The game would have to change a great deal for that to happen. Everything culminated at the right time for Gretzky, he was obviously an exceptional talent, playing at a time in which there was the one of the weakest talent pools in the leagues history, especially when you factor in expansion and the relatively few Europeans playing in the NHL. The goaltending was for the most part pretty awful and the equipment for goaltenders was pretty poor itself. Defensive play wasn't tops on many teams radars as well.
The only way I could see anything changing is if the nets were made bigger.
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