Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky (b. January 26, 1961) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, he is known as "The Great One," and considered by many to be the best player of all time.
Early Years
Taught by his father, Gretzky was a classic prodigy. At 6, he was skating with 10 year-olds. At 10, he scored 378 goals in 85 games, and the first story on him was published in the Toronto Telegram (now the Toronto Sun). At 14, playing against 20 year-olds, he left Brantford to further his career and escape the jealousy his on-ice achievements often created. His parents appointed a couple they had never met to be the boy's legal guardians. He also signed with his first agent.
He played one year in the Ontario Hockey League at the age of 16, with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. There he began wearing 99 on his jersey, since his idol Gordie Howe's number 9 was being worn by a teammate. The next year, he signed with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association. Eight games into the season, his contract was bought by Peter Pocklington, owner of the Edmonton Oilers; the Racers folded 5 weeks later.
NHL Career
After the 1978-79 season, four WHA teams, including the Oilers, joined the National Hockey League. In his first NHL season, 1979-80, Gretzky was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the League's Most Valuable Player (the first of eight in a row) and tied for the scoring lead with Marcel Dionne with 137 points. (Dionne earned the Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the League's leading scorer because he had more goals.) Gretzky was not eligible for the Calder Memorial Trophy, given to the top NHL rookie, because of his previous year of professional experience.
In his second season, Gretzky won the Art Ross (the first of seven consecutive years) with a single-season record 164 points, and won his second straight Hart Trophy. The Oilers were a young, strong team featuring forwards Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson and Jari Kurri, defenseman Paul Coffey, goalie Grant Fuhr, and Gretzky as its captain. In 1983, they made it to the Stanley Cup finals, only to be swept by the three-time defending champion New York Islanders. The following season, the Oilers met the Islanders in the Finals again, this time winning the first of four Stanley Cups over the next five years.
Athlete of the Decade
In 1982, Gretzky became the first hockey player and Canadian to be named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. He was also named Sports Illustrated Magazine's 1982 "Sportsman of the Year." In 1990, the AP named him Male Athlete of the Decade.
"The Trade"
In a move that drastically changed the dynamics of the NHL, Gretzky was traded with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski by the Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15 million cash and the Kings' first-round draft picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993 on August 9, 1988. "The Trade," as it is came to be known, so upset Canadians that one lawmaker demanded the government block it, Pocklington was burned in effigy, and Gretzky's wife, Janet, was branded hockey's Yoko Ono.
He led the Kings to the Cup finals in 1993, but was accused of "playing" General Manager: he replaced career King Dave Taylor as captain in 1989; coaches Robbie Ftorek and Barry Melrose were fired and teammates Bernie Nicholls and Luc Robitaille were traded when they fell out of favor; Kurri, Coffey, and Fuhr joined the team. Despite these moves, the Kings continued on a downward spiral. On February 27, 1996, the new owners, with whom Gretzky did not get along, traded him at his request to the Saint Louis Blues for Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat, Craig Johnson, and draft picks. While he scored 37 points in 31 games for the team (regular season and playoffs), and they got within one overtime game of the Conference finals, Gretzky seemed to clash with bombastic coach Mike Keenan and never clicked with Brett Hull on the ice as many expected. On July 21, he signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent, re-joining Messier.
Records and Awards
Gretzky holds or shares 61 NHL records: 40 regular season, 15 playoff, and 6 All-Star. He holds single-season records for goals (92), assists (163) and points (215). He also holds the career records for goals (894), assists (1,963) and points (2,857). He won 9 Hart Trophies (8 in a row from 1980-1987), 10 Art Ross Trophies (7 in a row from 1981-1987), 5 Lady Byng Trophies for gentlemanly play, 2 Conn Smythe Trophies as the playoffs' MVP, and 5 Lester B. Pearson Awards as the League's outstanding player as judged by his peers. His jersey number, 99, was retired by all NHL teams.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 22, 1999, bypassing the 3-year waiting period. His daily "journal" was syndicated throughout Canada's newspapers detailing his thoughts and feelings about his induction as the day neared.
"The Royal Wedding"
He met American actress Janet Jones in 1984 when he was a judge on the show "Dance Fever" and she was a dancer, but they didn't begin dating until 1987. Their July 17, 1988 nuptials at St. Joseph's Basilica in Edmonton was dubbed "The Royal Wedding" by the press and broadcast live throughout Canada. "Guards" from the Edmonton Fire Department stood on the church steps. The event reportedly cost Gretzky over $1,000,000; Janet's dress alone cost $40,000. They have 5 children: Paulina (born that December), Ty, Trevor, Tristan, and Emma.
