Most goals (Ovy) vs Most assists (Crosby) in NHL history?

[bobholly39]

I guess Crosby...because he's gonna have to play at a high level for another 12 years...

Or another way of saying it....

I guess Crosby....because he's going to retire in about ~3 years, but what a 3 year it's about to be! 300+ assist per season.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

When this happens, which do you think is more impressive between the two?

View attachment 933236

When he passes Mario for 12th place? Huh?

 

[Dr Pepper]

"When this happens", eh?

Sean from the top rope.

 

[Golden_Jet]

"When this happens", eh?

Sean from the top rope.

We’re still waiting for Sean to come back and try and defend this

 

[Dr Pepper]

We’re still waiting for Sean to come back and try and defend this

You've been around long enough to know that'll never happen.

 

[dirtydanglez]

would have been nice to see where these two would have ended up on those lists if they were on the same team. it wasn't that far off from happening either.

 

[tabness]

The assists record is obviously the more difficult to attain record set by Gretzky. He cleared that by almost ten times what he cleared the goals record by.

No idea why the poll results are what they are...

(yes goals are going to be more highly regarded than assists and yes Ovechkin is right on the cusp of actually attaining the goals record whereas Crosby almost certainly won't touch the assist record unless something drastic happens)

Was a nice Crosby vs Ovechkin poll stacked in favor of Crosby @SeanMoneyHands but people either saw through it or are just not getting it lol

 

[CanadianSniper]

There is absolutely no way Crosby achieves this, not sure why OP thinks that he will. It would easily be the most impressive thing if he did though.

 

[Goptor]

Crosby breaking Gretzky's assist record will be the best story in sports.

Can't wait to get tickets to see him do it.

 

[wetcoast]

Since you think he gets there, when do you think it happens? At what age.

It's a troll thread and we are all prisoners here.

 

[Plural]

The assist record is more impressive.

 

[nowhereman]

Crosby having the most assists in NHL history would be more impressive, since he would have to put up roughly 300+ assists a season over the next few years to do it.

The absurdity of the OP aside, the fact that Gretzky has more assists than any other player has points is absolutely mind-boggling.

 

[Acallabeth]

The absurdity of the OP aside, the fact that Gretzky has more assists than any other player has points is absolutely mind-boggling.

Gretzky's 163-assist record would also be Lemieux's 3rd highest scoring season

 

[jigglysquishy]

The margin of Gretzky versus others is simply greater for assists than it is for goals

Here is what it looked like in 1999 upon Gretzky's retirement

Rank	Player	Goals	VsG
1​	Wayne Gretzky	894​	1.00​
2​	Gordie Howe	801​	0.90​
3​	Marcel Dionne	731​	0.82​
4​	Phil Esposito	717​	0.80​
5​	Mike Gartner	708​	0.69​
6​	Mario Lemieux	613​	0.69​
7​	Bobby Hull	610​	0.68​
8​	Mark Messier	610​	0.68​
9​	Dino Ciccarelli	608​	0.68​
10​	Jari Kurri	601​	0.67​

Rank	Player	Assists	VsG
1​	Wayne Gretzky	1963​	1.00​
2​	Paul Coffey	1102​	0.56​
3​	Ray Bourque	1083​	0.55​
4​	Mark Messier	1050​	0.53​
5​	Gordie Howe	1049​	0.53​
6​	Marcel Dionne	1040​	0.53​
7​	Ron Francis	1037​	0.53​
8​	Stan Mikita	926​	0.47​
9​	Bryan Trottier	901​	0.46​
10​	Dale Hawerchuk	891​	0.45​

Rank	Player	Points	VsG
1​	Wayne Gretzky	2857​	1.00​
2​	Gordie Howe	1850​	0.65​
3​	Marcel Dionne	1771​	0.62​
4​	Mark Messier	1660​	0.58​
5​	Phil Esposito	1590​	0.56​
6​	Mario Lemieux	1494​	0.52​
7​	Paul Coffey	1487​	0.52​
8​	Ron Francis	1486​	0.52​
9​	Steve Yzerman	1483​	0.52​
10​	Ray Bourque	1468​	0.51​

