Not that Gretzky wasn’t great. He indisputably was and his title as the GOAT of hockey is totally fair.

However, these records are incredibly influenced by the era he played in. Look at a list of the highest scoring seasons for teams ever and it’s either far pre expansion or the late 70s and 80s - Gretzky’s era.

Messi’s records are astounding for the reason that soccer scoring trends have remained far more stable (imo)