Wayne Gretzky

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Lore & Background

Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Gretzky honed his skills on a backyard rink and regularly played minor ice hockey at a level far above his peers. Despite his unimpressive size and strength, Gretzky's intelligence, stamina, and reading of the game were unrivaled. He was adept at dodging checks from opposing players, consistently anticipated where the puck was going to be, and executed the right move at the right time. Gretzky became known for setting up behind his opponent's net, an area that was nicknamed "Gretzky's office". Gretzky was the top scorer in the 1978 World Junior Championships, then signed with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), where he briefly played before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. After the NHL-WHA merger, he set many scoring records in ten seasons with the Oilers, and led them to four Stanley Cup championships. Traded to the Los Angeles Kings where he played eight seasons, he led them to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, and he is credited with popularizing hockey in California. He played briefly for the St. Louis Blues before finishing his career with the New York Rangers. He won nine Hart Trophies as the most valuable player, 10 Art Ross Trophies for most points in a season, two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP and five Lester B. Pearson Awards as the most outstanding player as judged by his peers. He led the league in goal-scoring five times and assists 16 times. He also won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and performance five times and often spoke against fighting in hockey.

In Their Own Story

The arena hummed with an electric tension that only a Stanley Cup Final could produce. In the final seconds of overtime, the puck sat loose near the defensive zone. Wayne Gretzky, his breathing heavy beneath the mask, didn't panic; he simply scanned the ice with eyes that had seen every angle before it happened. He received a pass, his stick handling fluid as water, and with a deceptively simple wrist shot, sent the puck past the Sabres' goalie. The roar of the crowd in Dallas was deafening, a sound that would echo through history as 'The Great One' finally brought the Cup home to Texas.

Reader's Guide

After his retirement in 1999, Gretzky was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, making him the most recent player to have the waiting period waived. The NHL retired his jersey number 99 league-wide. Gretzky was one of six players voted to the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2000, and received the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2012. 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. In 2000, he became part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, and following the 2004–05 NHL lock-out, he became the team's head coach. In 2004, Gretzky was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. In September 2009, following the Phoenix Coyotes' bankruptcy, Gretzky resigned as head coach and relinquished his ownership share. In October 2016, he returned to the Oilers as a minority partner and vice-chairman of their parent company, Oilers Entertainment Group. He left in 2021 to become an analyst on Turner Sports' NHL coverage.

Did You Know?

• Gretzky is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in a season, a feat he accomplished four times.
• He has more assists than any other player has total career points.
• Gretzky first wore number 99 because his preferred number 9 was already taken by a teammate.

The Great One's Statistical Dominance

His unparalleled production is evidenced by holding the records for both career points and assists, a feat so extraordinary that his assist total alone exceeds the entire point totals of any other player in history. Gretzky was the only athlete to ever surpass two hundred points in a single season, achieving this monumental milestone four separate times. Furthermore, he consistently maintained elite performance levels, recording over one hundred points in fifteen different professional seasons. Upon his retirement in 1999, he held an astonishing sixty-one league records, including forty regular-season marks, fifteen playoff achievements, and six All-Star distinctions. This statistical supremacy earned him nine Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player and ten Art Ross Trophies for leading the league in scoring, cementing his legacy as a singular force who fundamentally altered the expectations of offensive production in professional hockey.

The Architect Behind the Net

Despite possessing an unimpressive physical stature and lacking brute strength compared to many contemporaries, Gretzky compensated with unrivaled intelligence, stamina, and an intuitive reading of the game. His unique ability to anticipate puck movement allowed him to execute precise maneuvers at exactly the right moment while effectively dodging checks from larger opponents. This cerebral approach led to his signature tactic of positioning himself behind the opposing team's net, a strategic zone that became famously known as 'Gretzky's office.' His development began in Brantford, Ontario, where he honed these skills on a backyard rink constructed by his father, Walter. Through rigorous drills involving skating around obstacles and flipping pucks over sticks, Gretzky learned to skate toward the puck's destination rather than its origin. This foundational training produced a prodigy who was playing against ten-year-olds at age six and scoring over one thousand goals by age thirteen, proving that mental acuity could overcome physical limitations in professional sports.

A Career Spanning Four Franchises

Gretzky's professional journey began with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association before he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers, where he spent a decade setting numerous scoring records and leading the franchise to four Stanley Cup championships. Following his tenure in Edmonton, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, an eight-season stint that saw him guide them to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final while simultaneously popularizing the sport throughout California. His career concluded with brief stints at the St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers. Throughout these teams, his accolades were relentless; he led the league in goal-scoring five times and assists sixteen times. Additionally, his sportsmanship was recognized with five Lady Byng Memorial Trophies, reflecting his vocal opposition to fighting within the game. His peer recognition included five Lester B. Pearson Awards, while his playoff excellence earned him two Conn Smythe Trophies as the most valuable player in the postseason.

Legacy and Life Beyond the Rink

Upon retiring in 1999, Gretzky's immediate induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame marked a historic waiver of the standard waiting period. The NHL subsequently retired his jersey number 99 league-wide, ensuring no other player would ever wear it again. His contributions were further honored with inclusion on the IIHF Centennial All-Star Team and induction into both the IIHF Hall of Fame and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Post-retirement, Gretzky transitioned into leadership roles, serving as executive director for the Canadian national team during their 2002 Winter Olympics gold medal victory.