I remember when Gretzky took out the Leafs almost single-handed. I was a kid and I cried. He did it all. When I hear people saying he wasn't the best of all time, I figure they're just saying it to get attention. Gretzky has more assists than anyone else has points! He scored over 200 points in a season three different times, 92 goals in a season, 50 goals in 39 games. He isn't just the greatest hockey player ever, he is statistically the most dominant player in modern sports. Thanks, Wayne.
My favorite of Gretzky's records: On the all-time list of players to reach 1000 points the fastest, Wayne holds the number one spot....and the number two spot. It only took him 424 games for his first 1000, and only 433 more games to do it again. Unbelievable... that record will never be touched, not even close.
Most impressive hockey pairing of all time; Mario playing wing to Gretzky's center!!! Nothing like it. I sometimes imagine Bobby Orr playing defense with those two up front on the PP.
Gretzky was the champ, every generation has one... Along with the advancements in technology comes advancements in sports. If Gretzky was born in our generation, he'd still be the great one.
great comment! I can agree that he plays "boring" in a way.. He doesn't skate miraculous fast around 100 defenses, and hit the puck on volley, flying upside down in the air, getting the puck in the goal as a miracle.. because he doesn't NEED to.. Hockey is so easy for him that he doesn't need to put any astonishing physical effort.. he is the opposite to players who are great just because of a physicall advantage as for example being: fast, strong, agile or whatever... best one ever!
gretzky is by far the best player in hockey history. the closest person to him in points is around 1000 points in back of him... which proves the fact that hes the best.
It doesnt matter - I am done with the hate talk - it all comes back to you anyways when you spit out that negative energy. They were both great - have a good one.
baseballeddie1177... This just shows how little you know. Yes, smaller goalies, higher scoring game back then, good teammates... BUT... What you fail to mention is that, even in a high scoring league, Gretzky DOMINATED the competition. He won scoring titles with his assists alone! If the game was so much easier back then... how come nobody else ever came close to him?
Gretzky has the best individual goal season (92), fastest to 50 (39 games), only player to ever reach 200 points in a season (which he did 3 times). Bossy was great but no Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky eased back his scoring because he took on the role as set up man for his team. It worked for the Oilers just las Bossey scoring goals for the Islanders.
he had that many brakeaways cuz he was that great. he might have had less brake aways but he still would have the most creative plays and goals you would see today . if he was 20 right now he would be picking the puck up and doin things crosby can't ever do
@PozerSilo Ovechkin 529 points, 359 games.......almost at 1.5 points a game and his career just began. Gretzky is insane though and loved to watch him skate!!! Gretzky joked on an ESPN interview the year Ovi had his 65 goal season and he said Ovi scares him when it comes to numbers.
Why do people always forget that Wayne also leads the league in assists? that kinda means he could set up goals pretty damn well. That's pretty fucking impressive for a guy who was supposedly protected all the time. Hell the people he was passing to like all the fucking time must have been protected too cuz Wayne has twice the number of assists as he has goals.
I agree gretz is better as far as how smart he was, his vision. You can say gretzky is better but you cant say he's a better all around player. Howe could do it all defense, heavy hitting, fighting scoring goals, he was the complete package.
Actually..... "Ovechkin hit the 200 mark Thursday night in the Washington Capitals 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, becoming the fifth fastest player in NHL history to reach the milestone. The players ahead of him - Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, Brett Hull and Mario Lemieux - belong to the all-time-greats class that Ovechkin is expected to join someday."
woah i just thought of something, Gretz played wayy back when right, back when they didnt have as good of sticks imagine Gretzky playing in his prime now w
with the debate surrounding whether or not any modern day hockey player compares to Gretzky is ridiculous. If anyone wants to compare how the players have evolved with more strength, speed, etc. has to also account for the evolution of technology which provides a bigger advantage for modern players as well.
People you have to understand that in what ever generation if its the 50's 60's 70's 80's 90's and yes the 2000's he would still put up these numbers hands down. And theres lots of people out there that say Bobby Orr is better its not true you have to look at there entire career and what they accomplished gretz gets the nod for me in my opinion regardless what postion they played at.
