Wayne Gretzky's 1983-1984 Season Versus Mario Lemieux's 1992-1993 Season

[GlitchMarner]

Who was better on a per-game basis?


Gretzky's 1984 season:


74 games played
87 goals, 118 assists, 205 points, +78
Adjusted stats: 69 goals, 94 assists, 163 points

Won the Art Ross, Pearson and Hart


NHL scoring leaders:

1. Gretzky: 205 points
2. Coffey: 126 points
3. Goulet: 122 points
4. Stastny: 119 points
5. Bossy: 118 points

NHL.com - Stats


Edmonton Oilers' scoring leaders:

1. Gretzky: 205 points
2. Coffey: 126 points
3. Kurri: 113 points
4. Messier: 101 points
5. Anderson: 99 points

NHL.com - Stats


NHL goal scoring leaders:

1. Gretzky: 87 goals
2. Goulet: 56 points
3. Kerr: 54 points
4. Anderson: 54 goals
5. Kurri: 52 goals

NHL.com - Stats


Lemieux's 1993 season:


6o games played
69 goals, 91 assists, 160 points, +55
Adjusted stats: 56 goals, 73 assists, 129 points

Won the Art Ross, Hart, Pearson and Masterton


NHL scoring leaders:

1. Lemieux: 160 points
2. LaFontaine: 148 points
3. Oates: 142 points
4. Yzerman: 137 points
5. Selanne: 132 points

NHL.com - Stats


Pittsburgh Penguins' scoring leaders:

1. Lemieux: 160 points
2. Stevens: 111 points
3. Tocchet: 109 points
4. Francis: 100 points
5. Jagr: 94 points

NHL.com - Stats


NHL goal scoring leaders:

1. Mogilny: 76 goals
2. Selanne: 76 goals
3. Lemieux: 69 goals
4. Robitaille: 63 goals
5. Bure: 60 goals

NHL.com - Stats


I posted this in the polls section but want a discussion in this section.

Click to read more...

 

[The Panther]

Well, if they're close, you have to give it to Gretzky who played 14 more games. The more games you play, the harder it is to maintain consistency.

Gretzky was probably at the peak of his entire career during November and December, 1983, and January 1984 before going down to shoulder-injury. I'm not sure if Lemieux was his all-time peak in winter/spring 1993. I think, physically, Mario was more dominant circa 1988 and a bit of 1989 (when he was the same age as Gretzky in 1983-84).

Lemieux put up a ridiculous -- like, unbelievable -- number of goals and points in the final 18 games of the 1992-93 season (shortly after he came back from his cancer treatments). The Pens won 17 of those in a row (!) and then tied the last game of the season. During those 18 games, Mario scored about 31 goals and 54 points. He was on fire. As to your per-game question, I guess the particulars of this super-streak is irrelevant, but if we took those 17 wins in a row off his resume for the season, he scores 51 fewer points, or roughly 109 points in 42 games, which -- while still staggering for any other player in history -- is somewhat below Gretzky's 1983-84 overall pace.

Gretzky put up 153 point in the Oilers' first 51 games, in every game of which he scored at least a point. After coming back from injury to play his (personal) games 53 through 74, he "slowed" down a bit, scoring 52 points in the team's last 22 games.

In other words, Mario's 'peak' of that season was the 18-games at the end of the year, when he scored exactly 3 points per game. But Gretzky scored 3 points per game for 51 games.


While I do think 1983-84 is likely Gretzky's greatest regular season, I don't really think 1992-93 is Mario's, at least not from the individual perspective. I'd tend to go with 1988-89, when he played the full season and dominated his team scoring like no player, ever.


(In retrospect, you can see where Gretzky coming back from brief injury in 1984 and taking his foot slightly off the gas-pedal is the Oilers' team gearing up for the playoffs. In spring 1984, they hadn't won anything yet. But also in retrospect, does anyone think the Pens might have been better to let Mario rest longer in early 1993? It seems to me when he came back, the team, understandably, got a big boost, but then peaked too early. They came down to earth again just as the playoffs started.)

 

[Thenameless]

But also in retrospect, does anyone think the Pens might have been better to let Mario rest longer in early 1993? It seems to me when he came back, the team, understandably, got a big boost, but then peaked too early. They came down to earth again just as the playoffs started.)

As much as I'm a Lemieux fan, Mario was really into winning individual accolades and breaking records, sometimes to the detriment of the team. He admitted to "maybe coming back a bit early" from radiation treatment of his Hodgkin's disease because he knew that he still had a chance to catch and pass Pat Lafontaine in the scoring race - and amazingly he did. I think it's one of the greatest feats ever in hockey. Not saying it's better than Gretzky's 83-84 season, but still very special nonetheless.

Lemieux also famously snubbed Team Canada's World Junior team so that he could break and set new records in the QMJHL.

 

[Admiral Awesome]

As much as I'm a Lemieux fan, Mario was really into winning individual accolades and breaking records, sometimes to the detriment of the team. He admitted to "maybe coming back a bit early" from radiation treatment of his Hodgkin's disease because he knew that he still had a chance to catch and pass Pat Lafontaine in the scoring race - and amazingly he did. I think it's one of the greatest feats ever in hockey. Not saying it's better than Gretzky's 83-84 season, but still very special nonetheless.

Lemieux also famously snubbed Team Canada's World Junior team so that he could break and set new records in the QMJHL.

Wasn't he super upset about not winning the Hart in '89 as well?