dreamtimeboomerang t1_j9m1ghn wrote on February 22, 2023 at 11:05 PM

Reply to comment by oshawaguy in Oilers' Connor McDavid becomes fifth-fastest player to reach 800 points by BCLetsRide69

You have to apply a scaling factor to Wayne in my opinion. Goaltending standards have improved unfathomably in that time. Completely different game now and a record like Wayne's will never be touched for that reason

Domesticated_dad t1_j9m55ta wrote on February 22, 2023 at 11:30 PM

Gretzky forced the entire game to change. People can try and diminish what he accomplished because of how much the game has changed since his time but like... He's one of the biggest reasons why the game changed. Sure eventually it would have evolved on its own but he moved it forward in a way that few players will ever be able to. His impact evolved the sport.

The stats are impressive enough on their own but the truth is Gretzky's legacy is way more important than that. Heck it could easily be argued that American hockey owes much of its popularity to the Gretzky to LA trade but that's another topic entirely.

Tanstalas t1_j9m6ofj wrote on February 22, 2023 at 11:40 PM

Well, him going to LA made the NHLPA very happy.

cgg419 t1_j9m250h wrote on February 22, 2023 at 11:09 PM

Ovechkin has a shot at the goals record.

Domesticated_dad t1_j9m3zz6 wrote on February 22, 2023 at 11:22 PM

I believe he is referring to points.

cgg419 t1_j9m45c7 wrote on February 22, 2023 at 11:23 PM

That does make more sense

oshawaguy t1_j9nbggv wrote on February 23, 2023 at 4:53 AM

Well, goalies like Hasek , Roy, Belfour?

dreamtimeboomerang t1_j9ngm01 wrote on February 23, 2023 at 5:44 AM

All of those guys dominated in the 90s, and that was when goalies in general improved considerably and the game was changing a lot.

Look at Gretzkys stats through the 90s. They fall off a cliff in comparison to the 80s. After 1990, he only had 2 seasons with more than 100 points. Still very good obviously, but pales in comparison to when he was putting up 200+ in the 80s. His numbers look much more comparable to numbers you'd see in today's game, in comparison to the ridiculous numbers in the 80s.