Who scored 30 goals last season? The first skaters that come to mind are Auston Matthews (69 goals), Connor McDavid (32), Nathan MacKinnon (51), and Nikita Kucherov (44). Some also had breakout seasons that are hard to forget, notably Zach Hyman and Sam Reinhart, who both surpassed the 50-goal mark.
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Forty-seven players scored 30 goals or more last season and while some names are obvious, others will require the casual fan to double-check and say “Wow! Frank Vatrano scored 37 goals?!” (he’s on the list by the way). Let’s look at some of the under-the-radar skaters or the ones who quietly had a great goal-scoring season.
Blake Coleman – 30 Goals
Even in a retooling season, the Calgary Flames still had a few forwards step up and put together great seasons. Nazem Kadri scored 29 goals and 46 assists while Yegor Sharangovich, who was a key part of the Tyler Toffoli trade, scored 31 goals and 28 assists. Within that mix was Blake Coleman proving he’s still got enough firepower in him at 32 years old to be a constant scoring threat. Playing all over the forward unit, he scored a career-high 30 goals with many of them coming on the rush where he showed a burst of speed to find open looks. Last season proved that he will be a player the Flames can build a competitive team around and assemble a fast-paced forward unit with him being a key part of it.
Kyle Palmieri – 30 Goals
The best scorer on the New York Islanders is Brock Nelson. He has scored 30 goals or more in each of the past three seasons and led the team with 34 last season. The next remarkable scorer on the team is Bo Horvat, who scored 33 goals and proved that when he gets space in the center of the offensive zone, he’ll take advantage. The skater that many forget about is Kyle Palmieri, the veteran who continues to produce at a high level.
Playing on the wing of the Nelson-led line allows Palmieri to find open shots from the face-off circle. With a quick release and an accurate shot, he is a constant scoring threat in the offensive zone. Despite a slow start, he found a way to get to the 30-goal mark with a great second half which included 19 goals in the final 35 games played.
Trevor Moore – 31 Goals
Some players just know where their bread is buttered. Trevor Moore knows the best place to find the back of the net is from the slot and near the net. It showed last season, he scored 21 of his 31 goals from those two areas, according to NHL EDGE. It wasn’t just luck and scoring instincts either. Moore scored a lot of those goals with a quick release and a wrist shot that could expose goaltenders out of position. His big season makes him a player to watch in 2024-25 as he’ll continue to benefit from playing on the same line as Phillip Danault to give the Kings a deep forward unit.
Wyatt Johnston – 32 Goals
It’s hard to call Wyatt Johnston an under-the-radar scorer at this point. He scored 32 goals last season and 10 in the playoffs to lead the Dallas Stars in goals. On a team with eight 20-goal scorers, Johnston was the leader, and at 20 years old, he proved that he’ll be making a big impact for years to come.
What makes Johnston special is all the ways he can find the back of the net. He’ll find open looks and bury them but he’ll also finish scoring chances near the net and in the dirty areas. On top of that, he can both win in space and when the game tightens up as it tends to do in the playoffs. It’s hard to see any skater becoming the next great scorer like Matthews but if there’s one young player who can, it’s Johnston.
Clayton Keller – 33 Goals
Playing in the desert didn’t do Clayton Keller any favors last season and in his career as a whole. The national audience has missed out on one of the best young skaters in the NHL and last season, which was the final one for the Arizona Coyotes (for the time being), showed it. He scored 33 goals and carried the offense. With the Coyotes moving to Utah, Keller will lead a young and promising group that looks to take a big leap this season and the new setting could finally bring some attention to a player who has been great for a few seasons now.
Frank Vatrano – 37 Goals
The Anaheim Ducks were one of the worst teams in the NHL last season and it was noticeable that they were rebuilding. While young skaters searched for ice time, there was a prime opportunity for veterans who played every game to pile up the points. Vatrano took advantage. He played in all 82 games and scored a career-high 37 goals, eclipsing his previous best by 13 goals. The Ducks have a young roster but at 30, Vatrano remains a key player for them to build around or trade halfway through the season if he continues to find the back of the net (he will be a free agent in the 2025 offseason, so keep an eye out for him).