Are we talking about the same Crosby? The one who hoisted the Stanley Cup as captain last spring? The one who is tied for most goals this year? The one who is chomping to get going in Vancouver? Oh don't worry, you'll hear his name plenty. Just be patient, the time of reckoning is about to start in 2 weeks. Be patient.
pure just judging by your name you must be a young kid. let me explain to you that this guy did more for the game of hockey than you can imagine.he has like 2000 points in his career and even scored 92 goals in a season. and you want me to belive it was empty netters and friends giving him a great pass. he gave all the great passes. he was not only a scorer but a playmaker. hockey is in my blood and where i am from there is a long long history of hockey. wayne is well respected here and canada
Ovechkin if he played back in the 80's I guarntee you he would easily be considered "The Great One". Goalies remember played "Stand up" not "Butterfly" back then which made it alot easier to score on them. I got tons of respect for Gretzky but I think Ovechkin will be considered the best ever. I think Ovechkin is just more talented, def more physical, and he let me ask you in todays day in age if your playing in a big game that you need to win who would u pick Ovechkin or Gretzky?
The Goalies back in the day used to come way too far out of the net, the angles were horrible, no wonder the league was so high scoring in the 80's. Smaller pads were another reason too
I see some people here saying "he lack some eye candy, he is boring, he made a lot of them in empty net and he is not so fast on his skate"... All of that is truth and nobody should care because Greatzky get one think other player did not have: a brain. In that, watching Wayne Greatzky playing hockey is like watching a Garry Kasparov putting checkmate and K.O. Mick Foley in a wrestling match. The tactic use would be boring (not a "dance") and amazing (I mean brilliant) at the same time!
i wonder if he ever got bored of scoring so fucking much xD i mean when he scored the goal on play #10 against the leafs he had that "oh yeah, i do this all the time" face on NO ONE will ever be better than him
i agree with mrpaul. if anything, the equipment these days is lighter, skates are better, and sticks shoot faster. gretzky is just a talent that can and never will be touched. the only difference between now and then is the salary cap, and who gretzky played most of his career with. theres no way that the oilers of the 80's would have stayed together as long with todays cap. and playing with guys like messier, kurri, and coffey are definitely going to boost your numbers.
espn actually had an article that was about whether "legends" that are from the 80s would be as good in their leagues now, and the examples were michael jordan and wayne gretzky. they said gretzky wouldn't and jordan would. i just thought that was relevant
@qwakcookie isn't canada part of north america thru some sort of treaty, my understanding is that all canada except the french speaking part is part of the US.
did you ever think about how you cant even touch someone with your stick today without being given a penalty? so think if he was in the new nhl playing like he did then but could skate around freely without having to worry about being hooked all day and things like that..
@forklift26 what do u mean ? Jagr and lemeiux came very close, and others scored 70 goals. In a nutshell training has made players very fast now where some had speed genetically like wayne.
You can work it out mathematically that Gretzky is the greatest. I mean I don't need math to realize this but some do. Just take the average goals per game in Gretzky's day and do the same with Ovechkins. Then you take Gretzky's top year and adjust it to todays average goals per game. Grezky is still about 20 goals better in their best years. I'll show you how it is simply done if anyone asks me to
dt089. I understand your point too. BUT you could almost argue that any player in today's nhl could be better than Gretzky. I think the arguement (if on a relative scale) should be how far above they were/are in relation to the next 5 best players. Gretzky was miles above the talent of the next 5 (excluding Mario in the late 80's, and maybe Bossy in the early 80's). But even they weren't even close. AO is maybe the best right now, but there are others on his heels.
I'm a huge Crosby and Gretzky fan.....Gretzky is the better player. No doubt. But you know, if Crosby can win a gold medal for Canada in a few weeks I just might change my mind
by all means gretzky is "the great one" and i have massive respect for him, but his build would make it much more challenging in todays NHL. I mean, you see in these highlights it almost sees easy for him, I think his numbers would be a little less prolific. He would be good, like i said i saw that on espn
I understand you bring up a good point. You cant really compare hockey players that played in the 80s to now the game is completely different. Even if OV continues to have awesome seasons year after year his number is most likely not match up to Gretzkys. Gretzky scoring what 90 goals that will prob never be done again and its kind of unfair because back in the 80s it was alot easier to score. So basically what Im trying to say Gretzkys stats will most likely never be touched.
