That anyone could rate him less than 4 is beyond belief. I can accept that some fans have issues with him, and may not regard him as the best player in history, but it is inconceivable to rate him poorly based on some perceived problem. It suggests to me that there are a lot of unknowlegeable hockey fans rating on this list.

That rant out of the way, in retrospect Gretzky reminds me of long time pitcher Greg Maddux. Neither of them looked like anything special, but both produced excellent results with brilliant consistancy.

Gretzky wasn't the best or fastest skater in the league, he didn't have an over-powering shot, he wasn't big and he didn't excel at the physical part of the game (although he wasn't the pussy some detractors make him out to be)

What he seemed to have is an uncanny sense of where players were, and where the puck was, and this, combined with his intelligence and his ability to quarterback the game, was his greatest strength.

The best hockey player of all time and to top it all a canadian, hey?

He's a legend.

This guy may have been overated because the NHL used him so much to advertise the sport like they are doing know with Crosby.  But I wish he would have played a little more physical but dont get me wrong this guy was awesome.

Aside from his unparalelled comand of the record book (for any sport), the marvel of Gretzky was that when he was on the ice, the whole game was dictated by what he was doing.  He could slow the play down, speed it up or turn it into a game of intricate playmaking or turn it into a one man show.  I was sitting at the blue line once when the Oilers were playing the Jets.  I remember watching him start a rush and he obviously wasn't pleased with the way the play was developing.  He turned around, skated back into his own end, regrouped his line.  They came back out at twice the speed,  made three passes and scored.  Glen Sather said that Gretzky could see the whole rink, the whole game.  If Gretzky was on the bench and Sather wanted to know what someone on the ice had just done, Gretzky could tell him.

greatest player in nhl history without question.

sucks overrated just like jordan he was never injured and he just took advantage of a great situation in the 1980s the highest scoring era of all time and playin wid all the great players he did alex ovechkin will break his record and if players like ovechkin bure mogilny played in the 80s wid those tiny goalie pads on a stacked team like edmonton i wudnt be suprised if they scored as many goals as gretz scored in his career in one season!

Absolutely the best of all time. PERIOD. Poll closed.

After Bobby Orr turned the game into the offensive slugfest that it became, Gretzky came in and turned up dial while reigning as the unchallenged king. He wasn't the fastest skater. He wasn't the most powerful shooter. He traveled with a constant body guard. But, he was the best player of his era and tripled the size of the league due to his popularity. I'm not always the biggest believer in stats as they are often dependent on many factors, but it's hard to deny the impact of a guy who won 9 MVPs. I wonder how many points he might have scored with Orr Feding him?

Easy to get 200 pts with his linemates.

All respect to Orr and Howe, Gretzky was the greatest. I'm just grateful to have seen him play. People so easily forget the gaudy stats he put up in the early '80's. It was a foregone conclusion that he'd win the scoring race and the Oilers would challenge for the cup. Moreover, he was part of a team so good that it forced a rule change. Back in the day when teams got offsetting penalties they both played a man short. Gretzky's Oilers were so deadly in this situation they changed the rule so teams still iced five skaters, the two offenders merely sat in the penlaty box and they alone did not play for two minutes. Only one team, the '50's Canadiens had a similar rule change (power play ends if power play goal is scored, used to be they could score as many in the two minutes as possible) - it is a testament to the quality of Gretzky's play and his influence on his team.

What a great player all around, but... who watches hockey anymore?

probably the greastest offencive player of all time but certanlt not the greastest all round hockey player an only broke a lot of the recorded that he did because he was never taken out like the great bobby orr or gordie howl and mant of the other bobby hull rocket richard and many more who had to look out for them self.not left to run all over the ice.

Hockey isn't fun to watch with out Gretzky and obviously it didn't last long without the GREAT ONE

He's the great one

Awsome. He is a great hockey player.

Overrated... worse then what most people think.

Three words great,great,great!The only thing Wayne could have improved was his size, but that may have hampered his agility and quickness.

Wayne

Without question, the greatest hockey player of all-time.

There IS a reason he is called The Great One.

Of course he is a 5 - are you crazy?

THE GREAT ONE!!!

He was great, but Mario and Orr were better.

Gave Orr and Lemieux a 5. Gretzky is third best imho. Having seen all of them, Gretzky had the fortune to play in the era of high octane offense so his stats are a bit inflated. But he's still one of the top 3 of the modern era...just third in my book because if I were starting a hockey team, I'd draft Orr first because he can score and defend, then Lemieux because he did everything Wayne could but had the size to fight through a check.

simply the very best !!!!!

Great? Of course. Lemieux and Orr were better.

Gretzky holds more records than all players, he carried a team to a stanley cup before he was 20. who else can claim that

every one likes him (canada rules) i dont

Who the f$%# are you people giving Gretz less than 5 stars? Of COURSE I'd take Gordie Howe. . .of COURSE Gordie Howe was tougher and could score. But for God's sake- Gretz trashed Howe's records in a shorter amount of time. Gretz has more ASSISTS than Howe has total points (I'm pretty sure. . .somebody help me.) Yes, he was a pretty boy who didn't fight. So What? Why the hell would you ask a 70-90 per year goal scorer to drop his gloves. Canadiens just have to simply get over Gretz leaving Canada. . .which I also believe was a shame.

