NHL

Wayne Gretzky Would Still Be the NHL's All-Time Leader In Points if He Never Scored a Single Goal

Jack Dougherty Sports Editor

Updated05 Jul 2020

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It's always fun to debate the greatest of all time in certain sports because everyone has a different opinion on the matter. LeBron or Jordan? Brady or Montana? Ruth or Mantle? The GOAT debate for most American sports is a complicated one, but not for hockey. If your answer is anything other than Wayne Gretzky, you're simply incorrect. Gretzky has the most goals and assists in NHL history, and it isn't very close either.

His career points record might be the most untouchable in all of sports. It's so untouchable, in fact, he would still be the NHL's all-time leader in points if he never scored a single goal during his career.

Wayne Gretzky's incredible NHL career

Wayne Gretzky was a hockey prodigy from a young age. Everyone in the NHL circle knew he was destined for stardom since he was a teenager, but no one could have predicted the historic pro career that followed.

Gretzky made his NHL debut in 1979 when he was just 19 years old. Whereas most rookies need a season or two to find their footing in the league, Gretzky immediately established himself as the best hockey player in the world in year one.

Gretzky led the NHL in assists and points in his first season in the league. He even won the Hart Memorial Trophy as a rookie. He made a habit out of winning the league MVP, too. Gretzky won the award eight consecutive years to start his career.

He led the NHL in assists and points in all eight seasons. Gretzky was a 15-time All-Star in the league and a four-time Stanley Cup champion. He was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in 1999.

Wayne Gretzky would be the all-time leader in points if he never scored a single goal

Wayne Gretzky is the NHL's:
- all-time leading goal scorer (894 goals)
- all-time leading scorer (2,857 points)
If you take away all 894 of his goals, Gretzky is still the all-time leading scorer. He has 1,963 assists. Jaromir Jagr (2nd all-time scorer) has 1,921 points. https://t.co/nLYSHdZbXt
— Jay Zawaski (@jayzawaski) July 1, 2020

After his incredible career came to an end, Gretzky stood as the NHL's all-time leader in goals, assists, and points. In all, the GOAT holds a mind-boggling 61 records in the NHL.

Maybe the most unbelievable record Gretzky holds is his career points record. Gretzky scored 894 goals and tallied 1,963 assists in his career. That gives him 2,857 career points, which is almost 1,000 points higher than the next highest figure.

Jaromir Jagr is second on the list with 1,921 career points. If Gretzky never scored a single goal in his career, he would still be the all-time leader in points with his 1,963 assists. Dominance is putting it lightly.

Will anyone ever break Wayne Gretzky's points record?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bebl8IKA9am/

Wayne Gretzky's career points record might be the most untouchable record in all of sports. He was such a dominant force in the league he recorded more assists than any NHL player has recorded points.

Alexander Ovechkin is giving Gretzky a run for his money in the goals department, though. The Capitals star has 706 goals to his name at age 34. He needs 188 to catch Gretzky's record. Even if he does, Ovechkin isn't even close to Gretzky's assist record.

Ovechkin is the superstar of this century, but we'll need an even more transcendent star to emerge to come close to Gretzky's incredible record.

All stats courtesy of Hockey Reference