Ranking the 10 Greatest Offenses in NHL History
He shoots...he scores!
That's the iconic celebration cry of hockey.
Good goaltending can be spectacular. We're told that defense wins championships. But for pure, entertaining fun on the ice, nothing beats a goal-fest.
When looking at the greatest offenses in NHL history, there are a number of factors to consider. The actual number of goals scored is important, but so is the era in which a team was playing. The style of the NHL game has changed a lot since the league opened for business back in 1917.
One can also weigh superstar scorers against balanced attacks on different teams and factor in the squad's ultimate success—did their scoring get them closer to Lord Stanley's mug?
You'll see one name appear again and again. It really shows what an important figure this man has been in the game. Can you think of who it will be?
Let's get started at No. 10.
Stats are courtesy of NHL.com and the 2000 NHL Official Guide and Record Book
10. 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings
1 of 10Games Played: 82 Goals For: 251 Goals Per Game: 3.06
Leading Scorer: Brendan Shanahan
80 GP 37-38-75 0.94 points per game
The 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings didn't lead the NHL in scoring—that honor went to the Vancouver Canucks, whom the Wings eventually defeated in the first round of the playoffs. Furthermore, their leading scorer, Brendan Shanahan, didn't even put up a point a game.
Nevertheless, the team was so successful and so talented that it warrants inclusion here. The Red Wings did more than just score goals—they were an incredibly balanced team, and playing in the "dead puck era," the Wings made the most of their situation.
Only a Hall of Fame coach like Scotty Bowman could have figured out how to divide ice time to satisfy not just Shanahan but also Sergei Fedorov, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov and even rookie Pavel Datsyuk. They all got 35 points or more.
The team also got solid scoring contributions from blueliners Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios.
The Red Wings won the 2002 Presidents' trophy with 116 points before going on to capture the Stanley Cup.
The video above captures all 16 of their game-winning playoff goals, starting with Lidstrom's infamous bomb from center ice against Dan Cloutier and the Vancouver Canucks.
9. 1989-90 Calgary Flames
2 of 10
Games Played: 80 Goals For: 348 Goals Per Game: 4.35
Leading Scorer: Joe Nieuwendyk
79 GP 45-50-95 1.20 points per game
The battle of Alberta was raging in 1989-90.
The Calgary Flames had just won the Stanley Cup and were pushing back against the post-Gretzky Oilers.
Calgary led the league in scoring with 348 goals, over 30 more than Edmonton, thanks to a balanced attack from the likes of Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour, Sergei Makarov and Gary Roberts up front, as well as the best power play pair in the league on the points—Al MacInnis and Gary Suter.
Sadly, a long run at the top was not in the cards for Calgary.
The Flames were upset by Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the 1990 playoffs. When Doug Gilmour was traded to Toronto as part of a 10-player deal in December of 1992, the team's decline began in earnest.
For a short time, the Calgary Flames were a stacked team—the class of the Western Conference.
8. 2009-10 Washington Capitals
3 of 10
Games Played: 82 Goals For: 313 Goals Per Game: 3.82
Leading Scorer: Alex Ovechkin
72 GP 50-59-109 1.51 points per game
In 2009-10, the Washington Capitals were on top of their game. They led the NHL in wins, won the Presidents' trophy and scored nearly 20 percent more goals than their closest rival, the Vancouver Canucks.
Alex Ovechkin led the team with his third straight 100-plus-point season and was joined in the century club by linemate Nicklas Backstrom. Ovechkin was also named captain midway through the campaign.
Despite the near-perfect regular season, the Caps couldn't bring the same success to the playoffs. They were defeated in seven games in the first round by the No. 8 seed Montreal Canadiens, one of the biggest upsets in playoff history.
7. 1980-81 Los Angeles Kings
4 of 10Games Played: 80 Goals For: 337 Goals Per Game: 4.21
Leading Scorer: Marcel Dionne
80 GP 58-77-135 1.69 points per game
Long before Wayne Gretzky made hockey a household word in Los Angeles, the Kings boasted one of the best offensive lines in hockey.
The Triple Crown Line of Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor came together in 1979 and had its best year in 1980-81. The trio was 161-191-352 on the season, averaging 4.4 points a game as a line.
Dionne, Simmer and Taylor all finished in the top 10 in NHL scoring that year and skated out together as they were announced at the 1981 All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Still, their offensive prowess was largely overshadowed.
The Los Angeles market didn't garner much attention in those days, and the New York Islanders dynasty was at its peak. Also, after Dionne shared the scoring title with Wayne Gretzky in 1979-80, the Great One beat him out by 29 points during the Triple Crown Line's most prolific season.
6. 1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins
5 of 10Games Played: 80 Goals For: 343 Goals Per Game: 4.29
Leading Scorer: Mario Lemieux
64 GP 44-87-131 2.05 points per game
The early '90s Pittsburgh Penguins were an exuberant group that lived to beat the other guys by getting one more goal.
