Wayne Gretzky's NHL regular line-mates (1979-1999)
- Thread starter The Panther
- Start date
In 92-93 looks like Robitaille and a combination of Granato and Sandstrom - Wayne Gretzky 1992-93 Scoring Log | Hockey-Reference.com
Fastest way to count* is to search for player name, which in Chrome both gives you a count and highlights the name, so you can see if the goal was EV/PP/SH. You'd assume that the players who received points on more of Gretzky's goals spent more time with him than the players with less. Can also repeat the exercise for all of Gretzky's years if you want.
[* Actual fastest way to count is to write a script and scrape the data, but if you're not actually trying to record stats, this way works perfectly well]
Fastest way to count* is to search for player name, which in Chrome both gives you a count and highlights the name, so you can see if the goal was EV/PP/SH. You'd assume that the players who received points on more of Gretzky's goals spent more time with him than the players with less. Can also repeat the exercise for all of Gretzky's years if you want.
[* Actual fastest way to count is to write a script and scrape the data, but if you're not actually trying to record stats, this way works perfectly well]
vikash1987
Registered User
1995-96 (Blues)
Mike Keenan shuffled the lines a bit. At different points, Gretz was with Brett Hull and Shayne Corson, and with Glenn Anderson and Geoff Courtnall. I think Yuri Khmylev was in there briefly as well.
1996-97 (Rangers)
Colin Campbell also shuffled the lines a bit. Gretz began with Sergei Nemchinov and Alex Kovalev, then centered Luc Robitaille and Niklas Sundstrom. Robitaille was dropped for checking winger Bill Berg at one point. Later on, I think the line mates were Esa Tikkanen and Pat Flatley.
Mike Keenan shuffled the lines a bit. At different points, Gretz was with Brett Hull and Shayne Corson, and with Glenn Anderson and Geoff Courtnall. I think Yuri Khmylev was in there briefly as well.
1996-97 (Rangers)
Colin Campbell also shuffled the lines a bit. Gretz began with Sergei Nemchinov and Alex Kovalev, then centered Luc Robitaille and Niklas Sundstrom. Robitaille was dropped for checking winger Bill Berg at one point. Later on, I think the line mates were Esa Tikkanen and Pat Flatley.
vikash1987
Registered User
Ziggy Stardust
Master Debater
Gretzky played with so many different pairs of wingers during his time in LA, and to start the 1988 season he had Bobby Carpenter on his LW and a rotating cast of players on RW, ranging from Mike Allison to Dave Taylor and the memorable Igor Liba. He’d also see shifts with Nicholls and Robitaille. Chris Kontos joined Gretzky for the playoffs and went on a tear with Wayne and Bernie.
The rotation of wingers carried on the following season with forwards such as Bob Kudelski and Mikko Makela among others taking shifts with 99, until Bernie was dealt for Sandstrom and Granato and they became his regular wingers until ‘92.
In ‘93 Kurri mostly played center and Luc was paired with him, and Barry Melrose had Gretzky playing with Tomas Sandstrom and Warren Rychel. Melrose usually played with 11 forwards though and would rotate Gretzky or Rychel on the fourth line with Conacher and Taylor, so at times you’d see a random winger on Gretzky’s line along with Sandstrom, like the aforementioned Rychel, Robitaille, Kurri or Granato.
Sandstrom was dealt in ‘94, and so Mike Donnelly usually played LW on Gretzky’s line with Kurri, and Robitaille played mostly with Robert Lang and John Druce.
During the lockout season Gretzky played mostly with Tocchet and a rotation of different wingers again, from Eric Lacroix to Jari Kurri, Randy Burridge, and Tony Granato.
In his final season with the Kings, Gretzky was mostly playing with Vitali Yachmenev and Dmitri Khristich.
As you guessed, Gretzky didn’t have much in terms of line cohesion in LA like he had in Edmonton. Throughout most of his tenure with the Kings, Gretzky played with a wide variety of linemates.
