Which player holds the NHL single-season record with 92 goals in 1981-82?

Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL single-season record with 92 goals in 1981–82.

Playing for the Edmonton Oilers, Gretzky scored 92 goals in 80 games, breaking Phil Esposito’s previous record of 76 goals set with the Boston Bruins in 1970–71. Gretzky also produced 120 assists and 212 points that season, leading the league in all three major offensive categories.

The season included another famous achievement: Gretzky scored 50 goals in his first 39 games. That surpassed the celebrated 50-goals-in-50-games standard associated with Maurice Richard and later matched by Mike Bossy. Gretzky’s 92-goal mark remains one of the NHL’s most celebrated offensive records.

A common mix-up is confusing the goals record with Gretzky’s single-season points record. He later raised the points record to 215 in 1985–86, but his 92 goals came specifically in 1981–82. Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull and Phil Esposito were also elite scorers, but none surpassed Gretzky’s 92-goal season.