The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, shared his thoughts on which of his records would be the hardest to break in the NHL.

During an appearance on the New Height Podcast hosted by Jason and Travis Kelce, Gretzky discussed what he believed would be the hardest of his records to break: Scoring 50 goals in 39 games.

The Great One stated:

“If I had one record that I cherish the most. I think it’s going to be hardest to break and what was I scored 50 goals in 39 games.”

Wayne Gretzky reached the remarkable milestone on December 30, 1981, scoring five goals in a 7-5 Edmonton Oilers win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Gretzky set an NHL record of 92 goals that season, a record which stands as the most goals in a single season. He also scored 87 during the 1983-84 campaign. Brett Hull has come the closest to Wayne Gretzky, scoring 86 for the St. Louis Blues in the 1990-91 season, with Mario Lemieux recording 85 during the 1988-89 season.

Gretzky shared this story with the Kelce Brothers about this experience breaking the mark:

“So, I was driving to the rink with my roommate. I had 45 goals in 38 games. I was a little more edgy than normal heading into the arena and my buddy turned to me and he said ‘Are you okay?’”

To which, Wayne Gretzky offered a whimsical reply:

“And I said, ‘You know, I just thought of this, If I don’t get 50 in 50 now, people are going to say I choked.”

Of course, the Great One didn’t choke. He scored five to blaze past the previous mark. Here’s a feature Sportsnet did on the record back in December 2014:

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While it might seem impossible to break Gretzky’s 39-goals-in-50-games mark, one of his previously “impossible” records fell this season as Alex Ovechkin passed Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer.

Wayne Gretzky among four other legends to score 50 goals in 50 games

Wayne Gretzky scored 50 goals in 50 games three times in his career - Source: ImagnWayne Gretzky scored 50 goals in 50 games three times in his career - Source: Imagn
Wayne Gretzky scored 50 goals in 50 games three times in his career – Source: Imagn

Scoring 50 goals in 50 games was considered a hallowed record after Maurice Richard, the Rocket, first hit the mark during the 1944-45 season

The record stood until 1981 when New York Islanders great Mike Bossy did it. As Gretzky pointed out in his interview with the Kelce Brothers, Bossy scored twice in the dying minutes of his 50th game of the 1980-81 season. Bossy reached a mark that few believed could ever be achieved.

Then, Gretzky came along and broke the mark three times. The Great One set the mark by scoring 50 in 39 the next season after Bossy did it. Gretzky would go on to score 50 in 42 (1983-84) and 50 in 49 (1984-85).

Mario Lemieux, the Pittsburgh Penguins great, came the closest to breaking Gretzky’s mark, scoring 50 in 46 during the 1988-89 campaign. Lemieux scored 85 goals that season, coming close to breaking Gretzky’s single-season goal-scoring mark.

The last player to achieve the 50-in-50 mark was Brett Hull with the St. Louis Blues during the 1990-91 campaign. In fact, Hull did it twice, getting 50 in 49 in 1990-91 and 50 in 50 in 1991-92. Hull was one of the greatest goal-scorers in NHL history, scoring 86 in 1990-91 to become the closest player to Gretzky’s single-season goal-scoring mark.