Who is better, Gretzky or Kariya?
Wayne Gretzky leads with a GOAT score of 97.8 against 83.6 for Paul Kariya — a gap of 14.2 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Gretzky vs Kariya
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks Wayne Gretzky above Paul Kariya: 97.8 vs 83.6. Wayne Gretzky leads on Dominance, Honours, Longevity.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
GretzkyWinner
97.8Gretzky wins: Dominance, Peak, Longevity, Honours, Statistics
Kariya
83.6Kariya wins: no category outright
Candidates
Locked to Ice HockeyShareable URL · /compare/gretzky-vs-paul-kariya
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇨🇦 Wayne Gretzky
97.8
Gretzky leads in 5 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Paul Kariya
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Through age 21 · Form index per season
1. 🇨🇦 Wayne Gretzky513 points
3 seasons by age 21 · 171 per season
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Kariya — shown in the pro-debut view instead.
Every career is cut at the season the athlete turned 21, so a rookie today is measured against exactly what a legend had banked by the same birthday.
| Metric | GretzkyRetired · New York Rangers | KariyaRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Career points | 2,857 | 989 |
| Career goals | 894 | 402 |
| Stanley Cups | 4 | — |
| Hart Trophies | 9 | — |
| Art Ross Trophies | 10 | — |
| Points per game | 1.92 | — |
| Lady Byng Trophies | — | 2 |
| Olympic gold medals | — | 1 |
| All-Star selections | — | 5 |
| Dominance w25% | 100 | 80 |
| Peak w20% | 100 | 92 |
| Longevity w20% | 92 | 78 |
| Honours w20% | 97 | 82 |
| Statistics w15% | 100 | 88 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Gretzky97.8
Kariya83.6
FAQ
Where does Kariya beat Gretzky?
Kariya does not lead any of the five categories; Gretzky is ahead or level on all of them.
How is the Gretzky vs Kariya score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Gretzky: 97.8, Kariya: 83.6.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Gretzky vs Kariya. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.