How Great Would Gretzky Be If He Played In The Modern Era? (post-lockout)

[ViD]

I think his average season would be 100+ assists and 50+ goals.

Not a chance. Goalies and defensemen are much better now and Gretzky wasn’t a physical specimen to take over like McDavid.

His numbers would be similar to Kucherov+

 

[zenator]

It would be cool to see modern Gretzky who would spend time working out and be bigger and stronger.

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

I think there's probably an irreconcilable difference of opinion here between people who think modern players have access to so much more stuff that they'd somehow be better, and people who understand that unique talent will always be unique talent.

Gretzky with access to modern sports medicine likely would have been even better over a longer period of time.

 

[Rusty8719]

Curious where people get these sub 40G predictions. This is the guy with the 2nd highest goal total and the highest single goal record in the NHL.

What does that make the other best goal scorers during those eras? 20g guys? 15g guys?

Do you really think Thompson, Guentzel, Connor, JT Miller, etc are better goal scorers than Gretzky?

Crazy talk

It's hard to articulate but it always looks like Gretzky "thought" his way to goals.

The argument would be in the modern era it's very difficult to just 4d chess your way to 50 goals. Draisaitl is maybe the most crafty and cerebral goal scorer in the league but he also has a tippy top tier shot - which Gretzky didn't have relative to his peers.

 

[Ghost of Murph]

Who knows. Even with modern training and equipment I doubt he would be as legendary as he ended up being. Put him on a mid team and he'd still be great, but not historically great. Mario on the other hand would totally kill it in the current era, healthy of course. His game, skill set, and size were not as era-dependent as that of Gretzky.

 

[umma gumma]

Who knows. Even with modern training and equipment I doubt he would be as legendary as he ended up being. Put him on a mid team and he'd still be great, but not historically great. Mario on the other hand would totally kill it in the current era, healthy of course. His game, skill set, and size were not as era-dependent as that of Gretzky.

What is this? Hockey IQ and desire/drive is not era dependant.

 

[Nfumass]

with all the training, new sticks, skates etc and in this non hit league, probably 190-200pts

 

[braunm]

I believe it is realistic, that given his superior IQ and ability to adapt, it is very difficult to think that in his prime years he wouldn’t average less than 140 points per year, with 165 to 170 points in a peak year. His anticipation and awareness is so much more than anyone currently playing, including Kucherov.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

The slapper is used all of the time on the power play along the half wall, and the smartest player the game has ever seen would find a way to create space to get off the necessary shot, its what he excelled at.

Not nearly to the same extent as before. Even the Dmen mostly just wrist it on goal from the point. One timers sure, but even those are less telegraphed with shorter windups.

Just look at the amount of slapper goals in today's game. You just don't see it that much, used to be very common. The times have changed, sports evolve etc.

 

[umma gumma]

Not nearly to the same extent as before. Even the Dmen mostly just wrist it on goal from the point. One timers sure, but even those are less telegraphed with shorter windups.

Just look at the amount of slapper goals in today's game. You just don't see it that much, used to be very common. The times have changed, sports evolve etc.

Yes, and the smartest player to ever play the game would figure it out.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Yes, and the smartest player to ever play the game would figure it out.

Never said he wouldn't

 

[Martin Skoula]

Butterfly goaltending was around since the 70s. His goal scoring really dropped as he aged like most players do and some pretty nasty injuries

We’re talking about a guy with the histories best hockey IQ. I’m sure with modern training, he’s scored a hell of a lot of goals.

Half his goalscoring highlight reel is 5’8 in skates stand up goalies falling down the second he crosses the blue line. I’m sure he’d adapt to modern goalies but please let’s not pretend like goaltending was a serious discipline in the 70s, it’s painful to watch.

 

[Blue and Green]

Not a chance. Goalies and defensemen are much better now and Gretzky wasn’t a physical specimen to take over like McDavid.

His numbers would be similar to Kucherov+

At age 36 and 37 he was playing in the dead-puck era, and finished top four in the scoring race in both seasons. Compare that to Crosby.

Kucherov can only dream of being as great as Gretzky was.

 

[umma gumma]

Half his goalscoring highlight reel is 5’8 in skates stand up goalies falling down the second he crosses the blue line. I’m sure he’d adapt to modern goalies but please let’s not pretend like goaltending was a serious discipline in the 70s, it’s painful to watch.

Now he played in the 70's?


He had no problems scoring on the best goalies to ever play the game.

 

[umma gumma]

Never said he wouldn't

The two slappers scored with in this video could still easily be executed in today's game if you know how to create room for yourself and know your angles. He's 37 here.

