11 Last Years on Ice

Chapter 11 Last Years on Ice By the end of 1995, Wayne had played in Los Angeles for almost eight seasons. The Kings never made it to the finals again. Now he and Janet had two more children. Ty was born in 1990, Trevor in 1992. Wayne was turning thirty-five. He didn't have many hockey years left. And he wanted to play for a team that could win the Stanley Cup. The Kings agreed to a trade, and Wayne went to the St. Louis Blues. On July 22, 1996, Wayne signed a two-year deal with the New York Rangers. New Yorkers

welcomed Wayne with open arms. Even better, his old friend Mark Messier was captain. Back when they were nineteen, they never dreamed they'd be playing in New York, even appearing together on talk shows.

That year, the Rangers made the playoffs. They lost to Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference finals. It was a good effort. Wayne looked forward to doing even better next season. But things changed. Mark left to play for Vancouver. Now many looked to Wayne for the team's success. It was a heavy burden. Wayne was in his late thirties. Many other Rangers were older, too. The team didn't make the playoffs for the next two years. But the Rangers weren't Wayne's only team. In 1998, Wayne got the chance of a lifetime: to be part of the Winter Olympics. For the first time, NHL players could play for their countries. Before, only amateurs could be on Olympic teams. Wayne, of course, played for Canada. That year, the Olympics were held in Nagano, Japan. Japanese Gretzky fans went wild when he stepped off the airplane. Wayne was having fun. He loved staying in the Olympic village with his teammates and other athletes.

The Canadian team had a strong start. But in the end, they didn't medal. Some say it was the coach's fault. In an overtime shoot-out, he didn't put Wayne in the lineup. Even with these disappointments, Wayne was still a force on the ice. He was still an all-star. Still team MVP. But Wayne wanted to retire while he was on top. So 1999 would be Number Ninety-Nine's last year. Wayne's very last game was in New York. He tried to keep to his usual routine. Family and

friends had come to New York. Like so many times before, Wayne drove to the game with his dad. At Madison Square Garden, the stands were packed. Farewell signs dotted the rows. Mark Messier was there, and so was Glen Sather, the Oilers' old coach. For Wayne, the Canadian anthem played. One line was changed from "We stand on guard

for thee," to "We're going to miss you, Wayne Gretzky." Then came "The Star-Spangled Banner." The singer switched the words "the land of the free" to "the land of Wayne Gretzky." Before the game even began, commissioner Gary Bettman retired Wayne's number. No other hockey player would wear ninety-nine— ever! Then the commissioner spoke about the Hockey Hall of Fame. He said they'd change the rules for Wayne. He didn't have to wait years to be admitted. He was practically in right then— before he was even officially retired! The game went into double overtime. Wayne scored his final point, number 2,857, on an assist. It was the Rangers' only goal. And the Rangers lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. OLYMPIC HOCKEY THE FIRST OLYMPIC HOCKEY TOURNAMENT TOOK PLACE IN 1920 AT THE SUMMER OLYMPICS! CANADA WON GOLD. FOUR YEARS LATER, MEN'S HOCKEY OFFICIALLY BECAME A WINTER SPORT, AND CANADA WON AGAIN. CANADIANS WOULD DOMINATE FOR THE NEXT FOUR DECADES. THEN