Gretzky also became known for setting up behind his opponent's net, an area that was nicknamed " Gretzky's office " because of his adept skills in that area.

Gretzky became executive director for the Canadian national men's hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics, in which the team won a gold medal.

That year, Gretzky became the first hockey player and first Canadian to be named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.

The rule change became known as the Gretzky rule.

Gretzky became known for setting up with the puck behind the net, an area that was nicknamed " Gretzky's Office " because of his great prowess there.

Gretzky became accustomed to the position after watching and studying Bobby Clarke play in that zone.

* On August 9, 1988, in what became the biggest trade in NHL history ( also known as " The Trade Of The Century "), Wayne Gretzky was traded along with teammates Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski from Edmonton to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Martin Gelinas, Jimmy Carson, three first round draft picks, and $ 15 million cash ( approximately $ 18 million CAD in 1988 ).

Gretzky also became the youngest player in NHL history to score one thousand points.

In 1991, Bruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky, and Candy became co-owners of the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts.

Over the years Howe became good friends with Gretzky, who had idolized Howe as a young player, and who would later break many of Howe's scoring records and milestones.

In doing so, he became the third player in NHL history to win the award in consecutive years after Mike Bossy ( 1983 and 1984 ) and Wayne Gretzky ( 1991 and 1992 ).

When he made his World Junior debut in 2000, he became just the third 16-year-old in history to make the team, behind Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros.

With a league-leading 92 assists, Thornton became only the third player in NHL history to record back-to-back 90-assist seasons, joining Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

St. Louis became the first player since Wayne Gretzky and only the eighth in NHL history, to win the Art Ross Trophy, the Stanley Cup, and the Hart Memorial Trophy all in one season.

He became the first ( and to this date, the only ) player to captain two different teams to the Stanley Cup, something his former teammate Wayne Gretzky couldn't do the year before, and provided two of the most memorable images of that Stanley Cup Finals.

The duo of Kurri and Gretzky became one of the most prolific scoring tandems ever to play in the NHL.

The following year was his breakout season, making the NHL for good with the Kings, where he became the team's lead centre after Wayne Gretzky was traded late in the year amidst a full-scale reorganization of the team ; Perreault scored 25 goals to finish second on the squad.

He soon became an important part of the Oilers, playing on the team's first line with Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri.

Heatley's four goals in an All-Star game tied the previous records of Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Vincent Damphousse and Mike Gartner and became the first player in All-Star history to score four-consecutive goals.

The Pittsburgh Penguins ' Kevin Stevens became only the third person in NHL history to outscore Gretzky in the regular season ( Marcel Dionne tied Gretzky in Wayne's rookie year, but had more goals, and Mario Lemieux won the Art Ross Trophy over Gretzky in 1988 and 1989 ).

The most notable individual performers were Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers, who broke Bobby Orr's single season assist record and Phil Esposito's point mark for a new record of 164 points, winning his second of an unmatched eight straight Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player, as well as Mike Bossy, who became only the second man in NHL history to score 50 goals in his first 50 games.

In the 1991 – 92 NHL season, Stevens became only the 3rd person in NHL history to outscore Wayne Gretzky in the regular season, though he still finished 2nd in points to teammate Mario Lemieux.

Heatley also set the record for being the youngest player to score a hat trick in the All-Star Game, a record previously held by the Edmonton Oilers ' Wayne Gretzky.

Until the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009, with 22-year-old Sidney Crosby as captain, Kennedy shared the honours with Wayne Gretzky as the youngest captains to have won the Cup.

* 1967 – Keith Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player

* 1961 – Wayne Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player

Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC (; born January 26, 1961 ) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach.

Gretzky captured nine Hart Trophies as the most valuable player, ten Art Ross Trophies for most points in a season, five Lady Byng Trophies, five Lester B. Pearson Awards, and two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP.

According to Martin, " Wayne was so good that you could have a boy of your own who was a tremendous hockey player, and he'd get overlooked because of what the Gretzky kid was doing.

Skalbania opted to have Gretzky sign a personal-services contract rather than a standard player contract in part because he knew a deal to take some WHA teams into the NHL was in the works.

The next season, Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's career goal-scoring record and won the scoring title, but the team began a long slide, and despite numerous player and coaching moves, they failed to qualify for the playoffs again until 1998.

At the time of his retirement, Gretzky was the second-to-last WHA player still active in professional hockey, Mark Messier, who himself attended the game along with other representatives of the Edmonton dynasty, being the last.

" Gretzky, who weighed far less than the NHL average, adroitly applied this technique as a professional player, avoiding checks with such skill that a rumour circulated that there was an unwritten rule not to hit him.

Gretzky was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 22, 1999, becoming the tenth player to bypass the three-year waiting period.

* January 26 – Wayne Gretzky, Canadian hockey player

The team's performance would improve in 1978, when new owner Peter Pocklington acquired Wayne Gretzky as an under-age player ( consequentially, his first year of WHA experience prevented him from being an official 1979 – 80 NHL rookie ), as well as goaltender Eddie Mio and forward Peter Driscoll, from the recently-folded Indianapolis Racers for cash.

However, Gretzky stole the show by setting the single season record for goals with ninety-two and becoming the first player in NHL history to score 200 points ( with 212 ).

Other famous last bearers of the torch include heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali ( 1996 ), Australian aboriginal runner Cathy Freeman ( 2000 ), and ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky ( 2010 ).

* Wayne Gretzky, NHL hockey player

Gretzky is the only player to win the trophy for more than one team and Joe Thornton is the only player to win it while playing for two different teams in one season.

It is also the birthplace of hockey player Wayne Gretzky, comedian Phil Hartman, as well as Group of Seven member Lawren Harris.

Hoping to restore the league's credibility with fans, a new ownership group featuring Bruce McNall, hockey player Wayne Gretzky and actor John Candy purchased the Toronto Argonauts in 1991 and lured American college standout Rocket Ismail to Canada with a four-year, $ 26. 2 million contract which made him the highest paid player in football history at that time.