Happy 53rd birthday, Wayne Gretzky
The Great One turns 53-years-old today, giving us yet another chance to take a look at his revolutionary career. And trust us, we enjoy every opportunity to look back at a player that holds nearly every offensive record in the NHL.
And speaking of the league, it was good to finally see the new Gretzky-NHL relationship on hand Saturday at the Stadium Series in Los Angeles. Just recently. Gretzky was repaid some seven to eight million owed by former Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes, and we're all happy the 'we're not talking' chapter is over, because the game with out the Great One just isn't the same.
Let's take a brief look at some of his achievements:
- He leads the NHL in most career points (2,857), goals (894), assists (1,963), goals in a season (92 in the 1981-82 season), most assists in a season (163 in the 1985-86 season), most consecutive 40-goal season (12, for perspective Alexander Ovechkin only hit five), and the list keeps going.
- At 23-years-old, Gretzky hit the 1000-point mark for his career. He scored his 50th goal on April 2, 1980, at 19-years-old. At 29, he broke the 2000-point mark.
- Gretzky had four season where he scored more than 200 points. His highest was 215.
- Gretzky scored 50 goals in 39 games, setting the mark in a five-gaol performance on Dec. 30, 1981.
- In his 1999 Hall of Fame speech, Gretzky said there will be better players than him in a decade. Since his retirement, only two of his records have fallen: a 15-year streak of overtime assists and his record of assists in an All-Star game.
- If you take his regular season and playoff statistics, Gretzky is the only player to reach 3,000 points (2,857 regular season and 382 playoff points)
So happy birthday, Gretzky. We'd give you a card, but it looks like these guys behind the Coyotes bench beat us to it.
And some highlights, because Gretzky.