GOAT Rank · 34

Greatest Ice Hockey Players who debuted in the 1970s

This ranking is led by Wayne Gretzky, Viacheslav Fetisov and Sergei Makarov. GOAT Rank currently ranks 34 eligible Ice Hockey players who debuted in the 1970s using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Quick answer

According to GOAT Rank's current model, Wayne Gretzky ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 97.8.

How the GOAT Score is calculated →

#AthleteGOAT Score

Wayne Gretzky

97.8

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1979–1999
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 100.0
Dominance: 100.0
Statistics: 100.0
Honours: 97.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Wayne Gretzky

Viacheslav Fetisov

92.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1974–1998
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 96.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Viacheslav Fetisov

Sergei Makarov

91.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1976–1997
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Sergei Makarov

Ray Bourque

89.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1979–2001
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Ray Bourque

Vyacheslav Fetisov

88.9

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1974–1998
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Vyacheslav Fetisov

Mark Messier

88.7

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1978–2004
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Mark Messier

Mark Howe

88.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1973–1995
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Mark Howe

Mike Gartner

88.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1979–1998
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Mike Gartner

Rod Langway

87.9

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1978–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Rod Langway

104

Michel Goulet

87.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1979–1994
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Michel Goulet

116

Lanny McDonald

86.9

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1973–1989
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Lanny McDonald

122

Bob Gainey

86.7

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1973–1989
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Bob Gainey

125

Guy Lafleur

86.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1971–1991
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Guy Lafleur

127

Bryan Trottier

86.5

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1975–1994
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Bryan Trottier

129

Ken Dryden

86.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1970–1979
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Ken Dryden

133

Larry Robinson

86.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1972–1992
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Larry Robinson

135

Bill Barber

86.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1972–1984
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Bill Barber

148

Denis Potvin

85.9

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1973–1988
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Denis Potvin

150

Marcel Dionne

85.8

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1971–1989
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Marcel Dionne

156

Jari Kurri

85.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1977–1998
Country: 🇫🇮 Finland

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Jari Kurri

170

Mike Bossy

85.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1977–1987
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Mike Bossy

184

Håkan Loob

84.9

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1979–1996
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Håkan Loob

186

Bernie Federko

84.9

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1976–1990
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Bernie Federko

191

Gilbert Perreault

84.7

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1970–1987
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Gilbert Perreault

208

Kent Nilsson

84.0

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1974–1995
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Kent Nilsson

217

Peter Šťastný

83.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1975–1995
Country: 🇸🇰 Slovakia

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Peter Šťastný

218

Steve Shutt

83.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1972–1985
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Steve Shutt

224

Joe Mullen

83.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1979–1997
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Joe Mullen

247

Börje Salming

82.5

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1970–1993
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Börje Salming

249

Kevin Lowe

82.5

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1979–1998
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Kevin Lowe

257

Rick Middleton

82.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1974–1988
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Rick Middleton

261

Clark Gillies

82.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1974–1988
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Clark Gillies

302

Guy Chouinard

77.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1974–1984
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 68.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Guy Chouinard

305

Craig Patrick

76.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1971–1979
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Craig Patrick

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
1	Wayne Gretzky	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1979–1999	97.8
4	Viacheslav Fetisov	Ice Hockey	🇷🇺 Russia	1974–1998	92.1
8	Sergei Makarov	Ice Hockey	🇷🇺 Russia	1976–1997	91.6
40	Ray Bourque	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1979–2001	89.3
47	Vyacheslav Fetisov	Ice Hockey	🇷🇺 Russia	1974–1998	88.9
50	Mark Messier	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1978–2004	88.7
58	Mark Howe	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	1973–1995	88.4
62	Mike Gartner	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1979–1998	88.4
72	Rod Langway	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	1978–1993	87.9
104	Michel Goulet	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1979–1994	87.1
116	Lanny McDonald	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1973–1989	86.9
122	Bob Gainey	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1973–1989	86.7
125	Guy Lafleur	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1971–1991	86.6
127	Bryan Trottier	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1975–1994	86.5
129	Ken Dryden	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1970–1979	86.4
133	Larry Robinson	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1972–1992	86.3
135	Bill Barber	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1972–1984	86.3
148	Denis Potvin	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1973–1988	85.9
150	Marcel Dionne	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1971–1989	85.8
156	Jari Kurri	Ice Hockey	🇫🇮 Finland	1977–1998	85.6
170	Mike Bossy	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1977–1987	85.3
184	Håkan Loob	Ice Hockey	🇸🇪 Sweden	1979–1996	84.9
186	Bernie Federko	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1976–1990	84.9
191	Gilbert Perreault	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1970–1987	84.7
208	Kent Nilsson	Ice Hockey	🇸🇪 Sweden	1974–1995	84.0
217	Peter Šťastný	Ice Hockey	🇸🇰 Slovakia	1975–1995	83.6
218	Steve Shutt	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1972–1985	83.6
224	Joe Mullen	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	1979–1997	83.4
247	Börje Salming	Ice Hockey	🇸🇪 Sweden	1970–1993	82.5
249	Kevin Lowe	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1979–1998	82.5
257	Rick Middleton	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1974–1988	82.1
261	Clark Gillies	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1974–1988	82.1
302	Guy Chouinard	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1974–1984	77.2
305	Craig Patrick	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	1971–1979	76.3

Compare the leaders

Wayne Gretzky vs Viacheslav Fetisov

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.

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