The 700 Club. No, not the one produced by a religious broadcasting network, but the select club of players in NHL history to reach the 700-goal mark for their careers. It is a small, elite group. It could be admitting a new member shortly. As Alex Ovechkin makes his final assault on the 700-goal summit, we take a look at the seven players who currently hold membership and the circumstances surrounding their admission to the Club.
The Players
In order of their admission, the seven players in the 700 Club include:
The Circumstances
Gordie Howe. The founding member of the club was, fittingly, “Mr. Hockey,” Gordie Howe. Playing in his 23rd season with the Detroit Red Wings, Howe had an opportunity to score his 700th career goal on home ice, at The Olympia in Detroit, but could not score a second goal on St. Louis goalie Glenn Hall after potting his 699th career goal in a 3-1 loss, nor could he get number 700 in a 3-3 tie with the Philadelphia Flyers three days later. His landmark achievement would have to be recorded on the road in a mostly empty arena (the photo above is of his 700th goal).
As it was reported at the time:
Phil Esposito. It was never much of a struggle, at least by NHL standards, for Phil Esposito to score goals. After spending his first four NHL seasons with the Chicago Black Hawks, Esposito arrived in Boston where he played for parts of nine seasons, including a five season stretch in which he topped 55 goals in all five seasons, 60 goals in four of them, and posted a 76-goal season in 1970-1971. By 1980 he was a New York Ranger, where he was in his fifth season. He went into an early February game against the Capitals on a roll, carrying a four-game goal scoring streak. He extended that streak to five with a pair of goals against the Caps, the second of which gaining him entry to the Club. From a story describing Esposito’s achievement:
Marcel Dionne. The second Ranger was admitted to the Club when Marcel Dionne gained entry on Hallowe’en 1987. On an individual level, Dionne’s career mirrored that of Esposito. He spent his first four years skating for the Detroit Red Wings before heading west to Los Angeles, where he played 12 seasons for the Kings. Six times he posted 50 or more goals and a total of 550 for the Kings before heading to New York. Early in his first full season with the Rangers, Dionne reached the 700-goal mark in an otherwise forgettable game against the Islanders on Long Island, as this story reported:
Wayne Gretzky. In his first 11 NHL seasons, Wayne Gretzky recorded 677 goals. It would have been a shock if he did not get to 700 in his 12th season, his third with the Kings after spending his first nine NHL seasons with the Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky accepted his membership card to the Club just after the calendar turned over to 1991. There was little mystery or suspense in the 700th goal. From a game report:
Mike Gartner. Like Gretzky, Mike Gartner got his start in the World Hockey Association before making his debut in the NHL and building a solid resume with a team over a long tenure. In ten seasons with the Capitals, Gartner recorded 397 goals. However, where Gretzky would have to move just once before reaching 700 career goals, Gartner took a meandering route, playing for the Minnesota North Stars, Rangers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs before landing in Phoenix to make his final push to 700 with the Coyotes in what would be his final season in the NHL. His 700th goal came against the Red Wings in what would be the Coyotes’ third straight tie game, extending a string of winless games to seven (three losses, four ties). As described at the time:
Brett Hull. It is a rather impressive feat to get almost half of the goals needed for 700 in a career in just a five-year period, but Brett Hull did just that over the 1989-1990 through 1993-1994 seasons with the St. Louis Blues (339 goals). By the time he arrived in Detroit to play for the Red Wings in 2001-2002 he was far removed from being that kind of goal scorer, but he was still formidable. He posted 30 goals in his first season in Detroit, bringing him to within 21 of 700. Hull got to 699 with a goal in 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in late January 2003, but then he went seven games without a goal in his quest to reach 700, his longest streak of games without a goal for the season. He would hit the mark in front of a home crowd at Joe Louis Arena in the second period of a 5-4 win over the San Jose Sharks, second fastest player to 700 goals behind only Gretzky…
Jaromir Jagr. It took 20 seasons and seven teams with a few years in the KHL thrown in for Jaromir Jagr to find his way into the Club, but he got there in March 2014 with the New Jersey Devils. That he would do it against the New York Islanders was not surprising, given that the Isles were the most frequent victim of his scoring at the time:
Fun Facts