NHL Single-Season Game-Winning Goals Record Progression
Every season that raised the bar, and the leader in every season between.
The NHL single-season game-winning goals record is 16, set by Phil Esposito in 1970. It has stood for 55 years. The mark has been raised 7 times since 1917.
Record Holders
8 marks since 1917| Year | Player | GWG | Stood for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 |
 Phil Esposito
|
16 | still standing |
| 1929 |
 Cooney Weiland
|
14 | 41 years |
| 1927 |
 Aurel Joliat
|
10 | 2 years |
| 1925 |
 Cy Denneny
|
9 | 2 years |
| 1924 |
 Babe Dye
|
8 | 1 year |
| 1923 |
Cy Denneny
|
7 | 1 year |
| 1919 |
 Frank Nighbor
|
6 | 4 years |
| 1917 |
 Didier Pitre
|
5 | 2 years |
The earliest marks here are records only in the sense that nobody had done better yet. Season length, schedule and the rules themselves have all changed, so a figure from the 1870s is not comparable with a modern one and is not offered as though it were.