is_a_list_of list of career achievements by wayne gretzky
This is a list of career achievements by Wayne Gretzky in the National Hockey League . Upon his retirement on 18 April 1999 , Gretzky held or shared 61 National Hockey League records . These records include 40 regular season , 15 playoff , and six All - ___MASK46___ records . Gretzky set impressive records in both regular season and post - season play , holding the record for most career regular season goals ( 894 ) , assists ( 1 , 963 ) , points ( 2 , 857 ) , and hat tricks ( 50 ) . The next closest player in total points for the regular season is sometime teammate Mark Messier at 1 , 887 -- thus Gretzky had more career assists than any other player has total points . Gretzky ' s point total including regular season and playoffs stands at an imposing 3 , 239 . His 47 playoff points in 1985 and 31 assists in 1988 are still records for a single post - season round , and he holds the record for career playoff goals ( 122 ) , assists ( 260 ) , points ( 382 ) , hat tricks ( 10 ) , and ___MASK84___ - winning goals ( 24 ) . Wayne Gretzky Holds 60 Official NHL Records & 113 Un - Official Records for a Total of 173 Records in Pro Hockey . Here is a complete list of official records Gretzky held or shared at the time of his retirement : The ___MASK92___ of New York , often called New York ___MASK92___ or simply New York , is the most populous ___MASK92___ in the United States . With an estimated 2015 ___MASK96___ of 8 , 550 , 405 distributed over a land area of just , New York ___MASK92___ is also the most densely populated major ___MASK92___ in the United States . Located at the southern tip of the ___MASK85___ of New York , the ___MASK92___ is the center of the New York metropolitan area , one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world . A global power ___MASK92___ , New York ___MASK92___ exerts a significant impact upon commerce , finance , media , art , fashion , research , technology , education , and entertainment , its fast pace defining the term " New York minute ". Home to the headquarters of the United Nations , New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural and financial ___MASK28___ of the world . The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League ( NHL ) playoff winner . Originally commissioned in 1892 as the " Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup ", the trophy is named for Lord Stanley of Preston , then  ___MASK57___ General of Canada , who awarded it to Canada ' s top - ranking amateur ice hockey club , which the entire Stanley family supported , with the sons and daughters playing and promoting the game . The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to Montreal HC , and subsequent winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games and league play . Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906 . In 1915 , the two professional ice hockey organizations , the National Hockey Association ( NHA ) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association ( PCHA ), reached a gentlemen ' s agreement in which their respective champions would face each other annually for the Stanley Cup . After a series of league mergers and folds , it was established as the " de facto " championship trophy of the NHL in 1926 and then the " de jure " NHL championship ___MASK20___ in 1947 . Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( born January 26 , 1961 ) is a Canadian former professional ___MASK42___ and former head coach . He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) for four teams from 1979 to 1999 . Nicknamed " The Great One ", he has been called " the greatest hockey player ever " by many sportswriters , players , and the NHL itself . He is the leading scorer in NHL history , with more goals and assists than any other player . He scored more assists than any other player scored total points , and is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season  a feat he accomplished four times . In addition , he tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons , 14 of them consecutive . At the time of his retirement in 1999 , he held 61 NHL records : 40 regular - season records , 15 playoff records , and six All - Star records . As of 2014 , he still holds 60 NHL records . The National Hockey League ( NHL ) is a professional ice hockey league currently composed of 31 member clubs . Of the 30 clubs currently playing , 23 are in the United States and 7 in Canada . Headquartered in New York ___MASK92___ , the NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world , and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada . The Stanley Cup , the oldest professional sports trophy in North America , is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season .