Global InformationWayne Gretzky information
| Wayne Gretzky CC | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1999 | |||
 Gretzky in June 2019 | |||
| Born |
January 26, 1961 Brantford, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
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| Coached for | Phoenix Coyotes | ||
| National team |
 Canada | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1978–1999 | ||
| Coaching career | 2005–2009 | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
| ||
|---|---|---|
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Former professional ice hockey player
Awards
Video games
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Wayne Douglas Gretzky CC (/ˈɡrɛtski/ GRET-skee; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999, retiring at the age of 38. Nicknamed "the Great One",[1] he has been called the greatest ice hockey player ever by many sportswriters, players, The Hockey News, and the NHL itself,[2] based on extensive surveys of hockey writers, ex-players, general managers and coaches.[3] Gretzky is the leading career goal scorer, assist producer and point scorer in NHL history,[4] and has more career assists than any other player has total points. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season, a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, Gretzky tallied over 100 points in 15 professional seasons, 13 of them consecutive. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All-Star records.[2]
Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Gretzky honed his skills on a backyard rink and regularly played minor hockey at a level far above his peers.[5] 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, and 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".[6]
Gretzky was the top scorer in the 1978 World Junior Championships. In June 1978, he signed with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), where he briefly played before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. When the WHA folded, the Oilers joined the NHL, where he established many scoring records and led his team to four Stanley Cup championships. Gretzky's trade to the Los Angeles Kings on August 9, 1988, had an immediate impact on that team's performance, ultimately leading them to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, and he is credited with popularizing hockey in California.[7] Gretzky played briefly for the St. Louis Blues before finishing his career with the New York Rangers. Gretzky captured 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 (now called the Ted Lindsay Award) for 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 out against fighting in hockey.[8]
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.[9] 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.[10] 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.
- ^ "Wayne Gretzky finally explains meaning behind 'The Great One' nickname". Yahoo! Sports. May 21, 2014. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
- ^ a b For his titles, see "University of Alberta: Honorary Degree Recipients (2000–2007)". Ualbertacentennial.ca. 2000. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
- That he's regarded as the best player in the history of the NHL, see "Wayne Gretzky". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
- That he's regarded as the greatest by many sportswriters, see Falla, Jack (1998). "The Greatest One Bar None". In Dryden, Steve (ed.). The Top 100 NHL Players of All Time. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland & Stewart. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7710-4175-4.
- That many players share the view, see Maloney, Tom (February 15, 2006). "Gretzky's Awkward Arrival". Time. Archived from the original on August 23, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2008.
- That the NHL shares the view, see Falla, Jack (2000). "Wayne Gretzky: Greatness Ascendant". In Dan Diamond (ed.). Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Total Sports. ISBN 978-1-892129-85-7. Archived from the original on November 17, 2010. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
- For the records he held at retirement, see "NHL Records Held or Shared by Wayne Gretzky". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on January 17, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
- ^ Kay, Jason; Ken Campbell; Adam Proteau (2007). The Hockey News – The Top 60 Since 1967. Montreal: Transcontinental Books. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-9738355-4-0.
- ^ Stubbs, Dave (January 1, 2017). "Wayne Gretzky: 100 Greatest NHL Players". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- ^ Schwartz, Larry. "'Great' and 'Gretzky' belong together". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 19, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2006.
- ^ Sullivan, Tim. "Gretzky's office". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
- ^ Allen, Kevin (August 10, 2008). "Gretzky trade remembered for 'seismic impact'". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
- ^ Duhatschek, Eric (September 2, 2011). "Getting rid of hockey's goons". The Globe and Mail. Canada. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
Once upon a time, Wayne Gretzky opposed fighting in hockey as passionately as Sinden, suggesting soon after he arrived in Los Angeles that hockey would never be a mainstream sport as long as fighting was condoned the way it was. Ultimately, as Gretzky's voice was ignored for years and years, he stopped contributing to the conversation. People can only be shouted down for so long before they figure it's somebody else's turn to carry the torch.
- ^ "IIHF Centennial All-Star Team". iihf.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- ^ "Wayne Gretzky". oshof.ca. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.