@MrRob7004 The goalies are way better these days. Look at Gretzky's goals.. he wouldnt score 400 of those in todays NHL. Mario Lemieux was a better player. But one thing you can never take away from Gretzky - no one could or can see the game the way he does. Simply the best playmaker ever.
@b31766 And got traded (in the first year). That's like saying he also played for the St. Louis Blues. No one remembers Gretzky for that. They only remember the Oilers, Kings, and Rangers.
You know it no surprise people always was concerned about his build but he was being critized about that all through jr,WHA,and the early years of the N.H.L but he silenced everyone after the 1981-82 season...we all know what happens after that so to say he wouldnt do well in todays n.h.l is stupid not only would he be the best he would use a wood stick hahaha .
Gretzky getting traded to LA was one of the worst things that happened to hockey. Further expansion into the U.S. was the last thing the NHL needed. Now we have teams in Florida and Phoenix, where there isn't any natural ice! Are you kidding me? The league should move all American teams into Canadian cities.
@juzu4me Don't worry, I have watched so many of Gretzky's game...I can't imagine anyone better than him. As good as Wayne?...Okay...better? I'm not sure!
I wonder what's going through the goalies head when he see's gretzky coming down the ice. To me it looks like some of the goalies don't even try to stop him cuz they know they will just look stupid.
I am a fan of both as well. But think about it if Crosby was the better player he would've been on top of the league every season so far. Which isn't the case. This year is doing great. He has a cup already..but unfortunately no matter how good him and ovie are for today's game you just won't touch Gretzky.
A lot of Gretzky's milestone goals are empty netters (500th goal, 39 in 50), that's why they're shown often in the highlights. And Gretzky scored a lot of garbage goals, as well as breakaways, slapshots, deflections... He's the greatest scorer ever to play the game.
For all the guys saying that wayne wouldn't make in todays NHL,will wayne heard that all his life,Wouldn't make it in the tough OHL ,to small for the WHA,Never be a good player at the NHL level and so on.But he proved everyone wrong.Am i right? Yes maybe if you took wayne out of the 80's and dropped him in to todays game he may have a little trouble,but if he was a starting out today wouldn't he get the same training as the rest therefor also be faster and stronger
gotta love and respect the career and numbers of Gretzky, but there's no way he could've done those kinds of numbers today. Notice how many of his goals are shot from far out right into the middle of the net. With the size of the equipment today, there's just no way 90% of those would've gone in. He was also fortunate to play before the trap really slowed the game down. Gretzky was great, but comparing his numbers to crosby or ovie is just unfair to these guys. different game now.
Sure, Lemieux might have been a Gretzsky but we'll never know will we, can you think of anyone else or is there only one person who even comes close to touching Gretzsky? I think that supports what I was saying really.
@NRPBrute Wayne was great obviously, but he had perfect conditions for him creating a perfect storm. Great hall of fame teammates-it was said by many that the oilers had the 5 best players in the world. Small goalies and slower players. In Waynes day fast skaters like him stood out , now almost every one of them is a speedster. Also ,the NHL is more of a tight checking league now.Waynes numbers would be about half in todays game,and thats a freik'n fact.
baseballeddie1177 Really? I'll tell you what pal and you can take this to the bank ( as we used to say). Numbers aside because style of play and what eera you played in are very important but here's what. If playing today Mr. Gretzky would be the top goal scorer and point maker and the #2 wouldn't even be close. If you disagree with that it means 2 things ; #1- you never saw Wayne play. #2 You know zilch about hockey.
His dad was Canadian born (1/2 ethnic polish/russian) his mother is Canadian he is 1/4 russian 1/2 canadian 1/4 polish but he is Canadian your point would be like saying Michael Jordan should play basketball for team Africa(jk) when he is american because Canada/Usa are more culturally open then europe our ethnic roots were originally english/french but the fact is a Canadian is Canadian Guy
@NRPBrute wrong. he was one of the 10 fastest and had the best shot probaly ever, he could one timer a slapshot top shelf from near blue line. I just say in todays game his numbers would be about half.