The team won its first-ever Stanley Cup in 1991. Its play was dialed up another notch the following season when Scotty Bowman stepped in after coach Bob Johnson was diagnosed with brain cancer.
Bowman let his horses run free. Mario Lemieux led the league in scoring with 131 points despite missing 16 games with various injuries. Kevin Stevens was second in the Art Ross race and led the team with 54 goals. Joe Mullen, Mark Recchi, Jaromir Jagr, Larry Murphy and Ron Francis also chipped in with 20 goals or more on a deep, talented squad.
Lemieux missed five playoff games after his hand was broken by an Adam Graves slash during the Patrick Division final, but he still scored 34 points in 15 games to lead the playoffs in scoring and win the Conn Smythe trophy.
The video is a summary of the Penguins' Cup-winning 1991-92 season.
5. 1981-82 New York Islanders
6 of 10Games Played: 80 Goals For: 385 Goals Per Game: 4.81
Leading Scorer: Mike Bossy
80 GP 64-83-147 1.84 points per game
1981-82 was the third of the New York Islanders' four Stanley Cup wins and marked the team's offensive peak. Mike Bossy posted his career year with 147 points and was supported by seven other 20-goal scorers. Bryan Trottier also had a noteworthy season with 50 goals and 129 points.
The '81-82 Islanders also boasted the top power play in the league and set an NHL record with 15 consecutive wins between January 21 and February 20, 1982.
The juggernaut continued right through the postseason, with Mike Bossy winning the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP. The video shows the Islanders' three goals in their 1982 Cup-winning game against the Vancouver Canucks.
4. 1917-18 Montreal Canadiens
7 of 10
Games Played: 22 Goals For: 115 Goals Per Game: 5.22
Leading Scorer: Joe Malone
20 GP 44-4-48 2.40 points per game
In the vintage NHL era, its first season, 1917-18, was a wide-open affair. Goals came fast and furious, and the Montreal Canadiens were the most prolific of all.
Newsy Lalonde put up 23 goals for the Habs, but his exploits paled in comparison to the league's first superstar, Joe Malone. His 44 goals in 20 games is a record that has never been touched.
By the time Maurice Richard potted 50 goals in 1944-45, the schedule had increased to 50 games.
3. 1970-71 Boston Bruins
8 of 10Games Played: 78 Goals For: 399 Goals Per Game: 5.11
Leading Scorer: Phil Esposito
78 GP 76-76-152 1.95 points per game
The 1970-71 Boston Bruins were one of the very best offensive teams in history. Their 399 goals were over 100 more than any other team that year—Montreal placed second with 291.
Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr topped the NHL scoring race, and both had career years. Orr, a defenseman, potted 37 goals and 139 points. The offense didn't stop there—in 1970-71, the Bruins set a record by having 10 players on their roster score 20 goals or more.
The Bruins' Stanley Cup dreams needed to wait one more year. In the 1971 playoffs, rookie goalie Ken Dryden found a way to stymie all that offense and steal the first-round series in seven games for his Montreal Canadiens.
The video above shows the relentlessness of Boston's attack at the time. In a game from February 1971, Minnesota's Lorne "Gump" Worsley stopped 63 of 67 shots to earn a 4-4 tie for his team.
2. 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens
9 of 10
Games Played: 80 Goals For: 387 Goals Per Game: 4.84
Leading Scorer: Guy Lafleur
80 GP 56-80-136 1.70 points per game
The 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens are widely regarded as the best-ever complete NHL team. Not only did they lead the NHL in regular-season scoring, they outscored their opponents by 216 goals over the course of the 80-game schedule—a differential of 2.7 goals a game.
Coached by Scotty Bowman and led by Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt up front, this Canadiens group also got huge offensive contributions from the blue line. Larry Robinson put up 19 goals, 85 points and was a staggering plus-120, while Guy Lapointe was right behind him with 76 points and a plus-69.
The 1976-77 Canadiens lost just eight regular-season and two playoff games before hoisting the franchise's 20th Stanley Cup. They were truly in a class of their own.
1. 1983-84 Edmonton Oilers
10 of 10Games Played: 80 Goals For: 446 Goals Per Game: 5.57
Leading Scorer: Wayne Gretzky
74 GP 87-118-205 2.77 points per game
The Edmonton Oilers dynasty won its first Stanley Cup in 1984 after a record-breaking regular season that still stands alone for pure offense.
Led by a young Wayne Gretzky, the Oilers' talented core came together with more scoring punch than we'd ever seen before. Gretzky broke the 200-point barrier while Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri and Mark Messier all had over 100 points and Glenn Anderson scored 99. The Oilers dominated the regular season with 119 points and ultimately dethroned the New York Islanders as champions.
Gretzky would go on to top himself with 208 and 215 points in the two subsequent seasons, but as a team, Edmonton was at its offensive best in '83-84.
As you'll see in the video above, the Oilers had so much puck luck in the '80s that sometimes they didn't even need to touch it to get it in the net.
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