Wayne Gretzky

[One Winged Angel]

I'll never forget the night that Gretzky scored the fastest natural hat trick in NHL history against the Panthers. It was done in a matter of about 5 minutes, an insane record that no one will ever break, against a goaltender that was probably at the time the #2 goaltender in the world behind Hasek, John Vanbiesbrouck. The way Beezer had carried the Panthers to the SCF in 96 and to the playoffs in 97 was astonishing.

A bunch of stupid Islander fans I had went to school with were talking about slapshots and who had the hardest. Naturally at that time, names like Al MacInnis, Brett Hull and Chris Chelios came up. I had mentioned that Wayne Gretzky had a pretty good slapshot himself. It wasn't as powerful as those guys, but was definitely not something to be overlooked. They laughed at me, stating Gretzky was more of a wrist shot kind of guy and that his slapshot wasn't going to do anything to anyone.

Well, needless to say 2 of the goals Gretzky scored were absolute bullets blown past Beezer and I walked in the next day asking about those slapshots. I'm pretty sure I heard some crickets when I asked.

Point of the story was that he could do anything he wanted to and if you doubted him, he took his game to a level that no one, not even Lemieux and dare I say Bobby Orr could touch. The goal in which Gretzky faked the slapshot in mid-pivot and stopped and pulled up and then ripped one past Beezer was one of the most insane things I've seen him do. The balance and natural skating ability it takes to do something like that is other worldly.

 

[One Winged Angel]

Honestly? In his prime, he'd be hitting 150 EASILY. Gretzky as a 37 year old, in the dead puck era, with a destroyed back, and his best offensive teammates being a broken down Adam Graves and past-his-prime John Maclean, managed to score 90 points and was pacing with Forsberg, Kariya, Selanne in their primes.

There is no doubt in my mind that Gretz in his prime is scoring 150, 160, 170 points a season - even in the modern game.

150-160 points would be so tough in today's NHL. Gretzky was a better skater than people gave credit for. He was smart and elusive and avoided hits as good as anyone in the game today, just like Kane. His skating was deceptive and mechanics were very polished. He wasn't the fastest skater like Gartner, but he was very strong on his skates and could pivot and stay on his edges better than nearly anyone I've ever seen.

The way the game is called today, it actually would have extended his career because after Suter mauled his back at the 91 Canada Cup, he lost a significant step. Stuff like that would have never happened. His smarts and ability to see the game would keep him on top of the scoring race year after year and the amount of power plays he would draw would be tremendous. You think the way the refs call the game for Crosby is ridiculous? They would have protected Gretzky even more so.

Not only that, but he put up seasons of 97 and 90 points at 36-37 years old some questionable Ranger teams in the start of the offensive decline.

Oh and for all of those who want to talk about training methods and equipment advances, remember, Gretzky never got the benefit of reaping today's technology. Could you imagine if he would have taken some of the skating classes and workout programs they have today? Could you imagine how hard he would have shot with a Bauer Supreme MX3 instead of a Silver Easton Classic Aluminum Shaft? Could you imagine how his hands would be?

This was a guy that didn't deal with all of that. He did what he did on his own natural abilities. Ones greater than anyone else's.