Season by season

1977-78: Gretzky racks up 182 points for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League before signing with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association…. Less than 7,000 people witness the greatest hockey player of all time score his first professional goal. On Oct. 20, 1978, 17-year-old Wayne Gretzky played his fourth game for the Racers against — coincidentally — the Edmonton Oilers. With 6:37 left in the second period, he slipped a backhander past goaltender Dave Dryden at Market Square Arena. He scored his second goal 34 seconds later in the same shift to give the Racers a 3-1 lead. Edmonton ended up winning 4-3.

1978-79: Gretzky scores three goals and records three assists in eight games for the Racers before they declare bankruptcy and he is traded with goaltender Ed Mio and left-winger Peter Driscoll to Edmonton for a reported $850,000 in June 1978. He goes on to score 43 goals and 61 assists for 104 points with the Oilers coming in third in WHA scoring behind Real Cloutier and Robbie Ftorek.

1979-80: Won first Hart Trophy (league MVP) and first Lady Byng Trophy (most gentlemanly player)…. Youngest player in NHL history (19 years, 2 months) to score 50 goals in a season…. Set NHL record for assists in a game by a rookie and tied overall record with seven on Feb. 15 vs. Washington.

1980-81: Awarded consecutive Hart trophies and first Art Ross Trophy (league scoring leader), setting NHL records for assists (109) and points (164) in a season.

1981 -82: Won his third consecutive Hart Trophy…. Won Lester B. Pearson Award as the NHL's outstanding player as voted by the players…. Set NHL record for goals in a season with 92, breaking Phil Esposito‘s record of 76 with Boston in 1970-71…. Became first player in NHL history to record more than 200 points, collecting 212 while earning his second Art Ross Trophy. Broke his record for assists in a season with 120.

1982-83: Won fourth consecutive Hart Trophy and third consecutive Art Ross Trophy…. Earned Lester B. Pearson Award for second straight season…. Broke his record for assists in a season with 125.. .. All-Star Game MVP…. Had NHL-record 30-game scoring streak, surpassing Guy Lafleur's record of 28…. Set NHL records for assists (26) and points (38) in a post-season.

1983-84: Won fifth consecutive Hart Trophy and fourth consecutive Art Ross Trophy. … Won Lester B. Pearson Award for third consecutive season…. Established NHL record with points in 51 consecutive games (61 -92—153).. . . Set NHL record for goals in a season, including playoffs, with 100 (87 regular season, 13 playoffs)…. Led the Oilers to their first Stanley Cup

1984-85: Won sixth consecutive Hart Trophy and fifth consecutive Art Ross Trophy. Won Lester B. Pearson Award for the fourth time. Led NHL with plus-98 rating.. . Broke his NHL record for assists in a season with 135. . Broke his record for assists (30) and points (47) in a post season. .. Set NHL record for points in a season, including playoffs, with 255. Registered 1,000th career point on Dec. 19 vs. Los Angeles…. Won Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) while leading the Oilers to consecutive Stanley Cups.

1985-86: Won seventh consecutive Hart Trophy and sixth consecutive Art Ross Trophy…. Broke his NHL records for assists (163) and points (215) in a season. … Set NHL record for assists in a season, including playoffs, with 174…. Registered his 37th career hat trick Jan. 8 at Toronto, tying Mike Bossy‘s record.

1986-87: Won eighth consecutive Hart Trophy and seventh consecutive Art Ross Trophy…. Won Lester B. Pearson Award for fifth time…. Scored 500th NHL goal on Nov. 22 vs. Vancouver…. Set NHL record for career hat tricks, getting four during the season to lift his career total to 41…. Got 177th career playoff point April 9 vs. Los Angeles, surpassing Jean Beliveau as all-time leading scorer in playoff history. Led league in post-season scoring with 34 points as Oilers won their third Stanley Cup in four years.

1987-88: Got 1,000th career assist Nov. 4 vs. Rangers…. Became NHL's career assists leader, getting his 1,050th on March 1 vs. Los Angeles…. Tied Mike Bossy's career record for 40-plus-goal seasons with nine. … Set NHL record for consecutive and career 100-point seasons.. .. Broke his NHL record for assists in a post-season with 31…. Won Conn Smythe Trophy for second time and led Oilers to fourth Stanley Cup in five years.

1988-89: Made Kings debut Oct. 6 vs. Detroit after being acquired from Edmonton on Aug. 9,1988…. Won Hart Trophy for the ninth time…. Tied Mike Bossy‘s NHL record for 50-goal seasons with his ninth.
… Scored his 600th NHL goal on Nov. 23 at Detroit… Chosen MVP of All Star Game at Edmonton…. Moved past Marcel Dionne into second place on NHL all-time scoring list Jan. 21 at Hartford.

1989-90: Became NHL's all-time leading scorer Oct. 15 at Edmonton, surpassing Gordie Howe‘s total of 1,850 points Won eighth Art Ross Trophy and led league with 102 assists, extending to 10 his record of consecutive seasons with 100 or more assists…. Tied his NHL record (shared with Paul Coffey) with a 17-game assist streak from Nov. 4 to Dec. 13…. Got 1,900th career point with assist Dec. 10 at Quebec.