Yeah but you don't know that dude. I have this debate with Ovechkin fans as well, and they always say that compared to Ovechkin, Gretzky is nothing. But seriously, Ovechkin is older than Gretzky was when he got his 215 points. And back then there was clutching and pick plays and interference and slashing and spearing every game. Gretzky had to go through hell to get his points, whereas Ovechkin gets to ballet around and no one touches him or he whines for a penalty.
Hey I'm a huge Crosbyy fan but in my opinion you can't Gretzky to him. Crosby's amazing, but Gretzky (and Lemieux) were in a league of their own. I mean at least wait about 10 years or so before anyone starts comparing. Gretzky had like 92 goals and 240 points one year (close to that) and no teammate makes you a player like that. And sure they won the Cup without him, but I think they would have won it with him and for a few more years if Gretzky had remained an oiler
I remember when Gretzky took out the Leafs almost single-handed. I was a kid and I cried. He did it all. When I hear people saying he wasn't the best of all time, I figure they're just saying it to get attention. Gretzky has more assists than anyone else has points! He scored over 200 points in a season three different times, 92 goals in a season, 50 goals in 39 games. He isn't just the greatest hockey player ever, he is statistically the most dominant player in modern sports. Thanks, Wayne.
My favorite of Gretzky's records:
On the all-time list of players to reach 1000 points the fastest, Wayne holds the number one spot....and the number two spot. It only took him 424 games for his first 1000, and only 433 more games to do it again. Unbelievable... that record will never be touched, not even close.
Most impressive hockey pairing of all time; Mario playing wing to Gretzky's center!!! Nothing like it. I sometimes imagine Bobby Orr playing defense with those two up front on the PP.
Gretzky was the champ, every generation has one... Along with the advancements in technology comes advancements in sports. If Gretzky was born in our generation, he'd still be the great one.
Top ten? There should be, top 100!
AMEN Mr. Paul AMEN
he makes it look so easy
Gretzky said about Ovechkin, he's never seen someone so passionate about the game of hockey.
the best
i love the "Top 10" show
great comment! I can agree that he plays "boring" in a way.. He doesn't skate miraculous fast around 100 defenses, and hit the puck on volley, flying upside down in the air, getting the puck in the goal as a miracle.. because he doesn't NEED to.. Hockey is so easy for him that he doesn't need to put any astonishing physical effort.. he is the opposite to players who are great just because of a physicall advantage as for example being: fast, strong, agile or whatever... best one ever!
and always will
Things like this show why Wayne Gretzky even has an "own" corner in a sports bar here in Belfast.
gretzky is by far the best player in hockey history. the closest person to him in points is around 1000 points in back of him... which proves the fact that hes the best.
It doesnt matter - I am done with the hate talk - it all comes back to you anyways when you spit out that negative energy. They were both great - have a good one.
He may play golf but he's no Tiger Woods. This man is faithful to his wife.
baseballeddie1177... This just shows how little you know. Yes, smaller goalies, higher scoring game back then, good teammates... BUT...
What you fail to mention is that, even in a high scoring league, Gretzky DOMINATED the competition. He won scoring titles with his assists alone! If the game was so much easier back then... how come nobody else ever came close to him?
Gretzky has the best individual goal season (92), fastest to 50 (39 games), only player to ever reach 200 points in a season (which he did 3 times). Bossy was great but no Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky eased back his scoring because he took on the role as set up man for his team. It worked for the Oilers just las Bossey scoring goals for the Islanders.
he had that many brakeaways cuz he was that great. he might have had less brake aways but he still would have the most creative plays and goals you would see today . if he was 20 right now he would be picking the puck up and doin things crosby can't ever do
i stand corrected
@PozerSilo Ovechkin 529 points, 359 games.......almost at 1.5 points a game and his career just began. Gretzky is insane though and loved to watch him skate!!! Gretzky joked on an ESPN interview the year Ovi had his 65 goal season and he said Ovi scares him when it comes to numbers.
Why do people always forget that Wayne also leads the league in assists? that kinda means he could set up goals pretty damn well. That's pretty fucking impressive for a guy who was supposedly protected all the time. Hell the people he was passing to like all the fucking time must have been protected too cuz Wayne has twice the number of assists as he has goals.
