NHL 2011-12 Preview: 8 Players Who Will Score 50 Goals This Season

This past season, an Anaheim Ducks star took home the Rocket Richard Trophy for the NHL's top scorer after he netted 50 goals. The 50-goal plateau is considered quite the achievement in the league, and once a player crosses it, he is usually guaranteed the No. 1 spot. 

I believe that this season will produce not just one 50-goal scorer, but eight of them. 

Hear me out. After the shuffling that occurred since free agency began on July 1st, many star players are now in a position to score like they never have in their careers. Other players, like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, had shortened seasons due to injury and will be back in top form for (hopefully) a full campaign this year. 

The last time that eight players scored 50 goals in a season was 1995-96, three years before the Richard Trophy's inauguration. The competition that year was fierce as Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk were tied in seventh place in the league with 50 goals, while Mario Lemieux topped everyone with a respectable 69 goals. 

Out of the top 20-goal scorers in the 1995-96 season, only one remains active in the NHL. We are now in a new age in the NHL, a post-lockout era with more emphasis on scoring and many superstars capable of reaching the 50-goal mark. Here's my list of players who will rival the '96 league-leaders. 

I'd like to hear any comments you have on these guys or anyone else who you think I left off the list. You can also follow me on Twitter @adavis_29

Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks: Scored 50 Goals Once in Career

Picking this as my first slide seems like an obvious chose to me, while it may come across as completely nuts to some. 

Perry, the only player to score 50 goals last year, can and will do it again this year. Why, you ask? Simply because his efforts this season were not a fluke at all.

Consider the fact that although this was the first time he accomplished this feat, Perry scored 25 goals before the All-Star break and the second set of 25 afterwards. This breaks down to very consistent scoring overall. However, taking a deeper look at his stat sheet, Perry doesn't just score consistently—he also scores when it counts. 

In Anaheim's last 13 games of the season, a span in which they were fighting against other tough Western Conference teams, Perry had 16 goals and nine assists. He scored because Anaheim needed him to score—something that will not change heading into next year. 

Perry has it in him to consistently be at the top of the stat charts and he will put up huge numbers this year for a Ducks team that still needs him to be their go-to guy. 

Ilya Kovalchuk, New Jersey Devils: Scored 50 Goals Twice in Career

To me, Kovalchuk falls into two categories heading into the upcoming season: 1) necessity role, and 2) bounce-back player.

First of all, New Jersey needs him to score. A lot. The Devils are not known as a high-octane offensive team and in order to make it back into the playoffs, they need their top guns to be firing on all cylinders. Kovalchuk must put up 50 goals in order to make his contract and place on the Devils worthwhile.

Secondly, Kovalchuk is an elite scorer; he knows that just as much as I do. He had a pretty rough season this past year, putting up a solid but not amazing 31 goals and 60 points. That's just not good enough, and he knows it.

Kovalchuk will score 50 to get his name included with the top players in the league again, and he has the ability to do just that. 

Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets: Never Scored 50 Goals Before

Rick Nash is undoubtedly one of the most skilled players in the league, yet the closest he has ever come to 50 goals was 41 back in 2003-04. However, he also has never played a full 82-game season, and never had a talented, true centerman to feed him the puck. 

Nash teamed with Jeff Carter could become an incredible duo this year and they are backed by the motivation to finally get Columbus into the playoffs and out of the NHL's basement. Motivation, skill and one of the top centers in the league is a recipe for success for Nash to finally score 50 and graduate to an elite level as a player. 

Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals: Scored 50 Goals Four Times

Ovechkin is definitely the easiest pick on this list as not only has he scored 50-plus goals multiple times, he even had a 65-goal year, in only his third season in the league.

Like Kovalchuk, Ovechkin falls into the bounce-back category. He took a lot of heat before last year for focusing on scoring too much and being too flashy while not being the leader that Washington needed him to be. Well, look where that got them. 

I wasn't part of the group that scrutinized Ovechkin and I believe that he will realize that his 32-goal performance from this past year will just not cut it. Ovechkin will have to lead by example and show the Capitals that he isn't taking any prisoners and will play his ass off for this team. Doing that, he can easily score 50 goals, as well as possibly take the Capitals deep into the playoffs. 

Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning: Scored 50 Goals Once in Career

Stamkos is not only the future of the Lightning, but he is also the future of the NHL. He is one of the most dynamic players in the league right now and has huge potential to have several 50-plus-goal seasons. 

Tampa Bay lost Simon Gagne to the Kings and Martin St. Louis is not getting any younger, so Stamkos must really up his game if he wants the Lightning to still be a playoff contender. Stamkos seems to get better after each season he plays and is very likely to build on his 45 goals from last year and reach the pinnacle of 50 once again. 

Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks: Never Scored 50 Goals in a Season

Marleau's stat lines are about to skyrocket as a result of San Jose's dealings in the offseason. The Sharks dealt two of their top goal-producing forwards to Minnesota, and there is suddenly a lot more room for Marleau to spread his wings and score some goals. 

Marleau came close to the 50 mark two years ago with 44, which shows that given the right opportunities he has what it takes to be a big goal-scorer. He just needs to hope that Marty Havlat doesn't steal the spotlight this year. 

Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames: Scored 50 Goals Twice in Career

Iginla definitely has the skill to league the lead in goals, and all he has to do is kick into high gear. A two-time winner of the Rocket Richard Trophy, Iginla is arguably the most consistent scorer of the last decade. He's tallied at least 30 goals every season since 2000-01, and had two 50-goal seasons during that stretch. 

If Iginla wants to show the fans in Calgary (and himself) that he still has some gas in the tank, he needs an offensive explosion and serious goal production. Last year's total of 43 was close but he can do better than that. 

Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins: Never Scored 50 Goals in a Season

Unless Malkin wants to be forever known as the guy drafted after Ovechkin, he needs an outstanding season under his belt. However, he has been bit by the injury bug a few times, and his career has been relatively short so I think we can let it slide that he still hasn't hit 50. 

His career high is 47, and he has had over 30 twice so we know that Malkin can score. The question is whether he will push himself over the 50-goal mark and join the elite scoring club in the NHL. Malkin can do it, and if he manages to stay healthy for an entire year, the motivation of wanting to beat out Crosby and become the No. 1 guy on the Pens could lead to a serious goal-filled year. If he plays at least 75 games, it's going to happen.