Mr. Friscus
Diamond Member
- Dec 28, 2020
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If you're not following the NHL, a major storyline is Alexander Ovechkin's chase of the all-time goal scoring record held by Wayne Gretzky, with 894 goals. Ovechkin currently stands at 848, but his feat is far more impressive than Gretzky's already.
The main reason is that Gretzky played in an era throughout the 80's and into the 90's where regular league averages were between 3.5 and 4 goals per game.
Meanwhile, Ovechkin played in the late 2000's until today, and goals per game are steadily between 2.7-3.1
So I decided to compare Gretzky and Ovechkin given their scoring rate in the era they played. I did this by..
1. Taking each individual season's goals per game
2. dividing it by the league average that season to produce a number
3. Adding up the numbers and dividing by the number the seasons
Examples:
1. 1979-80 Gretzky scored 51 goals in 79 games, thus producing a rate 0.64 goals per game. The league average that year was 3.51 goals per game.
0.64/3.51=0.18.
2. 2013-14 Ovechkin scored 51 goals in 78 games, thus producing a rate of 0.64 goals per game. The league average that year was 2.74 goals per game.
0.65/2.74=0.24
This produced an average of player's goals per game/league goal average over their entire career, which turned out to be:
Gretzky 0.161
Ovechkin 0.207
While Ovi has less goals, his goals were in significantly more difficult eras to score, thus the value of his scoring is higher given this.
Full Season by Season data is attached
The main reason is that Gretzky played in an era throughout the 80's and into the 90's where regular league averages were between 3.5 and 4 goals per game.
Meanwhile, Ovechkin played in the late 2000's until today, and goals per game are steadily between 2.7-3.1
So I decided to compare Gretzky and Ovechkin given their scoring rate in the era they played. I did this by..
1. Taking each individual season's goals per game
2. dividing it by the league average that season to produce a number
3. Adding up the numbers and dividing by the number the seasons
Examples:
1. 1979-80 Gretzky scored 51 goals in 79 games, thus producing a rate 0.64 goals per game. The league average that year was 3.51 goals per game.
0.64/3.51=0.18.
2. 2013-14 Ovechkin scored 51 goals in 78 games, thus producing a rate of 0.64 goals per game. The league average that year was 2.74 goals per game.
0.65/2.74=0.24
This produced an average of player's goals per game/league goal average over their entire career, which turned out to be:
Gretzky 0.161
Ovechkin 0.207
While Ovi has less goals, his goals were in significantly more difficult eras to score, thus the value of his scoring is higher given this.
Full Season by Season data is attached