The rotation of wingers carried on the following season with forwards such as Bob Kudelski and Mikko Makela among others taking shifts with 99, until Bernie was dealt for Sandstrom and Granato and they became his regular wingers until ‘92.
In ‘93 Kurri mostly played center and Luc was paired with him, and Barry Melrose had Gretzky playing with Tomas Sandstrom and Warren Rychel. Melrose usually played with 11 forwards though and would rotate Gretzky or Rychel on the fourth line with Conacher and Taylor, so at times you’d see a random winger on Gretzky’s line along with Sandstrom, like the aforementioned Rychel, Robitaille, Kurri or Granato.
Sandstrom was dealt in ‘94, and so Mike Donnelly usually played LW on Gretzky’s line with Kurri, and Robitaille played mostly with Robert Lang and John Druce.
During the lockout season Gretzky played mostly with Tocchet and a rotation of different wingers again, from Eric Lacroix to Jari Kurri, Randy Burridge, and Tony Granato.
In his final season with the Kings, Gretzky was mostly playing with Vitali Yachmenev and Dmitri Khristich.
As you guessed, Gretzky didn’t have much in terms of line cohesion in LA like he had in Edmonton. Throughout most of his tenure with the Kings, Gretzky played with a wide variety of linemates.
The Panther
Registered User
Awesome post.
LOL, Bob Kudelski. I think it's either the autumn of 1989 or the autumn of 1990 when Kudelski scored about ten goals in the first month of the season, and all were primary assists by Wayne.
I remember the Chris Kontos thing. (I remember him scoring mainly on the power play.)
Wow, it got bad towards the end in L.A. Randy Burridge....?
Ziggy Stardust
Master Debater
Oh, it got worse than Burridge that year. They even brought in Rob Brown for a cup of coffee. And the year prior, minor league journeyman Dan Currie was playing with Gretzky and Kurri.
It really is astonishing to see how Gretzky won the Art Ross Trophy in 1993-94 considering his linemates. He had 44 more points than the next highest scoring King, Luc Robitaille.
The Panther
Registered User
In retrospect, I wish Wayne had left L.A. in 1994. It really got dark the last couple of years.
Ziggy Stardust
Master Debater
Logically, that would have been the right time to move Gretzky, but McNall wouldn’t do that to his prized possession and meal ticket. Kings management also didn’t have any foresight or long term plans.
Big Phil
Registered User
- Nov 2, 2003
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I always wondered why he and Robitaille weren't attached at the hip on the same line. I guess you want to spread things out a bit and Robitaille at that point was perfectly capable being a top scorer on his own line. But just like with Hull I think that would have been a line that could have thrived. Gretzky liked to carry the puck and find the open man and Robitaille scored some of the wackiest goals in NHL history (this is why he was called Lucky Luc). He wasn't the puck carrier that Gretzky was per se of course so I always wonder why that wasn't a good fit.
Same with Gretzky and Hull. People dismiss that time they had together but it was brief. That being said Hull would have been perfect with him. Hull loved getting the one timers in open ice, who better to serve them up than Gretzky? I honestly thought they would have been awesome over a full season, even by 1996.
Same with Gretzky and Hull. People dismiss that time they had together but it was brief. That being said Hull would have been perfect with him. Hull loved getting the one timers in open ice, who better to serve them up than Gretzky? I honestly thought they would have been awesome over a full season, even by 1996.
Uncle Rotter
Registered User
Callighen & Kurri
Callighen & Anderson
Hunter & Hughes
Hunter & Lumley
Lumley & Kurri
Hughes & Kurri
Anderson & Kurri
Iron Mike Sharpe
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- Dec 6, 2017
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81-82 was interesting - it was the last year of the 17-man roster. Gretzky was often out every second shift and often centred two ES lines each game. As I recall, Semenko & Lumley was the only consistent line throughout the year, and he otherwise had a rotation of having Anderson playing both wings, Messier and Callighen sometimes on the left side, Kurri sometimes on the right, starting to stick with Gretzky near the end of the season. As in the previous season, Kurri skated a lot with fellow Finn Matti Hagman.
