The Great One

April 18, 1999 - The day The Great One, Number 99, hung up his skates for the last time. 20 NHL seasons, 1487 regular season games, 894 goals, 1963 assists, 2857 points (plus an additional 208 games, 122 goals, 260 assists, and 382 points in the playoffs). Four Stanley Cup Championships. Dozens of NHL scoring records. There is no wonder why the NHL retired Number 99 immediately. There was no surprise that the Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Wayne Gretzky on November 22nd without the normal 3-year waiting period.

Wayne Douglas Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario. He learned to play ice hockey at a very young age under the guidance of his father Walter, on their backyard ice rink. By the age of 11, Gretzky was already building his legend, scoring 378 goals and 139 assists in Brantford's atom league. The nickname 'Great One' was already being used by the Canadian media.

Gretzky began playing junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey Association at age 15 with the Peterborough Petes in the 1976/1977 season. With the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 1977/1978, Gretzky tallied 70 goals, 112 assists, and 182 points in 64 games (and an additional 6 goals, 20 assists, 26 points in 13 playoff games). It was with the Greyhounds that The Great One first wore Number 99. He originally wanted to wear number 9 like his idol Gordie Howe, but the number was already taken. Wayne wore 19 for a few weeks before switching to the now famous Number 99.

Gretzky began his professional hockey career at the age of 17 when he signed a multiyear contract with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association (June 12, 1978). After only 8 games, he was traded by the financially troubled Racers with Peter Driscoll (L) and Ed Mio (G) to the Edmonton Oilers (WHA) for cash and future considerations. He was awarded the Lou Kaplan Trophy (WHA Rookie of the Year) for the 1978/1979 season.

Gretzky's National Hockey League career began with the 1979/1980 season when the Edmonton Oilers entered the league after the WHA disbanded. He began logging entries into the league's record books in his first season and never stopped. On May 19, 1984, Gretzky helped the Oilers defeat the New York Islanders (winner of the 4 previous championships) for their (and Wayne's) first Stanley Cup Championship. Gretzky would go on to help them win 3 of the next 4 Stanley Cup Championships. On August 9, 1988, less than 3 months after Gretzky won the Conn Smythe Trophy and Edmonton won their 4th Stanley Cup, the hockey world was shocked when he was traded by the cash-deprived Oilers with Marty McSorley (R) and Mike Krushelnyski (F) to the Los Angeles Kings for Jimmy Carson (C), Martin Gelinas (L), a 1st Round 1989 Draft Pick (later traded to New Jersey), a 1st Round 1991 Draft Pick (Martin Rucinsky (L)), a 1st Round 1993 Draft Pick (Nick Stajduhar (D)), and cash. With nine NHL seasons under his belt, Gretzky already owned dozens of scoring records.

The records kept coming in Los Angeles. However, the closest The Great One got to another Stanley Cup after leaving the Oilers came in 1993, when he led the Kings to the Finals where they fell to the Montreal Canadiens in five games. He experienced something new during the next two seasons with Kings, sitting at home during the playoffs. Gretzky was in his eighth season with the Kings on February 27, 1996 when he was traded to the St. Louis Blues for Craig Johnson (L), Patrice Tardiff (C), Roman Vopat (C), a 5th Round 1996 Draft Pick (Peter Hogan (D)), and a 1st Round 1997 Draft Pick (Matt Zultek (L)).

Wayne Gretzky only played in 18 regular season games for the Blues. He took to the ice for 13 playoff games for St. Louis before the Detroit Red Wings ended their playoff run in overtime of game seven of the Conference Semi-Finals. With his contract expired after the playoffs, Gretzky took his show to Broadway, signing with the New York Rangers on July 21, 1996. He played his final three seasons in the Big Apple, helping New York to a brief playoff run in his first season, 1996/1997, but watching the playoffs from home in his final two seasons.

Wayne Gretzky currently lives in California and Arizona with his wife Janet, his daughters Paulina and Emma, and sons Ty, Trevor, and Tristan. While retired as a player, The Great One remains active in the NHL. On 6/2/02, he was introduced as the managing partner of the Phoenix Coyotes, responsible for all hockey operations (effective 2/15/01 when an ownership change was completed). He added Head Coach to his list of responsibilities starting with the 2005/2006 season.