Ovi 894?

[djsFlames]

He definitely should set his sights on it. It's not impossible.
Will need a couple more 50 goal seasons and a bit of longevity but I could see a 41 or 42 year old ovi emptying the tank for the record.

[Enoch Root]

the hope for Laine (and any other future candidates) is that the league moves back into an era of higher scoring.

But assuming the same environment? Yeah, very doubtful that Laine touches Ovechkin's numbers.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

He definitely should set his sights on it. It's not impossible.
Will need a couple more 50 goal seasons and a bit of longevity but I could see a 41 or 42 year old ovi emptying the tank for the record.

If he earns it honestly, then fantastic - all hale him! But the last thing I want to see is him hanging on to his career too long, putting up 15 goals per year and being a liability to his team, in a vain attempt to get the record.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by spuzzum

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List..._Wayne_Gretzky

It's still incredible how far ahead Gretzky is compared to his counterparts. Gretzky had 122 playoff goals on top of the 894.

The stat that really got me was this:
-Gretzky scored his first 1,000 points faster (424 games) than any other player in NHL history, and scored a second 1,000 points (point number 1,001 through 2,000) faster (433 games) than any player other than himself.

And of all international players OVI is my favorite

Lemieux is next in 513 games, then Bossy (656) and Stastny (682). Obviously all really made their hay in the 80's, but the space between Gretz and Lemieux, then Lemieux and the rest is incredible.

There are 7 other guys from the 70's & 80's ahead of him, but Crosby at 757 is insanely impressive for this era (Ovy 880, Thornton 994; Malkin is on pace to get there before his 850th).

[Displaced Flames fan]

261 goals.....

He'd have to have 6 - 40 goal seasons in a row after this season to have a chance or 5 - 50 goal seasons, even less likely.

I don't think it will happen.

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Lemieux is next in 513 games, then Bossy (656) and Stastny (682). Obviously all really made their hay in the 80's, but the space between Gretz and Lemieux, then Lemieux and the rest is incredible.

Give Lemieux the Oilers roster in the early 80's and he probably has a 250 point season

[SebC]

How you like me now?

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Inglewood Jack

Give Lemieux the Oilers roster in the early 80's and he probably has a 250 point season

I thought this might be slight hyperbole, but I agree after looking at the Pens '88-89 roster when he scored 199 in 76 gp. Career high years for Bob Errey, Rob Brown, and Dan Quinn.

His biggest hurdle would have been playing a full 80+ games. I never looked closely enough to see that he only managed 75+ gp four times, and 70+ six times. In the 17 seasons in which he played, he made 915 of the 1382 reg season games (oddly enough, 66%). He also missed three full seasons and the lockout shortened year, totalling another 294 games.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by SebC

How you like me now?

To recap for people who didn’t go for the click bait, 10 years ago on this forum the poster noted that a guy who, in the early stages of his career, among the pedigree, hype, etc. scored 61 goals in 77 games might’ve turned out to be special.

Not shabby but I don’t know if you will ever catch Kreskin

[Cecil Terwilliger]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1101665879543160833

[TheScorpion]

Yes, and I think he'll do it before he turns 40.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

https://twitter.com/user/status/1101665879543160833

It was said already in this thread, but he was really done an enormous disservice by the lockouts. What a talent though, we are lucky to see his career unfold in real time. I never thought that someone had a legitamate shot to score more goals than Gretz, and though its slim, Ovechkin has a real shot. In this generation, with these quality goalies and defensive systems, its unbelievable.

[savardandjokinen]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

It was said already in this thread, but he was really done an enormous disservice by the lockouts. What a talent though, we are lucky to see his career unfold in real time. I never thought that someone had a legitamate shot to score more goals than Gretz, and though its slim, Ovechkin has a real shot. In this generation, with these quality goalies and defensive systems, its unbelievable.

Undoubtedly the best goal scorer of all time

[sec304]

Ovi is amazing, definitely the GOAT

[Poe969]

The only player I ever thought would have the slightest chance at breaking the record was robbie shremp.

Ovi is world class, hes just been fun to watch.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by savardandjokinen

Undoubtedly the best goal scorer of all time

Incorrect. Could he be? yes. Due to changes in the game and different eras you can't possibly say he is undoubtedly the best goal scorer of all time. Speculate? Sure.

[Beatle17]

Best all time, Mike Bossy. 10 years 573 goals.

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Incorrect. Could he be? yes. Due to changes in the game and different eras you can't possibly say he is undoubtedly the best goal scorer of all time. Speculate? Sure.

Compared to Gretzky:


Pros:


-Ovechkin has better equipment
-elimination of the two-line pass
-automatic face-off in the offensive zone for powerplays
-3-on-3 overtime


Cons:


-Goalies are world-class athletes now
-Much more rigid defense-first systems
-overall much lower scoring era

I think it's apparent that Ovechkin has harsher barriers to scoring than Wayne did and if Ovi ends up scoring the most goals, it would be hard to deny him as the best goalscorer of all time.

[GioforPM]

I'd say any competition for pure goal scoring would involve Richard, Hull, Bossy, maybe Mario, Ovie, but not Wayne.

[curves2000]

It's always tough to compare players from different era's but there are a lot of other factors as well that adds to the performance.

Diet, training, travel, equipment, medical etc

Diet:You had players like Gretzky who would generally eat a pre-meal of a t-bone and a couple of baked potatoes at the steak and pizza place across the street from Rexall.

Players these days have a lot stricter diet's and much more knowledge of nutrition both team, player and generally accepted wise. Teams today provide their players on home games generally with breakfast, lunch and a post game dinner, back in the day? Nothing

Travel: Players these days travel in such easy luxury with the chartered flights, lots of leg room, optimized sleep schedules, their own room if they aren't on ELC in top quality hotels. Players from the 80's and even the 90's like the Flames are traveling commercial, multiple stops, commercial delays. Think the Flames February travel schedule was terrible?? Try doing the same thing with how many stops and plane changes.

Equipment: The equipment is just a different level today than it has ever been before. Everybody has a serious shot in 2019 with the sticks and the rest of the gear is great.

Training: Just a world of a difference that can't even be fathomed. What players are expected and able to do today vs the 80's is night and day.

I do believe that #99 just saw the game at a different level that just won't be repeated ever, he benefited in the 80's from a lot of the advances mentioned above compared to players in the 50's, 60's, 70's etc. Ovi is an absolutely filthy goal scorer and might come fairly close. He will hit 700 goals next year but if I had to ballpark it, he will probably come about 100 goals short, we will see. He is a top 5 goal scorer in NHL history regardless of which way you look at it.

I do think Iginla though is underrated league wide in a lot of ways for his scoring ability. Sure he finished with 625 goals career wise but I think he was robbed of getting to 750 when taking into consideration the 04-05 lock out was in his prime and the Flames clubs he was with weren't the most talented .

Either way, all amazing goal scorer's!! Amazing players all!