Wayne Douglas Gretzky CC (/ˈɡrɛtski/; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One",[1] he has been called the greatest hockey player ever by many sportswriters, players, the NHL itself,[2] and by The Hockey News, based on extensive surveys of hockey writers, ex-players, general managers and coaches.[3] Gretzky is the leading goal scorer, assist producer and point scorer in NHL history,[4] and garnered more assists in his career than any other player scored total points. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season, a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, Gretzky tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All-Star records.[2]

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