Wayne Gretzky has faced no shortage of high-end goaltenders throughout his NHL career, with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and New York Rangers. He scored in bunches against most of them, but there was one that managed to get under his skin unlike any other, as ‘The Great One’ revealed a four-time Stanley Cup champion was the toughest goalie he ever came up against on the ice.
Anyone who played in the NHL during Gretzky’s reign will admit that ‘The Great One’ was the most difficult player to stop once he got going. That was especially true for goaltenders, who bore both the privilege and the burden of trying to shut down Gretzky’s relentless attacks. He led the league in scoring for decades—until Alex Ovechkin finally shattered his record in 2025.
While Gretzky is universally respected in the NHL—renowned not just for his unmatched skill and hockey IQ, but also for his grace and humility—he wasn’t immune to feuds and rivalries. Tempers often flared, especially during the Stanley Cup Playoffs and throughout the 1980s, when enforcers still roamed the ice, wreaking havoc night in and night out.
However, as it’s often the case for natural-born goalscorers and playmakers like Gretzky, his biggest disdain arose for netminders, the culprits for stifling countless would-be goals throughout his NHL career.
Wayne Gretzky talks to the crowd during the Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Reunion at Rexall Place on October 10, 2014 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
On that note, when asked about the toughest goaltender he ever faced, the Oilers‘ legend wasted no time, voicing an immediate answer as if he had been waiting for years to take that frustration off his chest. His answer? Billy Smith, the goaltender who led the New York Islanders to four consecutive Stanley Cups.
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On-ice hate, off-the-ice respect
During an appearance on SmartLess podcast in November 2022, Gretzky showed no second-thoughts when naming the toughest netminder he ever played against in the NHL, dropping a powerful confession along the way.
“They’re all so good; they’re such good athletes. And they’re better athletes today than they were 40 years ago. But Billy Smith, the game was on the line, the pressure and the thing that made him so good is he hated me, and I hated him,” Gretzky confessed.
“But that was when we played, and now that we’re done and over, we have a mutual respect for each other,” Gretzky explained. “And he was, no question, one of the greatest ever.”
Former New York Islander Billy Smith is honored prior to the New York Islanders game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on November 22, 2014 in Uniondale, New York.
Fierce competitor
Billy Smith’s nickname: Battlin, should tell everything that needs to be known about the elite goaltender who played from 1971 until 1989, racking up penalty minutes, impressive performances, and both individual and team trophies along the way.
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Smith finished his career with 305 wins, including 22 shutouts, 490 penalty minutes, and an average save percentage of .895. Yet, more importantly, he hoisted four Stanley Cups, along with a Vezina Trophy, and a Conn Smythe Trophy for his heroics during the 1982-83 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Islanders.
Smith was so talented—and played with such fire in his veins—that Gretzky knew better than to try his signature behind-the-net goal, where he’d bank the puck off the goaltender’s back and in. Dazzling, yes—but also deeply humiliating.
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“He was too good and too smart for that. If I was back there, he would have been swinging his stick at me,” Gretzky said during his appearance on the SmartLess podcast.