Winter Olympics
Gretzky was Executive Director of the Canadian men's hockey team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. On February 18, he lashed out at the media, officials, and just about everyone else at a press conference, blaming the team's 1-1-1 start on "American propaganda." Defenders said he was merely borrowing a page from former coach Glen Sather to take the pressure off his players. Canada beat the U.S. to win the gold medal 50 years to the day after the Edmonton Waterloo Mercurys won the nation's last gold.
Off the Ice
While in Edmonton, he endorsed everything from soft drinks and blue jeans to his own wallpaper, pillow cases, breakfast cereal, chocolate bars, and a Mattel "Great Gretzky" doll. Past and present plugs include Thrifty Car Rental, Peak Antifreeze, Coca-Cola, Esso, McDonald's, Campbell's Soup, Primestar TV, Upper Deck, Nike, Ultra Wheels, Hallmark Cards, Zurich Insurance, and Canadian Imperial Bank. He and his son Ty did commercials for the Sharp Viewcam. He hosted Saturday Night Live in 1989. He lent his likeness to a 1992 cartoon show. He posed for the cover of Cigar Aficionado Magazine with Janet. In 1998, he launched a line of fashion menswear, and signed a licensing agreement with a phone card company. He owns a restaurant, Hespeler sports equipment, and co-owns a chain of roller-hockey rinks. After his retirement, he became the spokesman for Bud Light, Power Automotive Group of Southern California, and Tylenol Arthritis Formula. Forbes estimates that Gretzky earned $93.8 million from hockey and endorsements from 1990-98.
In 2000, he became President and a Managing Partner of the Phoenix Coyotes NHL team.
Career Statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1976-77 | Peterborough Petes | OHA | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1977-78 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHA | 64 | 70 | 112 | 182 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1978-79 | Indianapolis Racers | WHA | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1978-79 | Edmonton Oilers | WHA | 72 | 43 | 61 | 104 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 2 | ||
| 1979-80 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 79 | 51 | 86 | 137 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1980-81 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 55 | 109 | 164 | 28 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 4 | ||
| 1981-82 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 92 | 120 | 212 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 | ||
| 1982-83 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 71 | 125 | 196 | 59 | 16 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 4 | ||
| 1983-84 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 74 | 87 | 118 | 205 | 39 | 19 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 12 | ||
| 1984-85 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 73 | 135 | 208 | 52 | 18 | 17 | 30 | 47 | 4 | ||
| 1985-86 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 52 | 163 | 215 | 46 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 2 | ||
| 1986-87 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 79 | 62 | 121 | 183 | 28 | 21 | 5 | 29 | 34 | 6 | ||
| 1987-88 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 64 | 40 | 109 | 149 | 24 | 19 | 12 | 31 | 43 | 16 | ||
| 1988-89 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 78 | 54 | 114 | 168 | 26 | 11 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 1989-90 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 73 | 40 | 102 | 142 | 42 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 1990-91 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 78 | 41 | 122 | 163 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 2 | ||
| 1991-92 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 74 | 31 | 90 | 121 | 34 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1992-93 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 45 | 16 | 49 | 65 | 6 | 24 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 4 | ||
| 1993-94 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 81 | 38 | 92 | 130 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1994-95 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 48 | 11 | 37 | 48 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1995-96 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 62 | 15 | 66 | 81 | 32 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1995-96 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 18 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 0 | ||
| 1996-97 | New York Rangers | NHL | 82 | 25 | 72 | 97 | 28 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 2 | ||
| 1997-98 | New York Rangers | NHL | 82 | 23 | 67 | 90 | 28 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998-99 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 9 | 53 | 62 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 21 Years | Totals | NHL | 1487 | 894 | 1963 | 2857 | 596 | 208 | 122 | 260 | 382 | 68 | ||
Quotations
- Skate "to where the puck is going, not where it's been." -- From his father, Walter (Gretzky & Reilly, 1990, p. 88.)
- "100% of the shots you don't take don't go in."
References
- Wayne Gretzky with Rick Reilly (1990). Gretzky: An Autobiography. An Edward Burlingame Book. ISBN 0060163399
- SLAM! Presents Wayne Gretzky, Canadian Online Explorer: SLAM! Sports.