biography

If you ask any hockey fan who the greatest hockey player of all time is, one name comes up ninety percent of the time. In his twenty years in the National Hockey League, Wayne Gretzky set more than sixty records, including the records for most goals, assists, and points in both a season and a career. And yet when he was starting out, many people didn’t think he would make it as a professional hockey player. He was considered to small too withstand the physical punishment that a hockey player takes over the course of an 82-game season. These people are very quiet now.

Wayne Douglas Gretzky was born on January 26th, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. When he was two, he got his first pair of skates. By five, he was playing against children twice his age. This is when he developed his ability to play against much bigger players. By nine, he was a local legend. By fifteen, he was already playing in the junior leagues. In his last year of amateur hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Bloodhounds, he scored seventy goals.

In 1978, the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association signed Gretzky as an underaged free agent. After playing eight games, he was signed to a 21-year contract by the Edmonton Oilers. That year, they went on to the Avco Cup finals, where they lost to the Winnipeg Jets.

When Gretzky signed his contract, he believed it meant that he would never play in the NHL. However, after the 1978-79 season, the World Hockey Association folded. The Edmonton Oilers, along with the Winnipeg Jets, the Quebec Nordiques, and the Hartford Whalers, transferred to the NHL. Not realising how difficult it would be, Oilers owner Peter Pocklington predicted that they would win the Stanley Cup within five years.

The Oilers first action in the NHL, the entry draft, was a major success. In the first round, they picked Kevin Lowe. In the second, they picked Mark Messier and in the third they picked Glen Anderson. All three are future hall-of-famers. However, many people considered Gretzky, who was only 170 lbs, far too small to play in the ultra-violent NHL. Therefore, they also picked up Dave Semenko, who was considered the reigning WHA heavyweight champion.

Gretzky made an impression quickly. In the 1979-80 season, his first in the NHL, he tied Marcel Dionne for the league lead in points and won the Hart trophy for the league’s most valuable player. However, since Dionne had more goals, he was given the Art Ross trophy for the leading scorer. The team struggled at times but made the playoffs after calling up goaltender Ron Low from the minors.

The next year, the Oilers again had an excellent draft. Their first three picks, in order, were Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, and Andy Moog. Once again, all three were future hall-of-famers. Kurri and Gretzky soon began playing on a line together. The Oilers became famous for their run-and-gun style, which combined the speed of European hockey and the toughness of Canadian hockey. That season, Gretzky scored 164 points, which not only led the league, but also broke Phil Esposito’s record of 152. In the first round of the playoffs, they swept the heavily favoured Montreal Canadiens in three straight games. The New York Islanders, who went on to win their second Stanley Cup in a row, eventually defeated them.

The next season, 1981-82, once again began with the drafting of a future hall-of-famer, goaltender Grant Fuhr. Early in the season, it became obvious that Gretzky would soon break Maurice Richard’s and Mike Bossy’s shared record for scoring 50 goals in 50 games. He reached the mark on December 30th, 1981 in a game in which he scored five goals, setting a new record of 50 goals in 39 games. At the end of the season, Gretzky had 92 goals, another new record, and 212 points. Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Kings eliminated the Oilers in the first round.

After another strong season in 1982-83, in which Gretzky set a new record of 125 assists, the Oilers made it to the Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to the New York Islanders. The next season, Gretzky’s first as the captain of the Oilers, he once again broke the 200 point mark, scoring 205 points. In the playoffs, they once again met the Islanders, who were trying for their fifth straight cup, in the finals. The series ended on May 19th, 1984 with the Oilers winning their first Stanley Cup. In Edmonton, which was the NHL’s northernmost city, there were celebrations rivalling VE day.

The Oilers won the Cup again in 1985. In the 1985/86 season, Gretzky had 163 assists and 215 points, both records that still stand. Also that season, Paul Coffey broke Bobby Orr’s record for goals by a defenceman. In the playoffs, the Oilers met up with their chief rivals, the Calgary Flames. In one of the most exciting series in the history of hockey, the Flames stretched the series out to seven games. In the infamous seventh game, the score was tied until defenceman Steve Smith, who now plays for the Flames, accidentally scored the winning goal on his own net. With the Oilers eliminated, the Montreal Canadiens eventually won the Cup.

The Oilers came back to win the Cup in 1987. As team captain, Gretzky was the first to hoist the Cup. Then, in a move that can be considered as typical of his personality, the first person he passed the Cup to was Steve Smith.

Unfortunately, the Oilers were becoming victims of their own success. Their flashy style of play did much to increase the popularity of the sport and the players were starting to demand more money. Gretzky soon became the first hockey player to make more than a $1 million in a season. However, Edmonton was a small market and owner Peter Pocklington was in massive debt from various failed business enterprises. The first to go was Paul Coffey, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins after the 1986-87 season for Craig Simpson.