I agree gretz is better as far as how smart he was, his vision. You can say gretzky is better but you cant say he's a better all around player. Howe could do it all defense, heavy hitting, fighting scoring goals, he was the complete package.
Just watch Wayne undress these defenders...no question that no one comes close to #99.
Actually.....
"Ovechkin hit the 200 mark Thursday night in the Washington Capitals 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, becoming the fifth fastest player in NHL history to reach the milestone. The players ahead of him - Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, Brett Hull and Mario Lemieux - belong to the all-time-greats class that Ovechkin is expected to join someday."
Orr is the best in my opinion.
its a very big diffrent from now and in the 80´s ! but it would be a lot of goals :D
woah i just thought of something,
Gretz played wayy back when right, back when they didnt have as good of sticks
imagine Gretzky playing in his prime now w
gona have to fix the sound man... great video, no sound
he also played for the indianapolis racers
lol 3:50 it looks like the edminton oilers are makin out
@albertamortgageguy yes, and crosby is kinda like that. i love your comment
with the debate surrounding whether or not any modern day hockey player compares to Gretzky is ridiculous. If anyone wants to compare how the players have evolved with more strength, speed, etc. has to also account for the evolution of technology which provides a bigger advantage for modern players as well.
People you have to understand that in what ever generation if its the 50's 60's 70's 80's 90's and yes the 2000's he would still put up these numbers hands down. And theres lots of people out there that say Bobby Orr is better its not true you have to look at there entire career and what they accomplished gretz gets the nod for me in my opinion regardless what postion they played at.
Are we talking about the same Crosby? The one who hoisted the Stanley Cup as captain last spring? The one who is tied for most goals this year? The one who is chomping to get going in Vancouver? Oh don't worry, you'll hear his name plenty. Just be patient, the time of reckoning is about to start in 2 weeks. Be patient.
Wayne is the best finesse player in hockey...Gordie Howe is the all around player in hockey. I wouldn't want to get in a fight with him
pure just judging by your name you must be a young kid. let me explain to you that this guy did more for the game of hockey than you can imagine.he has like 2000 points in his career and even scored 92 goals in a season. and you want me to belive it was empty netters and friends giving him a great pass. he gave all the great passes. he was not only a scorer but a playmaker. hockey is in my blood and where i am from there is a long long history of hockey. wayne is well respected here and canada
Ovechkin if he played back in the 80's I guarntee you he would easily be considered "The Great One". Goalies remember played "Stand up" not "Butterfly" back then which made it alot easier to score on them. I got tons of respect for Gretzky but I think Ovechkin will be considered the best ever. I think Ovechkin is just more talented, def more physical, and he let me ask you in todays day in age if your playing in a big game that you need to win who would u pick Ovechkin or Gretzky?
The Goalies back in the day used to come way too far out of the net, the angles were horrible, no wonder the league was so high scoring in the 80's. Smaller pads were another reason too
I see some people here saying "he lack some eye candy, he is boring, he made a lot of them in empty net and he is not so fast on his skate"... All of that is truth and nobody should care because Greatzky get one think other player did not have: a brain. In that, watching Wayne Greatzky playing hockey is like watching a Garry Kasparov putting checkmate and K.O. Mick Foley in a wrestling match. The tactic use would be boring (not a "dance") and amazing (I mean brilliant) at the same time!
i wonder if he ever got bored of scoring so fucking much xD i mean when he scored the goal on play #10 against the leafs he had that "oh yeah, i do this all the time" face on
NO ONE will ever be better than him
i agree with mrpaul. if anything, the equipment these days is lighter, skates are better, and sticks shoot faster. gretzky is just a talent that can and never will be touched. the only difference between now and then is the salary cap, and who gretzky played most of his career with. theres no way that the oilers of the 80's would have stayed together as long with todays cap. and playing with guys like messier, kurri, and coffey are definitely going to boost your numbers.
espn actually had an article that was about whether "legends" that are from the 80s would be as good in their leagues now, and the examples were michael jordan and wayne gretzky. they said gretzky wouldn't and jordan would. i just thought that was relevant
@qwakcookie isn't canada part of north america thru some sort of treaty, my understanding is that all canada except the french speaking part is part of the US.
what happened to the audio after 2:42 mins?
after the initial celebration =P
Volume is messed half way through.
whyc does it mute aafter a lttle bit?