Krushelnyski still played with Gretzky & Kurri in 85-86 but went down to injury, so Summanen got the spot, with Tik getting a tryout with them late in the season. Anderson remained Messier's right side pivot, but saw PP time with Gretzky and Kurri, and joined them on the left side when Messier was injured.
As a Ranger fan heres what I remember
In 96 97 he started with Nemchinov and Kovalev but wound up finishing with a combination of Sundstrom/Courtnall on his right and Robitille on his left.
In 97 98 he was with Sundstrom and Stevens for most of the year but finished with Kovalev on his right and idk who on his left.
In 98 99 he started with Kovalev and Tikkanen but spent most of the year with Maclean and Graves. Sometimes Sundstrom would play in Graves's slot.
In 96 97 he started with Nemchinov and Kovalev but wound up finishing with a combination of Sundstrom/Courtnall on his right and Robitille on his left.
In 97 98 he was with Sundstrom and Stevens for most of the year but finished with Kovalev on his right and idk who on his left.
In 98 99 he started with Kovalev and Tikkanen but spent most of the year with Maclean and Graves. Sometimes Sundstrom would play in Graves's slot.
Iapyi
Registered User
Maybe my memory is flickering on this subject but why do I seem to remember him playing a fair amount with Semenko beyond what is shown here?
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I did compile linemate data for some of gretzkys season. Unfortunately that was on the old pc and its gone now. So going off of memory:
81-82 he started with kurri and anderson then lumley took over at lw for anderson midway then towards the end for whatever reason, lumley was booted off for anderson again. Semenko was also on lw a bit.
88-89: as ziggy said, an assortment of wingers, but nicholls was the one player that was in on most of gretzkys ES points
and thats all i remember honestly.
81-82 he started with kurri and anderson then lumley took over at lw for anderson midway then towards the end for whatever reason, lumley was booted off for anderson again. Semenko was also on lw a bit.
88-89: as ziggy said, an assortment of wingers, but nicholls was the one player that was in on most of gretzkys ES points
and thats all i remember honestly.
The Panther
Registered User
Here's the significant players involved (scoring points' wise) in Gretzky's EVEN STRENGTH points (not counting short-handed) in some of his seasons. Namely...
1981-82
41 - Jari Kurri
32 - Glenn Anderson
31 - Dave Lumley
25 - Paul Coffey (D)
16 - Mark Messier
12 - Brett Callighen
11 - Pat Hughes
10 - Doug Hicks (D)
10 - Lee Fogolin (D)
9 - Garry Lariviere (D)
8 - Dave Semenko
8 - Risto Siltanen
7 - Kevin Lowe (D)
6 - Charlie Huddy (D)
Semenko is low on this list, but the thing is, that doesn't necessarily mean he didn't play a lot of games with Gretzky (because he's... Dave Semenko). I mean, if Semenko played 35 games with Gretzky, and Kurri played 45 games with him, it would not surprise me that Semenko shared 8 ES points with Gretzky and Kurri 41.
1984-85
86 - Jari Kurri
42 - Mike Krushelnyski
38 - Paul Coffey (D)
16 - Charlie Huddy (D)
7 - Randy Gregg (D)
7 - Dave Hunter
7 - Don Jackson (D)
7 - Kevin Lowe (D)
6 - Glenn Anderson
5 - Lee Fogolin (D)
5 - Dave Semenko
4 - Pat Hughes
4 - Larry Melnyck (D)
3 - Willy Lindstrom
3 - Mark Messier
Obviously, no doubt who his two main line-mates were this season.... Also, is 86 even-strength goals (which isn't even counting short-handed!) some kind of NHL record for shared scores by two teammates...? That's crazy.