Although the Oilers did not do as well as previously in the regular season in 1987-88, they gelled for the playoffs. They set a new record by only losing two games on the way to their fourth Stanley Cup. After the season, Gretzky married actress Janet Jones on July 6th, 1988. In Edmonton, the wedding was a major media event on the level of a royal wedding. Then, on August 9th, came the only event in Edmonton Oiler history that was more infamous than the game seven loss to Calgary. Wayne Gretzky, along with defenceman Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski, was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, draft picks, and $15 million in cash. None of the cash went into the team, instead going into Pocklington’s pocket. The city of Edmonton and the nation of Canada went into mourning for the loss of the one that they called “The Great One”.

This was the effective end of the Oilers’ dynasty. Although they would go on to win one more Cup in 1990 with Mark Messier as captain, they soon lost all of their major players to trades or free agency. Gretzky, on the other hand, had a new challenge. Most people in Los Angeles were barely aware that they had a hockey team. Gretzky changed this, bringing huge popularity to hockey throughout the southern United States. Although his best years of hockey had mostly passed, Gretzky became a media star, appearing in numerous TV commercials for Coca-Cola and McDonalds.

The media attention increased when he scored his 1851st point, breaking his hero Gordie Howe’s record of 1850 regular season NHL points. He scored his 1851st point with a backhand goal against the Edmonton Oilers. The goal tied the game and Gretzky went on to score the winner in overtime.

As the years went by, though, it became clear that Gretzky was not the player he used to be. Although he was still one of the best players in the league, back injuries made him openly speculate about retirement. However, there were still spells in which he showed his old form. After missing most of the 1992-93 season, Gretzky returned rested and re-energised. He led the LA Kings to the Stanley Cup finals but then lost to the Montreal Canadiens.

After failing to win the Cup, the LA Kings were re-organised, with older players replaced by up-and-comers. By the 1995-96 season, Gretzky realised that the team would not mature into a Cup contender before his retirement and asked to be traded. Since his contract was up at the end of the season, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues for Craig Johnson, Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat, a 1st round choice in 1997 Entry Draft and a 5th round choice in 1996 Entry Draft. There, he was re-united with ex-Oilers goaltender Grant Fuhr. Soon after, Glenn Anderson and Charlie Huddy also joined the team. Unfortunately, Gretzky did not gel quickly enough with Blues winger Brett Hull and the team was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Detroit Red Wings.

Due to differences with general manager/coach Mike Keenan, Gretzky did not resign with the Blues after the playoffs. Of the teams that bid for Gretzky when his contract ran out, the Vancouver Canucks offered the most money. However, Gretzky decided to sign to the New York Rangers instead so that he could play with Mark Messier again. In the 1997 playoffs, Messier and Gretzky showed that they still had some of their old talent with them and led the team to the final four, where they were defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers.

After the season was over, Mark Messier signed to the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks also tried to get Gretzky, but were unable to work out a deal. The New York Rangers did not make the playoffs that year. However, after the Canadian team finished disappointing fourth at the 1998 Olympics, Gretzky returned to the Rangers and for a few months was the leading scorer in the NHL.

During the 1998-99 season, scored his 1072 career professional goal, moving him past Gordie Howe for total goals in the NHL and the WHA. However, part way through the season, he was sidelined with a back injury. When the Rangers pulled together and improved their performance while he was gone, some began to ask if they needed Gretzky. This became the only season in which he averaged less than a point per game. Realising that the Rangers had no chance to make the playoffs, let alone challenge for the Cup, Gretzky decided to retire. In his last game, which was viewed by more than 2 million people, he scored his 1959th and last NHL regular season assist. Among those in attendance were Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, Mario Lemieux, and several other hockey greats.

During his career, Gretzky set or tied 61 NHL records. These include the records for most career regular season NHL goals (894), assists (1959), and points (2853). Four times, he scored more than 200 points in a season. No other player has ever scored 200. Mario Lemieux was the closest with 199 in 1988-89. With the exception of 1988, Gretzky won the Hart Trophy for the league’s MVP every year during the 1980’s. And yet, he managed to stay humble throughout all of it. Unless there is a radical change in how the game is played, no one will ever beat most of his records.

Gretzky could be considered the cause for the NHL’s current precarious state. Along with Messier, Gretzky greatly increased hockey’s popularity in the United States and around the world. With the new popularity came several new teams. With the increase in teams, more players were needed. Salaries skyrocketed while the actual level of talent decreased. Very few teams actually make money now. To compensate for the increasingly diluted talent pool, teams use defensive systems that require less skill but are far less interesting to watch. Consequently, scoring has fallen to its lowest level in decades. It is ironic how a player that often scored more than 200 points a season could indirectly cause the game to only produce one or two 100 point scorers a season.