True, but not until 2001 was there an option on the Canadian census form to be "Canadian" ethnically.
GOD OF HOCKEY!
@juzu4me lol yeah youre right good thinking :)
215 I think hehe ! .... 215 with 163 assist .... and the season of 212 points with 92 goals !
The audio stops working at 2:42.
ovechkin is the fastest to 200 goals. just puttin that out there
did you ever think about how you cant even touch someone with your stick today without being given a penalty? so think if he was in the new nhl playing like he did then but could skate around freely without having to worry about being hooked all day and things like that..
@forklift26 what do u mean ? Jagr and lemeiux came very close, and others scored 70 goals. In a nutshell training has made players very fast now where some had speed genetically like wayne.
Are these NHL highlights or is it men's league?
You can work it out mathematically that Gretzky is the greatest. I mean I don't need math to realize this but some do. Just take the average goals per game in Gretzky's day and do the same with Ovechkins. Then you take Gretzky's top year and adjust it to todays average goals per game. Grezky is still about 20 goals better in their best years. I'll show you how it is simply done if anyone asks me to
dt089. I understand your point too. BUT you could almost argue that any player in today's nhl could be better than Gretzky. I think the arguement (if on a relative scale) should be how far above they were/are in relation to the next 5 best players. Gretzky was miles above the talent of the next 5 (excluding Mario in the late 80's, and maybe Bossy in the early 80's). But even they weren't even close. AO is maybe the best right now, but there are others on his heels.
Mario Lemieux says hi....
I'm a huge Crosby and Gretzky fan.....Gretzky is the better player. No doubt. But you know, if Crosby can win a gold medal for Canada in a few weeks I just might change my mind
by all means gretzky is "the great one" and i have massive respect for him, but his build would make it much more challenging in todays NHL. I mean, you see in these highlights it almost sees easy for him, I think his numbers would be a little less prolific. He would be good, like i said i saw that on espn
so.. from what you just described game would be tougher now since everyone has better equipment ? ;)
I understand you bring up a good point. You cant really compare hockey players that played in the 80s to now the game is completely different. Even if OV continues to have awesome seasons year after year his number is most likely not match up to Gretzkys. Gretzky scoring what 90 goals that will prob never be done again and its kind of unfair because back in the 80s it was alot easier to score. So basically what Im trying to say Gretzkys stats will most likely never be touched.
@MrRob7004 The goalies are way better these days. Look at Gretzky's goals.. he wouldnt score 400 of those in todays NHL. Mario Lemieux was a better player. But one thing you can never take away from Gretzky - no one could or can see the game the way he does. Simply the best playmaker ever.
@prozachary so.... how come u never made it? lol
I agree... even though I hate the Penguins
@albertamortgageguy He made the players around him better than any other player in hockey history!
Did you hear that Bettman? Campbell Conference Finals not Western Conference Finals.
Gretzky had a credit card
@b31766 And got traded (in the first year). That's like saying he also played for the St. Louis Blues. No one remembers Gretzky for that. They only remember the Oilers, Kings, and Rangers.
nevertheless, you cannot deny the influence :) you can't guzzle away the genes!
You know it no surprise people always was concerned about his build but he was being critized about that all through jr,WHA,and the early years of the N.H.L but he silenced everyone after the 1981-82 season...we all know what happens after that so to say he wouldnt do well in todays n.h.l is stupid not only would he be the best he would use a wood stick hahaha .
@m0nty33 la kings
Gretzky getting traded to LA was one of the worst things that happened to hockey. Further expansion into the U.S. was the last thing the NHL needed. Now we have teams in Florida and Phoenix, where there isn't any natural ice! Are you kidding me? The league should move all American teams into Canadian cities.
great point, gretsky had protection, mcsorely i believe was one goon in edmonton, probert in detroit, grimson , manson, nowdays, its so weak i hate it
@juzu4me Don't worry, I have watched so many of Gretzky's game...I can't imagine anyone better than him. As good as Wayne?...Okay...better? I'm not sure!
I wonder what's going through the goalies head when he see's gretzky coming down the ice.
To me it looks like some of the goalies don't even try to stop him cuz they know they will just look stupid.
