After winning the Hart Trophy (League MVP) the two previous seasons, Wayne Gretzky had already established himself as the best player in the NHL. With his 1981-82 season, he showed he might just be the best of all time. Gretzky destroyed the record book with 92 goals and 120 assists, as well as points in a season with 212, all were records at the time (Gretzky later broke his own records for assists and points). Most famously, the Great One broke Rocket Richard's record for reaching 50 goals in the fewest games. Gretzky netted five goals on Dec. 30 to reach 50 in the Oilers' 39th game (Richard's record was 50 games). He also had 10 hat tricks that season, setting an NHL record that he would later tie. For this great season, Gretzky became the only NHL player ever selected as well as the first Canadian to be named AP Male Athlete of the Year along with Sports Illustrated's Man of the Year. Still, in a decade in which he dominated, no performance exudes greatness as much as his 1981-82 season. As a 20-year-old, shattering the previous mark of 76 goals in a season set by Phil Esposito is and was unheard of. Gretzky won the scoring title by 65 points, leaving super sniper and runner-up Mike Bossy in his dust. Gretzky grabbed all sorts of postseason hardware (Hart, Pearson, Art Ross), but it was Gretzky's ability with grace and style to bring the game of hockey to the masses that stands out from the 1981-82 season. Number 99's record of 50 goals in 39 games really stands out to me. He was the reason for my involvement in the game of hockey during my youth. If hockey was more popular with me, I easily could have put this #1 at the very least #2.
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