 

[zappa4ever]

If it's just him plopped into 2005-06 to play his career? (disregarding which team and teammates he'd be with)

He'd still probably lead in pts easily, but goals would suffer a ton since any team he'd be on would likely be 100 less goals than the 80's teams alone, then add the advances of goalie skill/technique/pads; not to mention Salary Cap/parity and less oppty to stat pad

EDM 1982-86 had 5 straight seasons of 400+GF (over 5GF/gm! -- only team to ever score 400+ in NHL history)
[for contrast the 15 seasons from 2005-06 thru 2019-20 there were 4 teams league-wide ttl that broke only 300GF]

2021-22 FLA is the Only instance since 2005-06 of a team breaking 4GF/gm average

most years 2005-06 thru 2019-20 the GF leader was around 3.5GF/gm;

Let's not forget that Gretzky is the padded stats GOAT w/255 goals with at least a 2 goal lead, many of those would leads never happen the last 20 years of "parity"

I think he'd still be #1 points by a wide margin but not "unreachable" as it is now

 

[nbwingsfan]

Half his goalscoring highlight reel is 5’8 in skates stand up goalies falling down the second he crosses the blue line. I’m sure he’d adapt to modern goalies but please let’s not pretend like goaltending was a serious discipline in the 70s, it’s painful to watch.

Sure it wasn’t good. But that applies to everyone during that era. If you think Gretzky is dropping down to 30-35 goals like some have predicted, then that makes players like Trottier, what, 15g guy today?

 

[umma gumma]

If it's just him plopped into 2005-06 to play his career? (disregarding which team and teammates he'd be with)

No, time machines are not a thing. He'd enjoy the same opportunities today's athletes do, and still have the best mind for the game and the same desire and will to win

 

[rogking65]

He’d have the hockey sense to dominate in any era, but he wouldn’t be strong enough to last in today’s NHL.

Perhaps modern day training would bulk him up, but who knows if an extra 20 lbs. of muscle would slow him down.

Even back then he wasn’t a particularly great physical specimen. They used to joke that he consistently finished dead last on the Oilers during strength and fitness tests, but he had so much skill that he overcame this weakness. In today’s NHL I don’t know if he still would. Just like in today’s NHL, Bobby Orr wouldn’t seem quite so fast, and Bobby Hull’s slapshots would get blocked most of the time.

That’s the sad reality of professional sports...the game doesn’t always get better, in fact sometimes it gets worse, but the players continuously get better.

you are dead wrong on fitness....he was known to have cardio superior to most athletes out there, no matter what sport. And the way penalties are called today he would have a real winger other than Semenko as a third linemate., Possible his points totals could be even higher

 

[rogking65]

There’s no chance Gretzky would outperform McDavid.

hahahaha

 

[Random Comment]

He would be a couple of tiers below the McDavid Kuch MacKinnon group.

 

[Random Comment]

This question tends to come up six months or so, and the answer is always that he'd be the favorite to win the Art Ross every season. The difference is that the separation from his peers would be smaller than in the past. The talent level is higher, but Gretzky would be a better shooter, passer, skater, puck handler, and more athletic, had he grown up today with current hockey programs, nutrition, and fitness.

He would be, but by how much? It doesn’t work linearly like you think.

 

[NotCommitted]

Gretzky would benefit from all the things modern players benefit from. Sure, the game has been developing and no one is going to put up "Gretzky in the 80s" kind of numbers (though Gretzky himself might actually come closer than most people think), but Gretzky in his 30s didn't fall off the map, he was still up there as one of the best players in the league, clearly well after his prime and those 90s stars old Wayne was playing against never fell off the map either - heck some of them went to play into their 40s and being very good players all the way into 2010s.

A prime Selänne or prime Jagr hadn't nothing on Mario, who was the only player ever to get anywhere close to prime Gretzky and a 40-year old Selänne was still a good forward in the early 2010s league and a slow as hell 43-year old Jagr had 66 points back in 2015-16. Now imagine someone trying to argue Jagr in his prime wouldn't be among the top forwards in the modern league - and as good as Jagr was at his best, he was a good tier below Lemieux and Gretzky.

 

[Sol]

No disrespect to Gretzky but the NHL actually has talented players all through the line up who are night and day more in shape than ever.

Gretzky wouldn’t be better than McDavid. Pretty comfortable saying that. Gretzky was up against pack a day kind of guys nonstop. Professional sports back in his time wasn’t as serious in terms of training as it is now. Goalies were awful then too.

 

[umma gumma]

No disrespect to Gretzky but the NHL actually has talented players all through the line up who are night and day more in shape than ever.

Gretzky wouldn’t be better than McDavid. Pretty comfortable saying that. Gretzky was up against pack a day kind of guys nonstop. Professional sports back in his time wasn’t as serious in terms of training as it is now. Goalies were awful then too.

Patrick Roy, Ed Belfour, Martin Brodeur, Domenic Hasek were awful? Kirk McLean? Curtis Joesph?

Wayne played into the 90s you know. Selanne at 27 years old was just keeping up with an old broken down Gretzky and Teemu had no problem outscoring some of the stars still playing today as an old man himself. 43 year old jagr did just fine himself too.