1980-81 O-Pee-Chee 250 Wayne Gretzky Hockey Card (Front)
1980-81 O-Pee-Chee 250 Wayne Gretzky Hockey Card (Back)
1980-81 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
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Card Notes
Was the Oilers’ leading scorer in 1979-80 and established all sorts of Edmonton club records. Possessed with incredible instincts and fine athletic ability.
En Français
Meilleur compteur des Oilers en 1979-80, il établit toutes sortes de records pour le club d’Edmonton. Cet athlète compétent possède un instinct incroyable en ce qui concerne le hockey.
Details
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” At the time, Wayne Gretzky’s 51 goals, 86 assists and 137 points in his first NHL season was incredible. It would take 12 years before The Great One’s numbers would drop back down to that level. In 1991-92, he managed just 121 points with the Los Angeles Kings.
It didn’t take Gretzky long to get his name in the NHL record books. On February 15, 1980, he had seven assists in an 8-2 win over the Washington Capitals. This tied the NHL record for most assists in a game, originally set by Billy Taylor of the Detroit Red Wings in 1947. To date, the two are the only players to accomplish the feat with Wayne doing it two more times over his career.
In 1980-81, Wayne attacked both Phil Esposito‘s record of 152 points in 1970-71 and Bobby Orr‘s record of 102 assists the same season with new marks of 164 and 109. In the end, Gretzky set marks of 92 goals, 163 assists and 215 points that will most likely stand for our lifetimes.
Between 1979-80 and 1998-99, Wayne Gretzky played 1,487 regular season and 208 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999 and his jersey number 99 is retired league-wide.