As I noted in a recent column, Mike Knuble’s NHL career has been sneakily historic. After scoring a mere 50 goals in his 20s, the Caps’ 38-year-old wing has racked up 218 in the eight seasons since – more than Wayne Gretzky (188) had in his 30s. By the time he’s done, Knuble could be in the top 20 all time in this (admittedly obscure) category. Not bad considering he’s 217th in career goals.
Who knew?
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Near as I can tell, the only player in league history who has had a career comparable to Knuble’s is Bill Cook, the Hall of Fame wing with the Rangers from 1926 to ’37. (Yes, you have to go that far back.) And with Cook there were extenuating circumstances. He played several seasons in the Western Hockey League, the “other” major league in those days, before moving to the NHL at the age of 30. He was also, unlike Knuble, a big-time goal-scorer in his 20s, with a high of 31 in his last season in the WHL. (Mike, on the other hand, averaged less than 10 goals in his first six seasons with the Red Wings, Rangers and Bruins.)
Among current players, Knuble’s closest “twin” is Mighty Ducks wing Jason Blake (as was pointed out to me by blogger – and numbers cruncher extraordinaire – Neil Greenberg). Blake had his breakout season before turning 30, though, and will probably never catch up to Mike in post-30 goals. He has 162 through the age of 37 (and has seen his production and ice time drop the past two seasons).
Gordie Howe holds the record for Most Goals After the Big Three-O with 415. Of course, Howe played forever. In fact, he might still be playing somewhere. Has anybody checked the Blue Jackets’ roster lately?
Here are the top 10 in this department – and where Knuble fits in:
*active
415 Gordie Howe
391 Phil Esposito
374 John Bucyk
337 Jean Ratelle
328 Brett Hull
309 Mark Messier
298 Joe Mullen
297 Mike Gartner
293 Marcel Dionne
291 Teemu Selanne*
THE NEXT 10
276 Brendan Shanahan
267 Dave Andreychuk
267 Mark Recchi*
252 Maurice Richard
250 Joe Sakic
245 Frank Mahovolich
245 Ron Francis
243 Bill Guerin
239 Norm Ullman
238 Alex Delvecchio
THE THIRD 10
237 Dino Ciccarelli
236 Peter Bondra
236 Joe Nieuwendyk
234 Luc Robitaille
233 Jean Beliveau
229 Bill Cook
219 Adam Oates
219 Daniel Alfredsson*
218 Dean Prentice
218 Mike Knuble*
Almost all of these guys are in the Hall of Fame or headed in that direction – and almost all were feared goal-scorers. Knuble is neither. That’s what makes his late-blooming career even more remarkable. Here are some other well-known players he ranks ahead of (besides The Great One):
217 Stan Mikita
217 Mats Sundin
212 Mike Modano*
211 Steve Yzerman
205 Rod Gilbert
205 Steve Thomas
201 Sergei Fedorov
One more Knuble stat: He has scored 20 or more goals in eight straight seasons in his 30s. The record is nine by Howe, Hull and Ratelle. (And if it hadn’t been for the lockout in 2004-05, Mike would probably be tied with them.) In any case, he’s in awfully good company. The aforementioned trio had over 2,000 career goals among them (2,033 to be exact).
So savor Knuble’s time with the Caps, however long it lasts. There aren’t many athletes you can look at and say, “This guy is unique.” He happens to be one of them.