And here's what it looks like as of the end of the 2023-24 season

Rank	Player	Goals	VsG
1​	Wayne Gretzky	894​	1.00​
2​	Alex Ovechkin	853​	0.95​
3​	Gordie Howe	801​	0.90​
4​	Jaromir Jagr	766​	0.86​
5​	Brett Hull	741​	0.83​
6​	Marcel Dionne	731​	0.82​
7​	Phil Esposito	717​	0.80​
8​	Mike Gartner	708​	0.79​
9​	Mark Messier	694​	0.78​
10​	Steve Yzerman	692​	0.77​

Rank	Player	Assists	VsG
1​	Wayne Gretzky	1963​	1.00​
2​	Ron Francis	1249​	0.64​
3​	Mark Messier	1196​	0.61​
4​	Ray Bourque	1169​	0.60​
5​	Jaromir Jagr	1155​	0.59​
6​	Paul Coffey	1135​	0.58​
7​	Joe Thornton	1109​	0.56​
8​	Adam Oates	1079​	0.55​
9​	Steve Yzerman	1063​	0.54​
10​	Gordie Howe	1049​	0.53​

Rank	Player	Points	VsG
1​	Wayne Gretzky	2857​	1.00​
2​	Jaromir Jagr	1921​	0.67​
3​	Mark Messier	1887​	0.66​
4​	Gordie Howe	1850​	0.65​
5​	Ron Francis	1798​	0.63​
6​	Marcel Dionne	1771​	0.62​
7​	Steve Yzerman	1755​	0.61​
8​	Mario Lemieux	1723​	0.60​
9​	Joe Sakic	1641​	0.57​
10​	Sidney Crosby	1596​	0.56​

When Gretzky retired, 4 other players had scored at least 80% as many goals. 18 players had scored at least 60% as many goals.

When Gretzky retired, 0 other players had score at least 80% as many assists. 0 players had scored at 60% as many assists.

When Gretzky retired, he doubled everyone in league history in assists except for 6 players. Even today, only 14 players have scored more than half as many assists as Gretzky.

 

[jigglysquishy]

For the visually inclined. The top 50 all time in assists, graphed

 

[Golden_Jet]

The assist record is more impressive.

Even though it’s impossible

 

[Plural]

Even though it’s impossible

That's the reason it's so impressive.

 

[Machinehead]

It's wild that the difference between Gretzky and Crosby is another Crosby.

 

[Mulletman]

Crosby does actually have a chance to compile himself pretty high up on the all time assists list if he wants to. He's 37 right now and on pace for 1054 career assists once the season is over. That's 196 assists from taking the number 2 spot on the all time assist list, easily doable for Crosby if he's willing to hang around and build his legacy.

 

[Realgud]

If Crosby doesn't beat Gretzky does it count as yet another failure by Kyle Dubas? I say yes.

 

[Midnight Judges]

The stats being posted in this thread are not indicative of much, aside from the high scoring environment from the 70s through the mid 90s. While literally correct, they paint a distorted view of things.

 

[orby]

Goals is the better individual record but if Crosby somehow plays long enough to break Gretzky's assist record, it would be an astounding feat. I.e., it won't happen.

 

[ole ole]

Normally goals but in this case no player has even come close to the assist record and most believe it will never be broken. But in saying by chance a player does break the assist record i would considered the most impressive thing ever.

 

[Golden_Jet]

When this happens, which do you think is more impressive between the two?

View attachment 933236

Zero chance Crosby gets 950 more points at his age.
What in the world makes you think he will.

Are you ever coming back to your own thread to explain thoughts behind this?.

 

[Hisch13r]

Assist record would be more impressive but it's also not even a possibility