Ovechkin better goal scorer then Gretzky

**reeveta** · February 12, 2008, 7:47 PM

There are lies, damn lies and statistics.

Keeping that in mind, I crutched the numbers comparing Wayne Gretzky’s record setting season (when he scored 92 goals) and Ovechkin’s current season. Ovechkin is on pace for 67 goals (currently has 47) so how did I get to the title of this forum? Ovechkin currently scores 28.7% of his teams goals. Gretzky scored a measly 22.1% of his teams goals.

So maybe this means Washington just sucks too much. In 1981-82 the average NHL team scored 337 goals. To date the average NHL team has only scored 159 goals. Meaning Ovechkin has 29.6% of the average teams goals while that Gretzky guy only had 27.3% of an average team.

Therefore it is easy to conclude that Ovechkin is a better goal scorer then Gretzky.

Before anyone jumps all over me I am, of course, just having a bit of fun with this and thought you would enjoy it too.

**cappy76** · February 12, 2008, 8:14 PM

I read somewhere that adjusted to the league average goals for that 92 goal season ovechkin would have scored 99 based on his goal output so far this season

**NYR9394** · February 12, 2008, 8:22 PM

He probably will be. However, Gretz played during the 80\'s when it was easier to score and was the main guy on that monster team. Also, when I watch highlights of some of those goalies from the early 80\'s make me laugh. Many of them sucked. Also, goalies today wouldnt have let in alot of those weak goals(bigger pads today also help alot) Ovechkin defintely has it tougher from a defensive stand point, which makes what he\'s doing more impressive.

They\'re both great but Gretzky is the reason i got into hockey and i simply refuse to outright say that someone is a better goal scorer than him, no matter what the stats say.:P

**Rusty Pickles** · February 12, 2008, 9:45 PM

Only 749 more goals until I can agree with you :laugh:

Good food for thought.

**Sin Bin** · February 13, 2008, 1:07 PM

Rusty Pickles wrote:

Only 749 more goals until I can agree with you :laugh:

Good food for thought.

He needs to average about 57 goals over the length of his 13 year deal to do it.

**canada** · February 13, 2008, 1:36 PM

Sin Bin wrote:

Rusty Pickles wrote:

Only 749 more goals until I can agree with you :laugh:

Good food for thought.

He needs to average about 57 goals over the length of his 13 year deal to do it.

it almost seems possible.

Even if he scored more I would think Gretz was the better goal scorer. Even if in different eras etc.

Ovechkin is all about shooting. If Gretzky took a shot for everyone of his assists and he had a 10% shooting percentage. wow.

**doulos** · February 13, 2008, 1:42 PM

Sin Bin wrote:

He needs to average about 57 goals over the length of his 13 year deal to do it.

Sheesh, doesn\'t that just put it all into perspective.

**big_dl** · February 13, 2008, 2:14 PM

Here\'s the way I look at it. Gretzky was by far the better player but if I needed a goal and I could only put one player on the ice i\'m not going Gretzky. Of active NHL players I\'m going Ovechkin, all time I like in this order Lemieux, the Rocket, Ovechkin, Jagr, Bossy. Now I may be a little nostalgic in putting the Rocket that high up but those are the guys if I\'d want to have on the ice if I could only have one guy and needed a goal. Nice circular ending. What I\'m also saying is that yes I believe that Ovechkin\'s a better pure goal scorer than Wayne Gretzky. I think the style of play in the 80\'s dictated a lot of the gaudy numbers that were put up back then and that\'s obviously no longer the case.

**repenttokyo** · February 13, 2008, 3:16 PM

What about Pavel Bure?

**big_dl** · February 13, 2008, 3:25 PM

Pavel was great but it was for such a short period of time that I cant see him beating out anyone on my list. Maybe Bossy, but that\'s only because I didnt see Bossy until the end of his career when he had slowed down and was just a killer shot gliding across the ice.

Active Players
1. Ovechkin
2. Kovalchuk
3. Nash
4. Gaborik - assuming he makes it through to the last minute of the game
5. Radulov - is counter intuitive to my point regarding Bure but he scores a goal every 10-15 minutes. AMAZING!

Note: I seriously thought about Crosby and Malkin, and they\'re both amazing but neither are what I would classify as pure goal scorers, they\'re simply great players.

**doulos** · February 13, 2008, 3:47 PM

Pure goal scorer = Mike Bossy. But if I needed a goal to win the Stanley Cup, Chris Drury would be on the ice!

**repenttokyo** · February 13, 2008, 5:42 PM

It\'s crazy that for Mike Bossy, \'slowing down\' meant only 38 goals in his last season - the only season in his career where he was below 50.

**Thai Domi** · February 13, 2008, 8:18 PM

In these historical comparisons how isn\'t it inevitable that the current guy always always always comes out ahead of the olde tymer?

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