Wayne Gretzky

The Great One: NHL's all-time leading scorer and assist leader.

He played 20 NHL seasons from 1979 to 1999 and is the all-time leader in goals, assists, and points.^[1][2] Surveys of hockey writers, ex-players, general managers, and coaches conducted by the NHL have led to Gretzky being called the greatest ice hockey player ever, and he is known by the nickname "the Great One."^[1]

Quick Facts

Hall of Fame

1999

Born

26 January 1961

Birthplace

Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Position

Centre

Shoots

Left

Played for

Indianapolis Racers
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
St. Louis Blues
New York Rangers

Coached for

Phoenix Coyotes

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

He won nine Hart Trophies as most valuable player and ten Art Ross Trophies for most points in a season.^[3] During one season with the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers, when he was ten years old, Gretzky recorded 378 goals and 139 assists.^[4][2] In the 1981-82 season, Gretzky reached 50 goals in just 39 games, breaking the previous record of 50 goals in 50 games set by Maurice "Rocket" Richard.^[5][2] Following his 1999 retirement, Gretzky was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame without the usual waiting period, and the NHL retired his jersey number 99 across the entire league.^[6]

What the cited sources add

The NHL.com profile notes Gretzky's single-season marks of 92 goals, 163 assists, and 215 points, plus a point streak of 51 games.^[2] The same source states he scored 50 goals in an unthinkable 39 games at age 20, obliterating the record of 50 in 50.^[2] An ESPN profile reports that of the 11 times a player scored more than 161 points, Gretzky did it nine times and Mario Lemieux twice.^[7] The ESPN account also says Gretzky has more assists (1,963) than any other player has points.^[7]

A Hartford Courant article notes that Edmonton protected Gretzky as a priority selection in the June 1979 expansion draft.^[8] The same article states that of the 41 NHL players to score 1,000 points, six were drafted in 1979.^[8]

References

Wikipedia, "Wayne Gretzky" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Wayne Gretzky finally explains meaning behind 'The Great One' nickname", Yahoo! Sports, May 21, 2014; Falla, "NHL Records Held or Shared by Wayne Gretzky", Ualbertacentennial.ca, February 15, 2006, p. 16}} * That many players share the view, see {{cite news; Kay, "The Hockey News – The Top 60 Since 1967", Transcontinental Books, 2007, p. 15; Stubbs, "Wayne Gretzky: 100 Greatest NHL Players", National Hockey League, January 1, 2017 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Stubbs, "Wayne Gretzky: 100 Greatest NHL Players", National Hockey League, January 1, 2017. facts only, no text reused. nhl.com
Wikipedia, "Wayne Gretzky" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Duhatschek, "Getting rid of hockey's goons", The Globe and Mail, September 2, 2011 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Wayne Gretzky" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Falla, "Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Hockey League", Total Sports, 2000; "FORESHADOWING GREATNESS", Hartford Courant, 1999-04-17; Dubé, "Tournoi pee-wee de Québec: plusieurs légendes ont joué à Québec", Le Journal de Montréal, February 11, 2017; Redmond 1993, p. 11 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Wayne Gretzky" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "50 goals in 39 games Gretzky does it", The Globe and Mail, December 31, 1981, p. S1; Clarity, "Gretzky, scoring three goals, sets season record at 79", The New York Times, February 25, 1982; "Wayne's Top 10", The Calgary Herald, April 17, 1999, p. C5; "Gretzky wins Ontario honour", The Globe and Mail, January 26, 1983, p. S5; "Wayne Gretzky, Sportsman of the Year", December 27, 1982, p. (cover); "A look at Canadian Press Newsmakers of the Year", National Post, August 2026 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Wayne Gretzky" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "IIHF Centennial All-Star Team", iihf.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Schwartz, "'Great' and 'Gretzky' belong together", ESPN. facts only, no text reused. espn.com
Jacobs, "Forget Rest: 1979 Draft Best Of All", Hartford Courant, June 27, 1994. facts only, no text reused. courant.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Wayne Gretzky (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.