I take nothing away from Gretzky, clearly the most accomplished hockey player of all time. But if he was French and Lemieux was from Toronto, Canada would look at these two differently. And by the way, Lemieux was a better goal scorer, bigger, stronger, a much better stick handler, much better on breakaways, a comparable passer with comparable vision and anticipation, and they were both great in the clutch. Put Lemiuex with that Edmonton team in the early 80's, and he score 100 goals and 250 points.

My opinion of gretzky sank during the 2002 olympics. And he looks like jluiie Andrews

Bobby orr was vastly superior to Gretzky. The man had a greater impact on the game, was every bit as innovative on offense, and was far better away from the puck. Only an idiot with a neophyte's understanding of the game would rank gretzky over the incomparable Orr.

He was called The Great One for a reason. He dominated his sport more than any athlete ever has. Imagine if Michael Jordan was TWICE as good as he was and you'd have an idea of how incredible Gretzky was compared to the rest of the NHL. The greatest player ever, no contest.

Even the gods in heaven knew he was destined for greatness. He did so much with relatively little and along the way he rewrote the books and brought a whole new life to hockey.

The greatest hockey player of all time, period. Better than Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe combined. Other players may equal him in skill, but to paraphrase a famous sports writer, in the era of ten Wayne Gretzkys there are none. Capice? He dominated the game from the age of seventeen!!! How many teenagers do you know that could change the face of a professional sport? I thought so.

what can you say the guy rewrote the record books.200 pnt seasons soeak for them self. unfortunatly for Wayne there was a guy from parrysound that will for ever keep him as #2.

Can't argue with the stats, but reliable people have said that he was protected by the league and if you look at old tapes this seems obvious. Definitely puts an asterisk on those stats.

once again scoring machine but one dimensional player cant back check, certainly not in league with steve yzerman the complete hockey player

He could score thats it. He couldnt play defence at all. To see him check someone was almost a miricle cuz it never happened he might break a nail. He screwed over St. Louis when he played for them and lost them the play-offs.

92 goals, 163 assists, 2857 pts in career, more assists than any other player has points, 3369 pts in professional hockey...how can some people don't see him as the great one?

Second only to Mario.

Defense is part of the game too; couldn't check his hat.

Gretzky was clearly the greatest player of all time. No one had combined grace, skill, and intelligence as well as Gretzky and no one ever will again (although Mario came close). There are several reasons for Gretzky's success: 1. His hockey IQ was off the charts. Other players can see the whole ice and understand positioning, but Wayne's ability transcended understanding or merely reading and reacting; it was almost pre-cognition. Wayne instinctively knew where to be and where teammates were at all times. In fact, he anticipated the play so well it seemed like he knew what would happen before it even happened. No one, even Lemieux, has come close to this almost supernatural ability. 2. He stayed remarkably healthy early in his career. Whereas Mario missed a myriad of games due to back woes and cancer, Gretzky didn't miss more than 6 games in a season until 1988, his eighth season. As a result, while Lemieux was toiling in limited action, Gretzky put up his signature gaudy numbers. 3. He was the most personable superstar in the game. As opposed to Lemieux, who valued his privacy, and Brett Hull, who gave the impression of a spoiled "hockey brat", Gretzky was well-liked off the ice as well as on. As a result, Wayne was a marketing giant before Michael Jordan reinvented the term. Some may say that Gretzky didn't hit, and it's true, but he didn't get hit either; his hockey sense and superb quickness allowed him to avoid most bodychecks. His defence was underrated as well, as he read the play as well in his own zone as the opposition's. Therefore, Wayne Gretzky is unequivocably the Greatest One to ever lace up a pair of skates.

BEST EVER

Oh please, there's no question Gretzky is the best who ever played the game, don't give me Bobby Orr.

Best player of hockey in the world!

Played too long to rate a 5. Had only 9 goals his last year!

Along with Eric Lindros, Gretzky is the most overrated and obnoxious athlete in the history of sports!

Gretzky: A great player for the "modern era" of hockey. Surrounded by Messier and Kurrie, he could do only one thing, and that was rack up the points. He, himself, admitted in his book, that had he been body checked in the rink corners, ( he avoided them, consistently), he would never of survived and therefore, would failed to be the all-time "great one". When one analyzes his play with his team-mates in his Edmonton Oiler years, you can clearly see the contribution from him[Gretzky], was clearly aided by the play mainly, of Messier. When Messier was out due to injury, Gretzky's game point total greatly, lagged. Gretzky was a player, who required great players to prop his point total, up ! He failed to shine like he did in Edmonton when he played for L.A. & N.Y. Rangers, as well as, St. Louis Blues. He was the best team player ever. He was no Bobby Orr, a DEFENSE MAN, who won the SCORING RACE in 1971 !!!