' "Triple Crown"
 line with Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer. They became the first threesome to
all have a 100-point season.TORONTO, CANADA - NOVEMBER 14: Marcel Dionne #16 of
 the Los Angeles Kings skates up ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs in game
action November 14, 1984 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario Canada.
(Photo by Graig Abel Collection/Getty Images)

February 27, 1977

Stan Mikita (8) won four scoring titles between 1964 and 1968. In 1964-65
Mikita set a record that has never been broken. His 154 penalty minutes were
the most ever by a scoring champion. Then Mikita experienced some kind of
mystical transformation. He also won a scoring title in 1966-67 but had only 12
 PIM's, also a record. The same guy has both the record for the most and the
least penalty minutes by a scoring champion. How weird is that?

October 30, 1975

Johnny Bucyk (7) might be the 500-goal club's all-time most perseverant member.
 He scored two goals during the 1959 playoffs and then endured a long Bruins'
playoff drought until he finally scored again in 1969 in Lord Stanley's
post-season. Nevertheless, he finished his Hall-of-Fame career with a very
respectable total of 41 playoff goals to go along with his 556 regular-season
goals. At 35 years old, Bucyk notched his first 50-goal season in 1970-71. He
remains the oldest ever player to score 50.

December 22, 1974

Phil Esposito (6) was the first player to record a 100-point season and later,
was the first to score 70 goals in a season. Led by Esposito during the 1970-71
 season, the "Big Bad Bruins" broke all kinds of team and individual records.
Still, the most unbelievable record Esposito set that season was his 550 shots
on goal. Nobody since has even come close. The only other player to come within
 100 of the record has been Alexander Ovechkin.

March 21, 1973

The "Big M" Frank Mahovlich (5) was the 3rd all-time great to reach the 500
plateau as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. Midway through the 1970-71
season, he was traded from Detroit to Montreal as the Red Wings were
experiencing the biggest ever (40) one-season decline in points by an NHL team.
 Meanwhile, Mahovlich went on to lead the 1971 playoffs in scoring and helped
the Canadiens win another Stanley Cup. Mahovlich never had a 50-goal season but
 he was the first to score 40 goals in one season with three different teams.
In 1973, he won the Cup again with the Canadiens who iced 11 future
Hall-of-Famers, the most ever.

February 11, 1971

The most extraordinary achievement in Jean Beliveau's (4) outstanding NHL
career is that he managed to get his name engraved on the Stanley Cup 17 times,
 10 as a player and 7 more as a Montreal Canadiens' executive. "Le Gros Bill"
captained five Stanley Cup champions, more than anybody else. He played in the
Stanley Cup Finals 12 times, a shared record. On January 23, 1956, Jean
Beliveau became the first hockey player to appear on the cover of Sports
Illustrated.

 

February 21, 1970

There were five 50-goal seasons during the 1960's and Bobby Hull (3) had four
of them. Enough said!  In fact, he was the first player to score more than 50
goals in one season. As a rookie in 1957, Bobby "The Golden Jet" Hull was on
the ice playing in just his 5th NHL game when Maurice Richard scored his 500th
career goal. Bobby Hull didn't score his first of 610 NHL goals until 2 games
later.

March 14, 1962

Gordie Howe's (2) career longevity is well documented. He's the only player to
have competed in the NHL in five decades from the 1940's to the ΓÇÿ80's. By
1961, he had become the first to play 1,000 games. Howe never had a 50-goal
season. His 801 goals were spread out over a long time. He won six scoring
titles, but perhaps more remarkably, he finished in the top 10 in scoring for
20 consecutive seasons. In his time, Gordie Howe broke and held many records.
Think about this one for a second; between 1965 and 1968 "Mr. Hockey" was both
the all-time leader in playoff points and penalty minutes. Tough? You bet!

October 19, 1957

The legend of Maurice "Rocket" Richard (1) only gets greater as time passes.
Richard set the first standard by which goal scorers where measured when he
scored 50 goals in the 50-game schedule of 1944-45. Nobody has ever had more
desire to score than the Rocket.  He is one of only two members of the
500-goal club (the other is Mario Lemieux.) to score five goals in one playoff
game. Before 1944, no one had even scored 10 goals in one playoff season.
Richard scored 12 in 9 games. He's the only player in NHL history to win a
playoff goal-scoring title in five different seasons.
--- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32
 * Origin: TequilaMockingbird Online - Toms River, NJ (1:266/404)