There was a 15-20 year stretch in the NHL where the 50-goal (and 100-point) scorer seemed to be an endangered species, if not completely extinct. The game had become a defensive, goaltending slugfest where every game was a 2-1 or 3-2 slog through the neutral zone. There might be one, maybe two, players that would have even a realistic shot of even approaching the 50-goal mark.
Over the past couple of years, though, that might be starting to change a little bit.
Offense is back to a certain extent, and just last year we saw four different players reach the 50-goal mark.