Hart Trophy Tournament (1969-00) Round 4: 1984 Wayne Gretzky vs 1986 Wayne Gretzky

[blundluntman]

MATCHUP #2 (Round 4): Wayne Gretzky (1984) vs Wayne Gretzky (1986)

Wayne Gretzky (1983-84):
74 Games Played 87 Goals 118 Assists 205 Points | 1st in Points, 1st in Assists, 1st in Goals, Pearson/Lindsay, Art Ross, 1st AST

Wayne Gretzky (1985-86):
80 Games Played 52 Goals 163 Assists 215 Points | 1st in Points, 6th in Goals, 1st in Assists, Art Ross, 1st AST

Round 4 Matchups:
71 Orr vs 93 Lemieux Thread
84 Gretzky vs 86 Gretzky

Round 3 Results

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[bobholly39]

MATCHUP #2 (Round 4): Wayne Gretzky (1984) vs Wayne Gretzky (1986)

Wayne Gretzky (1983-84):
74 Games Played 87 Goals 118 Assists 205 Points | 1st in Points, 1st in Assists, 1st in Goals, Art Ross, Pearson/Lindsay, 1st AST

Wayne Gretzky (1985-86):
80 Games Played 52 Goals 163 Assists 215 Points | 1st in Points, 6th in Goals, 1st in Assists, Pearson/Lindsay, Art Ross, 1st AST

Round 4 Matchups:
71 Orr vs 93 Lemieux Thread
84 Gretzky vs 86 Gretzky

Unsure about this one. I'll have to think on it. Between Gretzky 86, 82 and 84 the line is so thin I can rationalize either of them being #1.

BTW OP - Gretzky did not win the Pearson in 86 - Mario Lemieux did.

 

[blundluntman]

Unsure about this one. I'll have to think on it. Between Gretzky 86, 82 and 84 the line is so thin I can rationalize either of them being #1.

BTW OP - Gretzky did not win the Pearson in 86 - Mario Lemieux did.

Ah that's right, thanks for letting me know

 

[Toby91ca]

Unsure about this one. I'll have to think on it. Between Gretzky 86, 82 and 84 the line is so thin I can rationalize either of them being #1.

BTW OP - Gretzky did not win the Pearson in 86 - Mario Lemieux did.

Still remains easy for me, I think Gretzky in 1984 is the greatest performance by anyone in any season (perhaps beyond the sport of hockey).....so anything up against that season is an easy pick for me.

It's interesting that someone voted Langway instead of Gretzky as 1st in Hart voting that year though. Someone else also voted for Trottier. Either way, has to be one of the most decisive votes in history. 62 voters, 60 had Gretzky as their 1st pick and the other 2 had him as their 2nd. Langway was, by far, the runner up to the Hart that year and he only had 26 2nd place votes.

 

[bobholly39]

Still remains easy for me, I think Gretzky in 1984 is the greatest performance by anyone in any season (perhaps beyond the sport of hockey).....so anything up against that season is an easy pick for me.

It's interesting that someone voted Langway instead of Gretzky as 1st in Hart voting that year though. Someone else also voted for Trottier. Either way, has to be one of the most decisive votes in history. 62 voters, 60 had Gretzky as their 1st pick and the other 2 had him as their 2nd. Langway was, by far, the runner up to the Hart that year and he only had 26 2nd place votes.

The non unanimous vote doesn't bother me too much....I mean - it's stupid yes. But when a guy is winning a hart every single year, people try to find reasons to vote elsewhere, so not super surprising.

I think I'm ok with the idea that Gretzky performed better on a per game basis in 1984 than 1986. But - to me it comes down to 6 games missed. Now 6 isn't a lot, but when seasons are so close it's making a bit of a difference as to which season was better. It's also why I had voted Gretzky 82 above 84 - and also why I didn't vote for Lemieux 93 vs Orr 71 (though that one would be close even with more games)

 

[Albatros]

I have more problem with voting Langway than not voting Gretzky. Although he was undeniably one of the best defensemen in the league, the Caps had an emerging all-star defense with Scott Stevens and Larry Murphy among others. Langway may have been their defensive leader, Secretary of Defense and what not, but he wasn't carrying that team to an extent that would have been worthy of a Hart vote over Gretzky.

 

[JackSlater]

The non unanimous vote doesn't bother me too much....I mean - it's stupid yes. But when a guy is winning a hart every single year, people try to find reasons to vote elsewhere, so not super surprising.

I think I'm ok with the idea that Gretzky performed better on a per game basis in 1984 than 1986. But - to me it comes down to 6 games missed. Now 6 isn't a lot, but when seasons are so close it's making a bit of a difference as to which season was better. It's also why I had voted Gretzky 82 above 84 - and also why I didn't vote for Lemieux 93 vs Orr 71 (though that one would be close even with more games)

This is the same for me. The margins are very small, I think that Gretzky was somewhat better per game in 1984, but six games isn't exactly nothing. Even league scoring on a per game basis was almost identical that year and Gretzky's teammates scored at pretty much the same level each year. It's a tough one.