Can Connor McDavid Break Wayne Gretzky's NHL Points Record?

Charlie Zschau Updated: Nov 06 2026 20:31

Wayne Gretzky holds many unbreakable NHL records, but Connor McDavid is coming for one of The Great One's longstanding records this season.

Connor McDavid is arguably the best hockey player of the 21st century and has been exceptional to start the 2026–27 NHL season. Let's see if the Edmonton Oilers star can break some historic NHL records this campaign

NHL Single-Season Points Record

Wayne Gretzky currently holds the record for the most points in a single season, tallying 215 points (52 goals and 163 assists) during the 1985–86 season. The Canadian legend is the only player to reach 200 points in a single season, and did so in four different campaigns.

Mario Lemieux has the fifth-highest point tally in a single season, reaching 199 points during the 1988–89 season.

So far this campaign, McDavid leads the NHL with 44 points (10 goals and 34 assists) in 17 games—a remarkable 2.5 points per game.

McDavid's extraordinary start to the year has him on track to record roughly 217 points in the expanded 84-game NHL schedule. In the standard 82-game seasons that Gretzky played, McDavid would be on pace for 212 points.

Those marks would not break Gretzky's legendary 82 game record, but he would in the 84 game season. They also put him on track to be the only other player ever to record 200+ points in a single season.

Wayne Getzky's Unbreakable NHL Records

Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record for the most career regular-season points with 2,857 (894 goals and 1,963 assists) in 1,487 games. That record is unlikely to be touched for years to come, if ever.

Gretzky passed Gordie Howe's 1,850 career points and took sole possession of the all-time points record in 1989 while playing for the Los Angeles Kings. He broke the record against his former team, and Connor McDavid's current team, the Edmonton Oilers.

Gretzky then became the only player ever to reach the 2,000-point mark in 1990. Remarkably, Gretzky's 1,963 assists alone are more than the total career points of any other player in NHL history. Jaromir Jagr is second all-time with 1,921 total points.