I am a fan of both as well. But think about it if Crosby was the better player he would've been on top of the league every season so far. Which isn't the case. This year is doing great. He has a cup already..but unfortunately no matter how good him and ovie are for today's game you just won't touch Gretzky.
gretz
But he has a little point about the goalies. Today most goalies use the butterfly position and that's way harder to score on.
A lot of Gretzky's milestone goals are empty netters (500th goal, 39 in 50), that's why they're shown often in the highlights.
And Gretzky scored a lot of garbage goals, as well as breakaways, slapshots, deflections... He's the greatest scorer ever to play the game.
leave it to the leafs to fuck up a lead in an important game in the third period
For all the guys saying that wayne wouldn't make in todays NHL,will wayne heard that all his life,Wouldn't make it in the tough OHL ,to small for the WHA,Never be a good player at the NHL level and so on.But he proved everyone wrong.Am i right?
Yes maybe if you took wayne out of the 80's and dropped him in to todays game he may have a little trouble,but if he was a starting out today wouldn't he get the same training as the rest therefor also be faster and stronger
gotta love and respect the career and numbers of Gretzky, but there's no way he could've done those kinds of numbers today. Notice how many of his goals are shot from far out right into the middle of the net. With the size of the equipment today, there's just no way 90% of those would've gone in. He was also fortunate to play before the trap really slowed the game down. Gretzky was great, but comparing his numbers to crosby or ovie is just unfair to these guys. different game now.
Sure, Lemieux might have been a Gretzsky but we'll never know will we, can you think of anyone else or is there only one person who even comes close to touching Gretzsky?
I think that supports what I was saying really.
@NRPBrute Wayne was great obviously, but he had perfect conditions for him creating a perfect storm. Great hall of fame teammates-it was said by many that the oilers had the 5 best players in the world. Small goalies and slower players. In Waynes day fast skaters like him stood out , now almost every one of them is a speedster. Also ,the NHL is more of a tight checking league now.Waynes numbers would be about half in todays game,and thats a freik'n fact.
baseballeddie1177 Really? I'll tell you what pal and you can take this to the bank ( as we used to say). Numbers aside because style of play and what eera you played in are very important but here's what. If playing today Mr. Gretzky would be the top goal scorer and point maker and the #2 wouldn't even be close. If you disagree with that it means 2 things ; #1- you never saw Wayne play. #2 You know zilch about hockey.
Yeah probably since the last time the Leafs won the cup... 1967.
His dad was Canadian born (1/2 ethnic polish/russian) his mother is Canadian he is 1/4 russian 1/2 canadian 1/4 polish but he is Canadian your point would be like saying Michael Jordan should play basketball for team Africa(jk) when he is american because Canada/Usa are more culturally open then europe our ethnic roots were originally english/french but the fact is a Canadian is Canadian Guy
wheres the sound
you dont see that many slap shot goals inside the circles anymore....are the players quicker or smarter ???
pip squeek to boot.
@baseballeddie1177 How is speculation fact?
@NRPBrute wrong. he was one of the 10 fastest and had the best shot probaly ever, he could one timer a slapshot top shelf from near blue line. I just say in todays game his numbers would be about half.
I've watched Gretzky through out his entire career and I know why he is called the great.. whats your point?
Audio fail !
Yeah but you don't know that dude. I have this debate with Ovechkin fans as well, and they always say that compared to Ovechkin, Gretzky is nothing. But seriously, Ovechkin is older than Gretzky was when he got his 215 points. And back then there was clutching and pick plays and interference and slashing and spearing every game. Gretzky had to go through hell to get his points, whereas Ovechkin gets to ballet around and no one touches him or he whines for a penalty.
ok, so I'm not going fucking crazy
Hey I'm a huge Crosbyy fan but in my opinion you can't Gretzky to him. Crosby's amazing, but Gretzky (and Lemieux) were in a league of their own. I mean at least wait about 10 years or so before anyone starts comparing. Gretzky had like 92 goals and 240 points one year (close to that) and no teammate makes you a player like that. And sure they won the Cup without him, but I think they would have won it with him and for a few more years if Gretzky had remained an oiler
@001MeTaBoLiC100 they could.......if they play 40 years