1985-86
71 - Jari Kurri
47 - Paul Coffey (D)
24 - Glenn Anderson
18 - Dave Hunter
11 - Charlie Huddy (D)
9 - Lee Fogolin (D)
9 - Mike Krushelnyski
9 - Raimo Summanen
8 - Dave Semenko
7 - Mark Messier
6 - Dave Lumley
6 - Mark Napier
5 - Marty McSorley
As I thought, looks like Kurri and a revolving door of left-wingers. The surprise is Dave Hunter with 18. A cursory look suggests that Sather tried this combo in the latter part of the season....
1986-87
62 - Jari Kurri
47 - Esa Tikkanen
17 - Glenn Anderson
12 - Mike Krushelnyski
12 - Craig Muni (D)
11 - Kevin Lowe (D)
11 - Steve Smith (D)
10 - Paul Coffey (D)
8 - Randy Gregg (D)
8 - Charlie Huddy (D)
8 - Mark Messier
4 - Jeff Beukeboom (D)
The first of two great seasons of the Gretzky - Kurri - Tikkanen combo.
1988-89 (L.A.)
23 - Bernie Nicholls
18 - Luc Robitaille
15 - Mike Krushelnyski
14 - Mike Allison
14 - Dave Taylor
11 - Steve Duchesne (D)
11 - John Tonelli
10 - Doug Crossman (D)
9 - Bob Carpenter
5 - Dale DeGray (D)
5 - Marty McSorley (D)
5 - Tom Laidlaw (D)
While Nicholls has the most, he didn't normally ever play on Gretzky's wing (he's a center). Bear in mind that 23 out of 87 even-strength points by Nicholls is a lot, but it still leaves 74% of Bernie's even-strength points being ones that Gretzky didn't factor in. If they'd been line-mates, I think that number would be a lot lower. It's probably a thing where Gretzky would get double-shifted or whatnot when the next line was coming on, or late in games with the Kings down the two of them would see the ice together.
This is a weird season, in which Wayne seems to have played with a revolving door of (not very good) linemates.
1990-91 (L.A.)
45 - Tomas Sandstrom
34 - Tony Granato
19 - Steve Duchesne (D)
15 - Luc Robitaille
11 - Bob Kudelski
10 - Marty McSorley (D)
6 - Larry Robinson (D)
5 - Brian Benning (D)
5 - Rob Blake (D)
5 - Dave Taylor
4 - Rod Buskas (D)
Clear again who the two main guys were.
Troubadour
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- Feb 23, 2018
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MarkusKetterer
Shoulda got one game in
Staniowski
Registered User
Liba was a well-known Czechoslovakian (Slovak, I think) forward in the 1980s. Was a significant player on the national team for many years, and scored a lot in the top Czechoslovakian league. He almost certainly would've been a good scorer in the NHL in the '80s if he had the opportunity.
MarkusKetterer
Shoulda got one game in
I looked him up after I asked that. Didn’t do too badly in his only season. I always wonder with these one season Europeans in the 80s/early 90s. Like were they not given a full opportunity? Trying their hand in North America? Just completely sucked at their job? A combination? These years are littered with people who were in the North America for only one or two years
LeBlondeDemon10
Registered User
JianYang
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- Sep 29, 2017
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It's funny that in his last few years in this league the one linemate you can recall is Niklas sundstrom.
I think Gretzky pumped him up quite a bit too now that you mention him, but he would pump up a broom too.
Uncle Rotter
Registered User
Uncle Rotter
Registered User
It looks like the Semenko experiment started on November 27 against Chicago. Prior to that he had 1 goal, 2 assists in 18 games. Over the next 14 games he was 6-6-12. Then in January he ran into suspension troubles and played in only one one game before the 24th. For the last 27 games of the season he was 5-4-0. He had something of a hot streak in March (9 GP 4-4-8) but only one of those points came even strength with Gretzky.
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