In the spirit of Alexander Ovechkin trying his best to chase down the all-time goal scoring record of 894 held by Wayne Gretzky, it’s time to take a look at other NHL records that have stood the test of time. When Gretzky retired, nobody would have suspected that his 894 goal record would be within reach as soon as it is. Ovechkin still has some work to do, but he is definitely the best chance we may ever have at taking down that lofty record. Here are five other NHL records that we don’t think have a chance to be broken, at least in our lifetime!
Most Career Points: Wayne Gretzky 2,857
This one is easy isn’t it? While the Great One’s all-time goals record could be within reach, his all-time points record will likely never be touched. Gretzky’s record is nearly 900 points more than Jaromir Jagr who sits second on the list, and is more than 1,300 ahead of Joe Thornton who is the closest active player on the all-time points list. Perhaps the most impressive part of Gretzky’s point totals? He has more career assists with 1,963 than any other player has points. It is a testament to just how dominant Gretzky was in the 80’s and 90’s during the Edmonton Oilers dynasty. If we compare his pace to Connor McDavid’s, Gretzky had about 300 more points through the same amount of games as McDavid, and already had two 200-point seasons under his belt. Trust us when we say, Gretzky’s all-time career points record will never come close to being broken.
Most Consecutive 200-point seasons: Wayne Grezky 3
Truthfully, Gretzky can dominate any list that talks about NHL records. I didn’t want this whole article to be about the Great One, so this is the last record and probably one of his most impressive. From 1983-1986, Gretzky had point totals of 205, 208, and 215. No player had ever recorded 200 points in a season before he did. In fact, if you zoom out even further, Gretzky put up 212 in 1981 and missed the 200-point plateau by four points in 1982. That would have given him five consecutive seasons with 200 or more points. The NHL barely has any 100-point scorers these days, let alone 200. I get it. It’s hard to compare different generations of players, and goaltending and defense was much worse in those days. But these were still professional players and goalies. Gretzky’s numbers would be impressive in a beer hockey league, let alone the NHL. It would be a stretch to imagine any player scoring 200 points in a single season in this day and age, so like his all-time points record, consider this one unbreakable.
Most Points in a Single Game: Darryl Sittler 10
Compared to Gretzky’s incredible feats, this one certainly does have a chance of being broken. But in this day and age, where NHL teams rarely ever score into the double digits, it seems unlikely that a player will score ten points in a single game anytime soon. Sittler achieved the feat in 1976 against the Boston Bruins. He potted a double hat trick for six goals and added four assists in an 11-4 beatdown of their rivals from Beantown. Considering no team has scored ten or more goals in a game in quite a few years, I think it is safe to say that Sittler’s record will stand for a long time.
Fewest Wins in an NHL Season: Washington Capitals 8
Eight wins is really difficult to imagine. Well, it happened to the Washington Capitals back in the 1974-1975 season. It is hard to believe considering how well the Capitals have performed since they drafted Alexander Ovechkin. This stretch of time includes a Stanley Cup win back in 2018, and multiple playoff appearances as well. But eight wins? Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy had a twelve-game winning streak earlier this season. During the 80-game season, the 74-75 Capitals went 8-67–5 and only scored 181 goals. Of course, this was before the NHL implemented the shootout rules that ensured that every game has a winner. Still, even if the Capitals did win some games in a shootout, it would not have added much to their win totals. The most ironic part is that the Capitals received the number one draft pick and chose Alex Forsyth with that pick. Forsyth would go on to play in a total of one NHL game in his career.
Most Goals in a Season by a Rookie: Teemu Selanne 76
It was the rookie season that came out of nowhere and flew right into the history books. Teemu Selanne, the 10th overall draft pick in the 1988 NHL entry draft, blasted off in style scoring 76 goals in his first season in the NHL. The Finnish Flash was near unstoppable that year, and won the adoration of fans around the world with his glove-hunting celebration where he would throw his gloves in the air and pretend to shoot them down with his stick. His rookie campaign was the best in NHL history and would prove to be one of the best in Selanne’s career. He would never come close to the 76-goal mark again in his career, although he did manage to lift the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks. Overshadowed by Selanne setting the record and winning the Calder Memorial trophy as the league’s top rookie, was the goal-scoring race Selanne had with Buffalo Saber sniper Alexander Mogilny. The two went toe to toe all season long and finished the season tied with 76 goals apiece. With rookies being eased into the NHL game nowadays, it seems very unlikely that any prospect will score 76 goals in a season again. Heck, we may never see another player score 76 goals in a season for a long time either!