“Feel Kind of Bad for Gordie Howe”: Wayne Gretzky Once Admitted Having Bitter-Sweet Emotions After Surpassing His Idol’s NHL Record

Canadian ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky is one of the greatest athletes in history. The “Great One” is known for breaking several NHL and international ice hockey records during his tenure. Gretzky started playing the sport at a young age and has played in 20 NHL seasons and for four teams.

The former player has many records to his name, including – being the leading goal scorer, assist producer, and point scorer in the league’s history. However, when Gretzky was achieving these feats, he felt bad for an NHL player whose record the legend was surpassing.

Wayne Gretzky felt bad for Gordie Howe

In 1979, Gretzky entered the NHL circuit and played his first season in the league. Since that day, the Canadian hockey player is one of the best players in the league’s history. In every NHL season, Gretzky either claimed a new record or broke the existing one. One such record was former ice hockey player Gordie Howe’s all-time NHL leading scorer title.

In 1994, Gretzky scored his 802nd NHL goal, surpassing a 14-year-old record by Gordie Howe. While it was one of the greatest achievements of his career, “The Great One” had once confessed that he felt sorry for doing so.

In 2021, during an interview with RMNB, Gretzky revealed Howe was his idol, and hence breaking his record did not feel right to him. He revealed, “I remember when Gordie was following me around and I was breaking his record, I said to my Dad one night, I said, ‘You know in some ways I feel kind of bad for Gordie Howe.’”

But luckily for Gretzky, his father was there to guide him. Gretzky’s father had lifelong advice for his son, which helped him achieve the record with ease. Gretzky recalled, “And my dad said, ‘You know what, somebody is going to break your record. And when he does, make sure you are as much a gentleman to him as Gordie Howe is to you. You smile, you shake his hand, and you are proud of what you accomplished. It’s better for the game.'”

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In total, Gretzky scored 894 NHL goals in his career. The former Canadian hockey champion hopes Alex Ovechkin will break his record shortly.

Can Alex Ovechkin break Gretzky’s record?

As a tribute to Gretzky, current hockey star Alex Ovechkin has been nicknamed “The Great 8”, for his achievements.

The Washington Capitals player has almost reached the 800-goal mark and is on the verge of becoming only the third NHL player to reach this target. However, this is not the end of it. The 38-year-old Ovechkin might also be the one to break Gretzky’s NHL all-time leading goal scorer record soon.

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Similar to Gretzky and former player Mike Bossy, Ovechkin has recorded nine 50-goal seasons. Hockey icon Gretzky is also excited for Ovechkin to break his record and set a new benchmark in the sport.