William Nylander – 40 Goals
At this point in William Nylander’s career, it’s not a surprise that he’s a 30-goal scorer. What is a surprise is that he’s a perennial 40-goal scorer and reached the mark for the second season in a row. Matthews garners a lot of attention as one of the game’s best scorers and his 69 goals stole the show, but Nylander not only created scoring chances in the top six but he continued to score at a high level from the wing position.
Nylander signed an eight-year extension halfway through the season and it’s a sign that he’s a part of the long-term plans for the Maple Leafs. There’s a new head coach plus a new captain and more changes will come if the team once again fails to win the Cup. However, two things that will remain are Matthews, and his dynamic scoring, and Nylander and his great play across the board.
Jonathan Marchessault – 42 Goals
It’s amazing that the Vegas Golden Knights allowed one of the faces of the franchise and a 42-goal scorer to leave in free agency. But they did, and Jonathan Marchessault left the team he helped lead to a Stanley Cup title with a bang. He proved throughout his Golden Knights tenure that he can impact the game in multiple ways but last season, he showed that he’s at his best in the offensive zone, where he can take over games with his great skill.
Mikko Rantanen – 42 Goals
Mikko Rantanen might be one of the most underrated players in the NHL. On a team with plenty of star power, he continues to stand out as a great scorer on the wing. Sure, MacKinnon scored 51 goals on his way to a Hart Trophy and Cale Makar made a case to win the Norris Trophy but Rantanen once again played a pivotal role for a top-heavy offense and helped make it one of the best in the league. He enters the final year of his contract and another big goal-scoring season will have him breaking the bank in the 2025 offseason.
Kirill Kaprizov – 46 Goals
Even in a season where everything went wrong and the Minnesota Wild failed to recover from a slow start and missed the playoffs, Kirill Kaprizov delivered. He’s one of the handful of elite skaters who can take over a game at any point, yet often goes unnoticed compared to MacKinnon, McDavid, and Matthews. Last season was one where the national audience didn’t pay attention to Kaprizov but he was once again incredible.
Kaprizov scored 46 goals but most of them came in a strong finish where he found the back of the net roughly every night. In the final 28 games, he scored 26 goals while also tacking on 19 assists and did so with his speed and quick shot from the wing. Whether it’s gashing opponents on the rush or firing shots past goaltenders, the sure thing every season is that Kaprizov will score 40 goals or more and singlehandedly make the Wild competitive.
Filip Forsberg – 48 Goals
The Nashville Predators signed two 40-goal scorers this offseason, adding Marchessault and Steven Stamkos to the forward unit. Yet, the leader remains Filip Forsberg who has established himself as one of the best in the game but seems to outdo himself every season. He scored 48 goals which was a career-best and at 30 years old, he’s showing no signs of slowing down. What made last season impressive is that he generated offense without the strongest supporting cast, making the upcoming season all the more exciting as he’ll be playing on the same forward unit as Stamkos and Marchessault.
The Surprise 50-Goal Scorers
It’s hard for anyone who scores 50 goals to go unnoticed and for the four skaters who eclipsed that threshold, they all stood out throughout the season. However, Hyman and Reinhart were the big surprises. Neither skater scored 40 goals or more before last season began and the two combined for 111 goals.
Hyman and Reinhart also ended up on a collision course that culminated in a memorable Stanley Cup Final. Hyman scored 16 goals to lead all skaters in the playoffs and help the Edmonton Oilers reach the Final. Reinhart scored 10 goals but his final one was the more important of the playoffs as he scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 to lead the Florida Panthers to a 2-1 victory and the title.
Was there are 30-goal scorer who went unnoticed? Let us know in the comments section below!
