Gretzky’s 1,000th Point Was Key Breakthrough

As Wayne Gretzky edges closer to becoming the most prolific scorer in National Hockey League history, it is hard to believe that the Great One’s greatness was ever in question. But it’s true. Gretzky, who needs only eight points to break Gordie Howe’s scoring record, was in the league five years before he was considered something more than an upstart.

The breakthrough probably occurred on Dec. 19, 1984, when Gretzky was playing for the Edmonton Oilers against the Kings. He had a good night--two goals and four assists--as the Oilers won, 7-3, and it was on Gretzky’s first shift that his assist on teammate Mike Krushelnyski’s goal gave Gretzky his 1,000th NHL point.

Krushelnyski, who is also a King and was playing on Gretzky’s line until being sidelined with a hairline fracture of his left wrist, said he doesn’t remember the goal, but he remembers the record and Gretzky’s shot hitting the post.

“I saw Wayne break to the net and I was just going over to congratulate him after he scored,” Krushelnyski said at the time. “But I happened to follow him in after he missed the shot and I went for the rebound. It went off my skate and into the net.”

The Oilers were prepared for the moment. Gretzky’s family was at the game, and a ceremony marked the occasion. Gretzky said it was the most satisfying milestone in his career because of skepticism about his talent.

Then, even though he had been named an all-star the previous three years, Gretzky was considered by many to be a slow skater and too small. These critics also saw him as an offensive-minded center who was loath to pitch in on defense.

Pat Quinn, who was the Kings’ coach in ’84 and is now the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, said much of the league didn’t see Gretzky play often enough to get beyond some easy stereotyping.

“When I was in Philadelphia (coaching the Flyers), I would get scouting reports that said he was a little bit of a hanger,” Quinn said. “They said he was slow. Of course, now we know better. I think that 1,000 points won some of the skeptics over.”

Quinn said Gretzky is so subtle on the ice that he can dominate a game in a discreet way. “What Wayne does is so cerebral, he is getting your defense out of position and you don’t even know it,” Quinn said. “Much of what he does, or did then, was not that apparent. I think that’s why it took longer for him to get recognition. A lot of nights as a coach, you’d look down on the sheet and he had five points. And you’d think, ‘How in the hell did that happen?’

Joining the 1,000-point club, and doing it faster than anyone before him, also served to open the possibility that Gretzky was capable of breaking all the scoring records, even Gordie Howe’s sacred 1,850 career points.

“Some people may have seen it as a breakthrough,” said Chris Baker, who covered the Kings for The Times that year. “But I think it was determined long before that night. It was just a matter of time and if he would stay healthy.”

Krushelnyski said those who criticized Gretzky in the early years must not have seen him play.

“Those people must not know anything about the game of hockey,” he said. “We in Edmonton knew how good he was, from the start. I knew, playing with him. I knew how hard he worked and what he did in the game.”

Of course, now all of that is a given. Gretzky’s size hasn’t hampered him, and few skaters can catch him from behind.

The points are still coming, although he says that the first 1,000 seemed easier.

“Now they are harder, I guess,” Gretzky said. “I don’t seem to be getting any easy ones. Up to 1,800, it seemed I got a bunch of easy ones. One of the things I’ve tried to do in my career is be consistent. I worked hard at it. If I did have a bad game, I went out and made sure the next time I had a good one. To minimize your bad games is crucial. That’s one thing the 1,800 points stands for in my mind, consistency.”

Quinn, whose hapless King teams faced the very consistent Gretzky so often each season, laughs now at the idea there was ever skepticism.

“Wayne makes a little inside move that used to get my defensemen every time,” Quinn said. “I used to get on them about it. He’s still doing that move and still faking all the defensemen in the league. There must be something special about it. I wish I’d known that then.”