Who will be the leading goal scorer in the NHL?

Apparently, I was quoted in Pierre Lebrun's blog this week. Earlier this week, he posed the question "Who will be the leading goal scorer in the NHL." This is what I responded:

"I have to go with my boy Phil Kessel. People are bringing up the "shots per game" issue. Yes, Phil is taking less shots than other leading goal scorers, but he's hitting at a higher rate than most. Only Vanek is hitting at a higher rate of guys with more goals than him. Phil continues to grow as the season progresses. These last two games, his main set-up guy, Marc Savard, didn't record an assist. Kessel still got three points in each of the games. He is inspiring confidence that he can score every single game. Another thing that sets Kessel apart is he's playing with the modern-day Adam Oates on the power play, David Krejci. Once he starts getting the 5-6 shots a game instead of the 3-4, he will start getting more goals. He's on a 52-goal pace. Unless he gets injured, I expect him to get at least 50."

I didn't find out until today that he had responded:

The fact Kessel is even in this discussion shows how far this young man as come. The 21-year-old Wisconsin native has already tied his career high with 19 goals and is currently on pace for a 52-goal season. His speed and explosiveness going to net is electrifying. And, obviously, he's shown he can hit the smallest of holes on goalies with a great wrist shot. There might be a little bump in the road this season, but we still see at least a 40-goal season. The Richard Trophy might have to wait for another season, though.

To be honest, there are a lot of great scorers in the NHL, and my response was part devil's advocate, part homerism. It's nice to get into a blog that's on a site that's read all over the world.

Correction to last night's entry:
According to reports, the Sox had offered around $160 million, and that Teixeira wanted around $185 million. This is when Henry sent his email to media outlets. While Henry said that the Sox are out, expect for the talks start up again.