Ranking NHL legend Wayne Gretzky's 5 greatest moments

The Sporting News, established in 1886, is celebrating its 140th birthday with a year-long series honoring the greatest moments, teams and players from the last 140 years. We’ve also released SN’s entire archive for free, empowering hockey fans to download iconic print covers of Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe or explore endless rabbit holes to read how your favorite teams were covered in the moment. 

The hockey portion of our 140 celebration continues with our picks for the top five greatest moments of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky's career. 

5. Oct. 14, 1979: Gretzky’s first NHL goal

After dominating the World Hockey Association, Gretzky’s first NHL season came in 1979-1980 with the Edmonton Oilers, and his first goal came on October 14 when he scored on Vancouver Canucks goaltender Glen Hanlon.

The goal would be the first of Gretzky’s 51 goals in that rookie season, and it would be the first of his 894 regular-season goals.

Gretzky won his first Hart Memorial Trophy as regular-season MVP in that 1979-80 campaign, and he’d go on to win eight more Hart Trophies, all in a row between 1980 and 1989. But that first goal was special for Gretzky, as it was the beginning of the brilliance we’d come to expect for No. 99 for the next 20 years.

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4. Dec. 30, 1981: Gretzky scores 50 goals in 39 games

On Dec. 30 1981, Gretzky scored five goals against the Philadelphia Flyers to hit the 50-goal plateau in just 39 games, making him the fastest player to the mark in NHL history. On Feb. 24, 1982, Gretzky would set the league’s single-season scoring record, putting up his 77th goal against the Buffalo Sabres in a game in which he had a hat trick. 

Gretzky would finish the 1981-82 season with 92 goals – a record that stands to this day. Gretzky also had 212 points that year, a total that would stand as his second-best in his career (his best was 215). He was as unstoppable as a hockey player has ever been, and his statistical dominance speaks to his unrivaled skill and smarts.

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3. May 19, 1984: The Great One wins his first Stanley Cup

Gretzky and the Oilers had their arch-rivals in the New York Islanders, but on this date in the 1983-84 campaign, Gretzky and Edmonton beat the Islanders 5-2 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final to win the franchise’s first championship and end the Isles’ streak of four straight Cup wins.

Gretzky went on to win another three Stanley Cups, all with the Oilers. He nearly won a fifth Cup as a member of the Los Angeles Kings, but he never had the team success outside Edmonton that he did with the Oilers. But players will tell you there’s nothing quite like your first Stanley Cup, and that happened for Gretzky very early in his NHL days.

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2. Sept. 15, 1987: Gretzky and Canada win the 1987 Canada Cup

This wasn’t an ordinary NHL game – this was the 1987 Canada Cup.

On this date, the third and deciding game was played between Gretzky’s Team Canada and Team U.S.S.R., and with 1:26 remaining in the third period of this game, Gretzky perfectly feathered a pass to Pittsburgh Penguins icon Mario Lemieux, who scored on Soviet goalie Sergei Mylnikov for the game-and-series-winning goal.  

The Gretzky-to-Lemieux goal stands out not just as one of the greatest moments of Gretzky’s career – it was one of the greatest sports moments in Canada’s history. Gretzky’s astonishing skills as a playmaker were on full display, and it was a dream come true for Canadian sports fans to see Gretzky and Lemieux collaborate on such a crucial goal.

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1. March 23, 1994: Gretzky sets the goal-scoring record

On March 20, 1994, Gretzky scored twice as a member of the Kings to pull into a tie with Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe for the all-time lead in NHL goal-scoring, with 801 goals. Only three days later, Gretzky would take the lead by scoring his 802nd goal, beating Canucks goalie Kirk McLean.

Gretzky’s 894 career goals stood as the most in league history until Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin passed him in 2025. Still, Gretzky’s goal total stood up for more than a few generations of NHLers.

Approximately five years later, Gretzky’s final game as an NHLer took place when he and his New York Rangers lost to the Penguins by a 2-1 score. At that point, Gretzky’s other records – including his staggering 1,963 assists and 2,857 points – still stand to this day.

For many, if not most, hockey historians, Gretzky stands out as the best ever to do it, and we haven’t seen anyone like him in the generations that have followed.

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