1990-91: Won Art Ross Trophy for second straight season and ninth overall…. Led NHL with a team-record 122 assists…. Won Lady Byng Trophy for second time. … Got 2,000th career point with assist Oct. 26 at Winnipeg…. Broke his NHL record with a 23-game assist streak, collecting 48 assists in that span…. Became fourth player in NHL history to score 700 goals, Jan. 3 at Long Island…. Surpassed Jari Kurri and moved into first place on all-time playoff goals list with 93…. Scored two game-winning goals in post-season, tying Maurice Richard‘s NHL record of 18.

1991 -92: Awarded Lady Byng Trophy for second straight year and third overall…. Recorded 13th consecutive 100-point season…. Moved past Marcel Dionne into second place on NHL's all-time goal-scoring list with 732nd goal Dec. 21 vs. Detroit…. Got his 2,200th point Jan. 10 at Washington and 1,500th career assist March 4 at San Jose…. Got 300th playoff point with assist in Game 2 of Edmonton series.

1992-93: Missed first 39 games because of a herniated disc…. Returned to the lineup Jan. 6 vs. Lightning, playing in his 1,000th NHL game…. Had second-longest goal-scoring drought of his career, 16 games from Jan.10 to Feb. 15. Longest drought had been nine games…. Got 2,300th career point with assist March 6 vs. Edmonton…. Led the league in post-season scoring (15-25—40) for sixth time, with 40 points, while leading Kings to Stanley Cup final for the first time…. Became first NHL player to score 100 career playoff goals, getting his 100th on May 17 in Vancouver series Recorded NHL-record eighth career hat trick in Game 7 of the semifinals at Toronto.

1993-94: Became NHL's all time leading goal scorer, surpassing Gordie Howe on March 23 vs. Vancouver… At age 33, won 10th Art Ross Trophy, becoming oldest player to win scoring title in 31 years (Howe won the title at 35 in 1963)…. Won fourth Lady Byng Trophy…. Led the league in assists (92), power-play assists (47) and power-play points (61)…. Skated in his 14th All-Star Game, getting two assists at Madison Square Garden to tie an NHL record with 19 All-Star Game points…. Did not get an assist in six games from Dec. 14 to Dec. 26, the longest drought of his career…. Got 2,400th career point Jan. 12 vs. Hartford and 1,600th assist Nov. 30 vs. Winnipeg.

1994-95: Recorded 2,500th career point with assist April 17 at Calgary.

1995-96: Traded to St. Louis on Feb. 27. Had 100 points (102) for 15th time. Appeared in his 15th All-Star Game.

1996-97: Made Rangers debut Oct. 5 at Boston…. Ranked first on Rangers and tied for fourth in NHL in scoring with 97 points, tying Rod Gilbert (1971-72,1974-75) for seventh-highest season point total in team history…. Led team and tied for first in NHL with 72 assists, tying Brian Leetch (1990-91) and Mark Messier (1991 -92) for the third-highest season total in club history…. Did not miss a game for seventh time in career. . Played in 1,300th NHL game Jan. 12 vs. New Jersey, becoming the 15th player to reach the plateau .. Made 16th consecutive All-Star Game appearance…. Had three assists Dec. 18 vs. Los Angeles; the second assist was the 1,800th of his NHL career…. Became first NHL player to reach 3,000 points (regular season and playoffs) with assist Dec. 1 vs. Montreal.

1997-98: Named greatest player of all time by the Hockey News…. Tied for first in the NHL and ranked first on Rangers with 67 assists, the 15th season he led the league in assists.. Had pair of assists Oct. 26 vs. Anaheim, including the 1,851 st of his career, becoming the only NHL player to record more assists than any other player's point total…. In 17th All-Star Game appearance, had pair of assists to become all-time leading scorer in All-Star history with22points(12goals, 10 assists) . Played in hts 1,400th NHL game March 12 at Montreal, becoming the eighth player to reach that plateau…. Scored a power-play goal March 7 at New Jersey, his 1,000th career NHL goal (878 regular season, 122 playoffs)…. Got his 1,899th and 1,1900th career assists on March 21 against Detroit.

1998-99: Got three points (one goal, two assists) in his 18th All-Star Game appearance and was named MVP in Tampa, tying him with Mario Lemieux as the only three-time All-Star Game MVP. Pushed his All-Star record total to 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists)…. Surpassed Gordie Howe as leading goal scorer in pro hockey history (1,016 NHL, 56 WHA; 1,072) with goal March 29 vs. Islanders.

Internationally

Helped Team Canada to Canada Cup championships in 1984,1987 and 1991

Was Team NHL's MVP at Rendezvous '87

Team Canada captain at 1996 World Cup of Hockey

Played for Canada at 1998 Winter Olympics; had four assists in six games.

Transactions

MAY 1978: Signed as underage junior by Indianapolis Racers of World Hockey Association.

NOVEMBER 1978: Traded to Edmonton Oilers with Pete Driscoll and Ed Mio for cash and future considerations. Edmonton joined the NHL the next season.

AUG. 9.1988: Traded to Los Angeles with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, a 1989 first-round draft pick (traded to New Jersey), a 1991 first-round pick (Martin Rucinsky), a 1993 first-round pick (Nick Stajduhar) and cash.

FEB. 27,1996: Traded to St. Louis for Craig Johnson, Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat, a 1997 first round pick (Matt Zultek) and a 1996 fifth-round draft pick (Peter Hogan)

JULY 21.1996: Signed by Rangers as an unrestricted free agent.