Marie Greyhounds selected Gretzky, even though Walter Gretzky had told the team that Wayne would not move to Sault Ste.

Skalbania told Gretzky he would be moved, offering him a choice between Edmonton and Winnipeg.

Gretzky, goaltender Eddie Mio and forward Peter Driscoll were put on a private plane, not knowing where they would land and what team they would be joining.

Skalbania offered to play a game of backgammon with Winnipeg owner Michael Gobuty, the stakes being if Gobuty won, he would get Gretzky and if he lost, he had to give Skalbania a share of the Jets.

Under normal circumstances, Gretzky would have been removed from the Oilers and placed in the pool for the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, but his personal services contract prevented this.

As the season wound down, there was media speculation that Gretzky would retire, but he refused to announce his retirement.

Madison Square Garden photographer George Kalinsky's image of Gretzky waving to the crowd at the Garden, like his image of Messier after the Rangers won game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals five years earlier, would become an iconic image to the Rangers and their fans, documenting one of the greatest moments at the Garden, and even to hockey fans.

Gretzky would later remark that the Soviet National Team's practice drills, which impressed Canada in 1972, had nothing to offer him: " I'd been doing these drills since I was three.

In his autobiography, Gretzky describes how at practices, his Dad would drill him on the fundamentals of smart hockey:

Bidders for the club had indicated that Gretzky would no longer be associated with the team after it emerged from bankruptcy, and on September 24, 2009, Gretzky stepped down as head coach and head of hockey operations of the Coyotes.

Although Gretzky had previously stated he would not participate in any " old-timers exhibition games ", on November 22, 2003, he took to the ice one last time to help celebrate the Edmonton Oilers ' 25th anniversary as an NHL team.

Oilers players such as Gretzky and Mark Messier said that they realized at that moment how much it would actually take to win the Stanley Cup.

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.

Originally, Gretzky was not eligible to be protected ; under the rules of the time, he normally would have been placed in the Entry Draft pool.

The Oilers would go on to defeat the Bruins in five games, and win their first Cup without Gretzky.

On May 1, 2007, the Staples Center sports arena announced that a bronze statue of Oscar De La Hoya would join similar tributes to Los Angeles sports stars Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Howe had played in five decades of All-Star Games and he would skate alongside the second-youngest to ever play in the game, 19-year-old Wayne Gretzky.

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.

Also during the off-season, there was speculation that the Mighty Ducks would acquire Wayne Gretzky, whose contract had expired with the St. Louis Blues.

Although it's worth noting that, had the Richard Trophy existed during the years they completed their Hart-Pearson-Art Ross sweeps, Lafleur would have achieved the four award sweep once ( 1977 – 78 ), Lemieux twice ( 1987 – 88 and 1995 – 96 ) and Gretzky five times ( 1981 – 82, 1982 – 83, 1983 – 84, 1984 – 85 and 1986 – 87 ).

Although public sentiment sided with Messier, as he led the team to two first-place regular season finishes and the Stanley Cup, General Manager Neil Smith figured out that he had Gretzky and Pat LaFontaine as top centermen, and he came close to signing Joe Sakic from the Colorado Avalanche At 36 years old, Messier signed with the Vancouver Canucks to a high-priced free agent contract, where he would be reunited with Mike Keenan, who was the Rangers ' head coach in 1994, who would be hired as the Canucks ' general manager and head coach early in the 1997 – 98 season.

For the first time in his NHL career, Gretzky was not named captain, although he briefly wore the captain's ' C ' in 1998 when captain Brian Leetch was injured and out of the lineup.

Gretzky ended his career with a final point, assisting on the lone New York goal scored by Brian Leetch.

Chris McKendry and John Buccigross are replaced in a " line change " with Jay Harris and Brian Kenny, then are sent back when Gretzky doesn't like what he sees.

Barrie goalie Brian Finley won the OHL Goaltender of the Year award as well as the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as playoff MVP.

Forwards and defense: Dale Hawerchuk, Mark Messier, Mike Gartner, Glenn Anderson, Kevin Dineen, Michel Goulet, Brent Sutter, Rick Tocchet, Brian Propp, Doug Gilmour, Claude Lemieux, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Doug Crossman, Craig Hartsburg, Normand Rochefort, James Patrick, Raymond Bourque, Larry Murphy, Paul Coffey

Bailey returned to Edmonton to play with the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association in 1978 – 79, where he took rookie Wayne Gretzky under his wing.

When Gretzky was 14, his family arranged for him to move to and play hockey in Toronto, partly to further his career, and partly to remove him from the uncomfortable pressure he faced in his hometown.

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

In the final season of the WHA, Gordie had the opportunity to play with Wayne Gretzky in the 1979 WHA All-Star Game.

His play during his first NHL season earned him comparisons to Wayne Gretzky for his vision and Pavel Bure for his speed, while also earning accolades from Gretzky himself.

In January 1996, Kariya finished as a runner-up to Wayne Gretzky for the inaugural Jean Beliveau Award, an annual distinction from Hockey Canada for players who have demonstrated " outstanding playing ability and international experience while maintaining the fundamentals of sportsmanship and fair play.

He was also taken to breakfast by Wayne Gretzky in an attempt to convince Roenick to play for the Hull Olympiques, a QMJHL team that Gretzky owned.

At the heart of the problem was Roenick felt that he was healthy enough to play in the game following a back injury and Coach Gretzky felt he needed more time.

However, he did not play in the 1991 edition, despite attempts by Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier to persuade him to take part.

* Named to play in the All-Star Game for the 19th consecutive season, passing Wayne Gretzky for the league record, 2001 ; Bourque also appeared in the All-Star Game in every season that it was held during his career ( there was no game in 1987 or 1995 ).

In a 2009 interview, former Red Wings Head coach Scotty Bowman recalled a conversation between Gretzky and him: " I talked to Wayne Gretzky about that six or seven years ago and he said to me: ' I couldn't play forward and defence.

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

Bure also earned another opportunity to meet Gretzky, as well as defenceman Paul Coffey, when his team stopped in Edmonton to play at the Northlands Coliseum.

He was the team's first-ever NHL draft pick, and scored their first NHL goal ( a power play goal against the Chicago Blackhawks assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Brett Callighen ).

With the Sharks leading 4 – 2 in the third period, he recorded a hat trick with two goals on the power play and one into an empty net in a span of two minutes and one second, breaking the previous team record set by Gretzky on February 18, 1981, by seventeen seconds.

The Canadian team, despite a strong start in the round robin, failed to play well after losing their semifinal match, and disappointed Canadians who wished for Wayne Gretzky to get an Olympic medal, playing a lacklustre bronze medal game.

Never logging more than 19 penalty minutes in any season during his career, his gentlemanly play was recognized when he was voted the winner of the 1988 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, beating Wayne Gretzky in the voting.

Crisp once called Groulx, who wore number nine, the second best player ever to play for the Sault, behind only Wayne Gretzky, number 99.

This would be the last Stanley Cup Final series to be played in the Montreal Forum, and the last time Wayne Gretzky would play in the Finals as well.