Tom Wilson’s Long Road to 30 Goals
Who took longer to get to 30? A couple of Hall of Famers, that's who
On Tuesday, Tom Wilson scored his 30th goal of the season against the Detroit Red Wings in a 4-1 victory. He did it in his 12th season in the league, which is the longest number of seasons it has taken a Caps player to reach 30 goals.
This high number of seasons isn’t criticism – it actually shows how much better he has become later in his career, which is something that doesn’t happen with most players. Wilson also has a career high in points right now.
The Caps have had 25 players who have scored 30 or more goals at least once, with Aliaksei Protas about to become the 26th as he currently has 29 goals.
The second longest it took a Caps player to reach 30 goals was Kevin Hatcher, with nine, though his first season was only two games so it was really eight. Hatcher and Mike Green are the only two defensemen on the list. It also took T.J. Oshie nine seasons, though he played most of those years with the St. Louis Blues.
Guy Charron, Geoff Courtnall, Jaromir Jagr, Bobby Carpenter, Mike Gartner, Dennis Maruk, Alex Ovechkin and Chris Valentine each scored 30 or more in their first season with the Caps.
About 1,200 NHL players have scored 30 goals in a season at least once, with their first 30-goal season typically coming within their first five seasons. Wilson’s 12 years is by far on the longer end, and goes to show just how much better of a player he has become.
However, it’s not a record. We found two others who took longer. Johnny Bucyk took 13 seasons, though he played fewer games per season back then, and Alex Delvecchio took 15 seasons. Both of those guys are in the Hall of Fame.
Here is a list of every 30+ goal scorer for the Caps, the number of seasons it took them to reach 30 goals (with the Caps), the number it took them in their career, the number they scored in their breakout season, the number of times they hit the plateau, and their career high in goals with the Caps.
| Player | Seasons to 30 w/ Caps | Seasons to 30 (Career) | Total that year | 30+ goal seasons w/ Caps | Career High w/ Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Wilson | 12 | 12 | ? | 1 | ? |
| Kevin Hatcher | 9 | 9 | 34 | 1 | 34 |
| Bengt Gustafsson | 5 | 5 | 32 | 1 | 32 |
| Mike Green | 4 | 4 | 31 | 1 | 31 |
| Craig Laughlin | 4 | 4 | 30 | 1 | 30 |
| Ryan Walter | 4 | 4 | 38 | 1 | 38 |
| Alan Haworth | 4 | 6 | 34 | 1 | 34 |
| Nicklas Backstrom | 3 | 3 | 33 | 1 | 33 |
| Peter Bondra | 3 | 3 | 37 | 9 | 52 |
| Tom Rowe | 3 | 3 | 31 | 1 | 31 |
| Mike Ridley | 3 | 5 | 41 | 2 | 41 |
| Dave Christian | 3 | 7 | 41 | 3 | 41 |
| Dino Ciccarelli | 2 | 2 | 41 | 2 | 41 |
| Dmitri Khristich | 2 | 2 | 36 | 2 | 36 |
| Alexander Semin | 2 | 2 | 38 | 3 | 40 |
| Chris Clark | 2 | 7 | 30 | 1 | 30 |
| T.J. Oshie | 2 | 9 | 33 | 1 | 33 |
| Bobby Carpenter | 1 | 1 | 32 | 3 | 53 |
| Mike Gartner | 1 | 1 | 36 | 9 | 50 |
| Dennis Maruk | 1 | 1 | 31 | 4 | 60 |
| Alex Ovechkin | 1 | 1 | 52 | 19 | 65 |
| Chris Valentine | 1 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 30 |
| Jaromir Jagr | 1 | 2 | 31 | 2 | 36 |
| Geoff Courtnall | 1 | 5 | 42 | 2 | 42 |
| Guy Charron | 1 | 8 | 36 | 2 | 38 |
