Wayne Gretzky
Alexander Ovechkin
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Wayne Gretzky leads 3 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places Wayne Gretzky at #1 and Alexander Ovechkin at #7.
Head-to-head FAQ
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The case for Wayne Gretzky
No athlete has dominated a major sport the way The Great One dominated hockey. Gretzky holds more than 60 NHL records, many likely permanent: 2,857 career points, 894 goals and an untouchable 1,963 assists, a total that alone would still lead the all-time scoring list without a single goal. He scored 92 goals in 1981-82 and a staggering 215 points in 1985-86, and posted a 51-game point streak that no one has approached. He won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, nine Hart Trophies as MVP (eight of them consecutive), and ten Art Ross Trophies as scoring champion. His 1988 trade to Los Angeles is often credited with transforming hockey into a genuinely national sport in the United States. Not the fastest skater or the hardest shooter, Gretzky saw the ice a beat ahead of everyone, operating from behind the net, his office, to orchestrate the most prolific offence the sport has known. He is the definitive GOAT, and the gap to second place is the widest in hockey.
The case for Alexander Ovechkin
The greatest pure goal-scorer the game has ever seen, Alexander Ovechkin achieved the once-unthinkable on 6 April 2025, scoring his 895th career goal to pass Wayne Gretzky's supposedly untouchable record. Through the 2024-25 season the Washington Capitals captain sits at 897 goals and climbing. Drafted first overall in 2004, Ovi has won a record nine Rocket Richard Trophies as the league's top scorer, three Hart Trophies, and, silencing critics who doubted he could win, the 2018 Stanley Cup, where he was named playoff MVP after finally leading Washington to its first title. His signature is the one-timer from the left face-off circle, his office, unleashed on the power play with such force and accuracy that everyone knew it was coming and few could stop it. Combining a booming shot with a heavy, physical game rare in a superstar, Ovechkin has scored 50 or more goals in a season nine times. His longevity and single-minded pursuit of the record redefine what a scorer can accomplish.