When I was in Vegas (2nd week of December), I grabbed all the futures sheets . I wasn't betting anything, but I like to look at them. At that point in the season there was a sheet for most goals and Stamkos was listed at 4 to 1. I think he had around 15 at the time. I no longer have the sheet, but I believe Crosby was on it at something like 7 to 1 and he was still out.
Last of the 60-goal scorers?
Steven Stamkos may be final skater to top the 60 mark
By Neil Greenberg | ESPN Insider
Steven Stamkos is virtually a lock to win the Rocket Richard trophy, given to the NHL's leading goal scorer. The Tampa Bay Lightning sniper has 50 tallies on the season, five more than his closest rival (Evgeni Malkin), and if he can manage 10 goals in his remaining nine games he will become just the second player in 11 seasons to hit the 60-goal mark.
It's tough to argue that there is a more electrifying young center in the NHL with a higher offensive ceiling than Stamkos (with the exception of a healthy Sidney Crosby), but is it probable that he will add a 60-goal season to his already impressive résumé?
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Alex Ovechkin tallied 65 goals during the 2007-08 season, making him the last player to reach or exceed 60 goals for a full season. Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux (69) and likely Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr (62) were the last two 60-goal scorers before that, each hitting the mark in the 1995-96 season.
Stamkos, the top pick in the 2008 NHL draft, had 23 goals his rookie season, then had 51 and 45 in his next two. He has once again hit the 50-goal mark and is within striking distance of 60.
"[Stamkos] has taken this quest of becoming a complete player and a winner very, very seriously," says Lightning head coach Guy Boucher. "And that's why he's benefiting from scoring from all angles, all kinds of situations: whether it's a breakaway, 2-on-1, wraparound, screen, tip, jam. He does it all."
Despite Stamkos' skill, one obstacle may prove insurmountable in his -- or anyone's -- quest for 60: the NHL's current scoring environment.
Teams have been scoring fewer goals per game each year since the 2005-06 season. Back then, teams were scoring more than three goals, on average, each time they laced up, with almost six power-play opportunities per game.
Today, teams are scoring fewer than three goals per game and it is rare to see even a total of six opportunities with the man advantage, let alone one team ending up with six. That means scorers need to adapt their game continually, and Stamkos has done that. This season, just 10 of his 50 goals have been scored during a power play -- quite a departure from the past two seasons, when he scored 24 and 17, respectively.
"I think it's an adjustment that all the top guns had to make," explains Boucher. "We were preparing for that, so that [Stamkos] wouldn't be stuck having to get half the goals because half of them had come from the power play from the previous year. We worked on that, and he bought into it and he found other ways [to score]."
So realistically, what are the chances Stamkos has a 60-goal season? Unfortunately, not great.
If we break down his career into a series of 298 10-game stretches -- with the first being Games 1-10, the second Games 2-11, etc. -- Stamkos has had 10 or more goals in 26 of those. And that would put his chances at 8.7 percent. But if we look at his scoring rate for this season (0.69 goals per game), the chances are even lower, at 2 percent.
Looks as if we may have to wait before we see another 60-goal performance, if one ever happens again.
Steven Stamkos may be final skater to top the 60 mark
By Neil Greenberg | ESPN Insider
Steven Stamkos is virtually a lock to win the Rocket Richard trophy, given to the NHL's leading goal scorer. The Tampa Bay Lightning sniper has 50 tallies on the season, five more than his closest rival (Evgeni Malkin), and if he can manage 10 goals in his remaining nine games he will become just the second player in 11 seasons to hit the 60-goal mark.
It's tough to argue that there is a more electrifying young center in the NHL with a higher offensive ceiling than Stamkos (with the exception of a healthy Sidney Crosby), but is it probable that he will add a 60-goal season to his already impressive résumé?
<offer></offer>
Alex Ovechkin tallied 65 goals during the 2007-08 season, making him the last player to reach or exceed 60 goals for a full season. Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux (69) and likely Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr (62) were the last two 60-goal scorers before that, each hitting the mark in the 1995-96 season.
Stamkos, the top pick in the 2008 NHL draft, had 23 goals his rookie season, then had 51 and 45 in his next two. He has once again hit the 50-goal mark and is within striking distance of 60.
"[Stamkos] has taken this quest of becoming a complete player and a winner very, very seriously," says Lightning head coach Guy Boucher. "And that's why he's benefiting from scoring from all angles, all kinds of situations: whether it's a breakaway, 2-on-1, wraparound, screen, tip, jam. He does it all."
Despite Stamkos' skill, one obstacle may prove insurmountable in his -- or anyone's -- quest for 60: the NHL's current scoring environment.
Teams have been scoring fewer goals per game each year since the 2005-06 season. Back then, teams were scoring more than three goals, on average, each time they laced up, with almost six power-play opportunities per game.
Today, teams are scoring fewer than three goals per game and it is rare to see even a total of six opportunities with the man advantage, let alone one team ending up with six. That means scorers need to adapt their game continually, and Stamkos has done that. This season, just 10 of his 50 goals have been scored during a power play -- quite a departure from the past two seasons, when he scored 24 and 17, respectively.
"I think it's an adjustment that all the top guns had to make," explains Boucher. "We were preparing for that, so that [Stamkos] wouldn't be stuck having to get half the goals because half of them had come from the power play from the previous year. We worked on that, and he bought into it and he found other ways [to score]."
So realistically, what are the chances Stamkos has a 60-goal season? Unfortunately, not great.
If we break down his career into a series of 298 10-game stretches -- with the first being Games 1-10, the second Games 2-11, etc. -- Stamkos has had 10 or more goals in 26 of those. And that would put his chances at 8.7 percent. But if we look at his scoring rate for this season (0.69 goals per game), the chances are even lower, at 2 percent.
Looks as if we may have to wait before we see another 60-goal performance, if one ever happens again.
Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos joined the NHL's 60-goal club when he scored 3:29 into the third period of the Lightning's season-ending game at Winnipeg on Saturday night.
