If Gretzky started playing in todays NHL

What would his stats look like, what would his ending career stats look like?

 

Well considering we dont really have any generational offensive talents in the league. He would score much more than anyone else, just not as dominate as he used to be. I think 140 to 160 average points per game.

 

Prime Gretzky in todays NHL?
70+ goals and 170+ points seems reasonable to me.

Do you mean in NBA?

 

Right about where I have him.
No clutching & grabbing as well as his ability to top shelf the puck would make him an unbelievable force.

 

I think he could hit 200 points multiple seasons. The game is so much softer and cleaner now. It favors his game more.

 

Prime Gretzky probably. 65 goals 90 assists consistently. Beast year like 70 goals 100 assists.

 

Yeah, it would seems definetly like this if we transfer eighties Gretzky to todays NHL.
Still better goalscorer with gap around 10 goals (todays average Richard T. season 50-55, Gretzky would hit 65 season by season) and todays almost untouchable 90 assists would be the norm by Gretzky.

 

I don't even want to think about Lemieux in this era.

 

this was my next question

 

A prime lemieux would rack up the Ross in like 50 games.

 

Really depends on whether his coach would allow him to play an all-out offensive game like Sather did, or would he put a leash on him. Coaches nowadays are alot more conservative than Sather, so while Gretzky would still win his Art Ross trophies, I don't see him dominating the scoring race quite like he did in the 80's. I think 140 to 160 points at his peak would be a reasonable expectation.

 

i would expect something like 40-50g, 90-120a.

i don't think gretzky's wrist shot was strong enough to beat goalies regularly, despite his accuracy. he scored huge numbers of goals with his preferred slapshot, but there is much less time and space to use the slapshot, and goalies no longer allow unscreened slapshots every game.

position on the ice is more important than having a great shot, but gretzky also may have avoided contact more than any player i have ever seen, and there is much less open ice now.

i think he would be more of a perimeter playmaker. i don't think his playmaking would be as restricted, and would still provide a huge amount of offense.

also depends on TOI. gretzky and other stars often played around 30 minutes.

this is basically opposite of my view. i think the NHL is more physical than it was, especially for a player like gretzky who could always find open ice.

 

Yes. BUT Gretzky also would be a lot more physical and propably even taller. His talent and gifts are uncomparable with any player I've ever seen so he would be the ultimate player no matter what era. He would also have more PP time now.

I ment the game was rougher and I agree the game is more physical now but Gretzky would also be more physical. No one worked harder than him.

 

My guesstimate would be that he would be a 150-170 point player at his peak today.

All the "Crosby/Ovechkin is the best player ever" talk would be gone after the first season Gretzky played.

With no red line for passing, Wayne would be having a field day. Not to mention no clutching and grabbing.

Similarly Mario would be scoring goals like there was no tomorrow.


Oh, and happy birthday, Wayne! Thanks for the memories.

 

I'm gonna say 160 points would be his peak.

 

I think Gretzky would be a 40-50 goal scorer and a 80-100 assist guy.

In his best season he would put up 150 Pts.

Lemieux was much more of a physical specimen and since the NHL now is faster and more physical, this would limit Gretzky's dominance to the extend of the 1980's.

I am one of those that believes the best hockey played was between 1985-96 but even in that period the scoring was much higher than it has been between 1996-97 and 2010-11.

Goalies are much better positionally, and players are almost robotic.

Even the best offensive players of the last 15 years were not given the kind of offensive freedom that Gretzky was given.

For instance for all the talk of Jagr playing pond hockey, he was still limited by a system and the trap.

Yes there are less obstructions now than there were even in the late 90's but in the 1980's they were actually calling penalties as well.

That decade had a lot of powerplay goals.

It would also all depend on the linemates Gretzky has.

Gretzky's talent was "talent" but in today's game even a pure hybrid bread could not score more than 160 Pts.

Let's say you had a player that had the speed of Bure, the stickhandling and size of Jagr, the strength of Lindros, the vision, playmaking and IQ of Gretzky coupled with Orr and Lemieux' overall skills and still this player could not score more than 160 Pts, let alone consistently in this new NHL.

Not because the players are better now but just because of the overall state of the game, the robotic state of players, the trapping system, the need for teams to make money and so to win rather now than later, the positioning of goalies, the speed of the game overall.

 

Prime Gretzky now?

20 goals 40 assists

At least, that's what some people here will tell you.

 

Still think he could hit 200 points if he was in his prime. The way the rules have changed, the lack of clutch and grab, no red line, more PPs...yeah. Gretzky would have a field day.

 

There still is clutch and grab no matter what, it's not like the whole game is played on the powerplay.

The amount of powerplays now is actually less now than it was even back in the early 1990's.

As for no red line, the removal of the red line helps those that are very fast.

Gretzky was a good skater but he was not elite, even on his team Kurri, Messier and Coffey were better skaters than him.

His assists totals would still be higher than almost everyone but 200 Pts even by Greztky in today's day and age could not be possible.

The positional play of goalies and the fact that if any position has improved vastly from the 1980's is goaltending, that it would make it near impossible even by like I said a player that had all the best attributes of the greats into one hockey body and frame could not score 200 pts in today's game.

 

I would guess an average of 170 during his peak seasons. I can't imagine Gretzky only getting between 80-100 assists though... that's Sedin/Thornton/Crosby territory. I would guess 110-120 assists for Gretzky and 50-60 goals.

 

How is 80-100 assists Sedin/Thornton/Crosby territory?

Thornton got 90 twice and has not had 80 since. (the two seasons he got 90, the NHL was calling penalties much more frequently and strictly than they have been called ever since).

Both Sedin and Crosby hit 80 on peak seasons.

Gretzky would hit 100 on peak years but even those 100-120 assists seasons could not be possible, even from Greztky.

Not saying players are better now or more skilled but just the fact that the game is played vastly differently from the 1980's would mean that the certain "pure physical shortcomings" that Gretzky had could not made up for by the simple fact that he had the best vision, IQ in the history of the game or the fact that he could anticipate the play.

Think about this; players now are brought up from the time they learn to skate until they grow up to play a strategical game.

Not all players are born equal, some players have better vision than others but players now make less mistakes than they used to and they lack creativity so Greztky would not be given as much offensive freedom as he did before.

Yes Gretzky was great but he also turned over the puck a lot. Players were allowed to be free on the ice, were allowed to take chances and make mistakes, now if a player turns over the puck too many times he could get benched.

 

Well hockey players were so bad back in the day and everything nowdays is better, so he'd probably be around 30-40 points.

 

Why do people have to think with extremes?

Either the NHL players suck now and Gretzky could score 200 Pts?

or

The NHL players in the old days sucked and Gretzky could only manage 40 Pts?

How about people think with a reasonable and open-mind?


Gretzky, Lemieux would still be dominant but even for them 160+ Pts would be very hard to pull off in today's NHL.

Why does a player have to win an Art Ross by 40-70 Pts to be considered dominant?

What if the days of winning the Art Ross by more than 20 Pts are long gone, maybe the days of 70 goals and 160+ Pts are also long gone?

Can't people accept this?

The "new players" don't suck now just like how the "old players" didn't suck either.

Different time, different game.

 

You need a new sarcasm detector.

 

But they are not gone! Sid was on pace for over 130 points. Do you think him as equal with the great one or Mario Lemieux? Hell no! Someday there might be a player that is there with Wayne and Mario but right now there is none in the NHL.
Sidney Crosby is as good as it gets at the moment.