The Westport Library Resource Guides: Wayne Gretzky: About

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Who is Wayne Gretzky?

Every superlative has been used, many strung together, to describe the otherwordly talent of Wayne Gretzky, who commonly is regarded as the greatest hockey player ever.

Based purely on statistics, there is no argument -- the man is without peer, nor will he have one in the foreseeable future. He owns many records from the ranks of peewee hockey to the NHL, sitting atop every meaningful offensive category, often miles ahead of the players ranked second.

Gretzky's list of achievements is as long as the sticks, first wooden, then composite, that he handled like magic wands, his combined feats a preposterous encyclopedia.

The Great One retired in 1999 following a 20-season NHL career with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.

Gretzky took with him 61 NHL records, including a handful that are truly staggering: single-season marks of 92 goals, 163 assists and 215 points; a point streak of 51 games; 894 career goals and 2,857 career points; 15 seasons of 100 or more points, 13 of them consecutive.

And in 1981-82, at age 20, he scored 50 goals in an unthinkable 39 games, obliterating the record of 50 in 50 set by Montreal Canadiens legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard in 1944-45 and equaled by Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders in 1980-81. On his historic run, Gretzky scored four goals in Game 38 and five in Game 39.

Four Stanley Cup championships with the Edmonton Oilers during the 1980s; winner of the Hart Trophy nine times as the NHL's most valuable player; 10-time winner of the Art Ross Trophy as the League's leading scorer, including seven consecutive; twice the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason MVP; and five times the winner of the Lady Byng Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award, respectively given annually to the NHL's most gentlemanly player and to the MVP as voted by the players. Continue reading from NHL