Who is better, McDavid or Gretzky?
Wayne Gretzky leads with a GOAT score of 97.8 against 86.5 for Connor McDavid — a gap of 11.3 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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McDavid vs Gretzky
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks Wayne Gretzky above Connor McDavid: 97.8 vs 86.5. Wayne Gretzky leads on Longevity, Honours, Dominance.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
GretzkyWinner
97.8Gretzky wins: Dominance, Peak, Longevity, Honours, Statistics
McDavid
86.5McDavid wins: no category outright
Candidates
Locked to Ice HockeyShareable URL · /compare/mcdavid-vs-gretzky
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. Connor McDavid
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 McDavid — 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 | McDavidActive · Edmonton Oilers | GretzkyRetired · New York Rangers |
|---|---|---|
| Hart Trophies | 3 | 9 |
| Art Ross Trophies | 5 | 10 |
| Conn Smythe Trophies | 1 | — |
| 100-point seasons | 7 | — |
| NHL points | 1,100 | — |
| All-Star selections | 8 | — |
| Career points | — | 2,857 |
| Career goals | — | 894 |
| Stanley Cups | — | 4 |
| Points per game | — | 1.92 |
| Dominance w25% | 90 | 100 |
| Peak w20% | 94 | 100 |
| Longevity w20% | 72 | 92 |
| Honours w20% | 84 | 97 |
| Statistics w15% | 93 | 100 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Gretzky97.8
McDavid86.5
FAQ
Where does McDavid beat Gretzky?
McDavid does not lead any of the five categories; Gretzky is ahead or level on all of them.
How is the McDavid vs Gretzky score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. McDavid: 86.5, Gretzky: 97.8.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for McDavid vs Gretzky. 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.