Weird stuff: Ovechkin is invisible! I got a point for guessing him, but he doesn't show up on the list. It's out of 20, but only 19 answers are visible.
I know the it's only for most goals in a single season, but I figured that having the award named after you must mean good production over the long haul, so I guess expected to see Rocket Richard in there. And what's Sidney Crosby waiting for? He's not getting any younger!
Orr played defense. He helped develop the style of two-way play so he is noted for his offensive abilities as a defenseman. When he played he broke all kinds of records for goals and assists by a defensive player, and assists for any position. He is one of the greatest of all time, racked up tons of awards. But I doubt he even had 300 goals, which would have been a ton for a defenseman at that time.
Very unlikely. Gretzky in his prime was probably the most dominant athlete in any team sport ever. It has taken Ovechkin thirteen years to get 2/3 of the way to Gretzky. So he'd need to keep up the same level of production for the next seven years to reach Gretzky. That's over 40 goals every season between ages 33 and 40, if he doesn't miss any significant time with injury. Not impossible, but...I would not bet on it.
Ovechkin is 33 years old and had 51 goals last season. Many hockeys players play successfully through their early 40s. I'd say he has a very decent shot at the record.
I got Gretzky, Lemieux, and Ovechkin then gave up. But I felt dumb for not thinking of Hull, Jagr, or Howe. I think I've also heard of Gartner before. and maybe Messier. But none of the others.
Wayne Gretzky is the league's all-time leader in goals, assists, and points. So dominant was he that if you took away his *entire* all-time leading goal total and dropped it to zero, and only used his assists total (1,963), he is *still* the league's all-time leader in points. Jagr is second with 1,921 points, and he played three seasons longer than Gretzky did. Unbelievable.
Gretzky played through the highest-scoring era in NHL history. For example, in 1981-82, the average team scored 3.95 goals per game. In the most recent season it was 2.82. Adjusting Gretzky's totals for the era he played in, his records become somewhat less impressive. It would be really interesting to see what he would do in the modern NHL...
All true, but the league was WAY more physical back then. Slashing and cross checking were basically ignored, and the ref (singular!) missed a ton. So I'd say drop prime Gretzky in today's NHL and watch him video game the competition.
Not to mention that stick technology has improved ten fold, and goaltenders weren't able to use the butterfly position in Gretzkys day because the pads would soak up the water and become very heavy if they were on the ice too frequently. It's a totally different game now and not fair to compare it to the 80's. Likewise, in Gretzky's time the game was way way more physical, and a lot of players now wouldn't be able to handle it. All in all, if Gretzky was given today's equipment and the work out regiments that todays players have, that combined with his elite hockey sense would put him at the top of the league. And by the way, advanced stats and analytics still put Gretzky as the best player of all time. Don't nickel and dime the Great One.
No one is denying he is the GOAT, but let's be real. It was much easier to score in the 1980s than it is today. And the talent pool was much smaller as well.
If you want to know why scoring is WAY down, look at the goalkeepers. We move ever closer to the platonic idea of a gigantic obese goalkeeper literally filling the entire space of the goal thereby making scoring impossible.
It also helps that he doesn't like to pass. Only 19 assists this season...
Gretzky played through the highest-scoring era in NHL history. For example, in 1981-82, the average team scored 3.95 goals per game. In the most recent season it was 2.82. Adjusting Gretzky's totals for the era he played in, his records become somewhat less impressive. It would be really interesting to see what he would do in the modern NHL...