The NHL officially retired No. 99 during Wayne
Gretzky's retirement ceremony yesterday at MSG, as NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman said, "When you take off that
sweater, your jersey, after today's game, you will be the
last player in the NHL to ever wear 99. You have always
been, and will always be 'The Great One,' and there will
never be another" ("NHL on Fox," 4/18). In N.Y., Dellapina &
Ross write that Bettman "brought down the house" by retiring
the number (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/19). In Boston, Kevin Paul
Dupont calls the league's move the "most poignant" of
yesterday's "surprises" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/19). Also in N.Y.,
Graves & Haberman call the move "icing on the cake" (N.Y.
POST, 4/19). Gretzky later called it "an unbelievable
honor" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/19). Gretzky: "I didn't expect
one day that they wouldn't let anyone else wear it again, so
it's a great honor" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 4/19). In
Houston, Neil Hohlfeld calls yesterday's ceremony "an
extraordinary finish to a career that will have no equal in
the NHL" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/19). Gretzky: "I wanted it
to be a celebration. I didn't want everybody crying and all
that stuff. The Rangers did a nice job at keeping it short,
sweet and classy" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/19). In Pittsburgh, Dave
Molinari: "Nobody in the NHL does tributes as well as the
Rangers, and they didn't miss a detail" (POST-GAZETTE,
4/19). In Boston, Karen Guregian writes under the header:
"Gretzky Says Goodbye In Classy Finale" (BOS. HERALD, 4/19).
MADE HIM AN OFFER HE COULD REFUSE: Cablevision
President & CEO James Dolan was unable to convince Gretzky
to play for another year. Dolan: "I offered my oldest son,
first-born child, Charlie. I tried everything. It wasn't
about money. I tried" (Bergen RECORD, 4/17).
TALK ABOUT THE PASSION: In Toronto, Ken Campbell wrote
that Gretzky "turned millions of people" in the U.S. on to
the game. Including the NHL, there were a total of 50 pro
teams in four leagues when Gretzky joined the Kings in '88.
This season, there are 135 teams in seven leagues -- 61 in
the Sunbelt. There are 10 pro teams in TX and eight in FL,
and "entire leagues owe their existence to Gretzky" (TORONTO
STAR, 4/18). In Sacramento, Mark Kreidler wrote that
Gretzky "made hockey cool in hot places" (SACRAMENTO BEE,
4/17). In L.A., Lisa Dillman wrote that in the late '80s,
Gretzky "transformed a geographic region, turning a remote
hockey outpost into a hockey hotbed. In a few short years,
he saved one franchise from oblivion (the Kings) and helped
create another (the Mighty Ducks)" (L.A. TIMES, 4/17). In
San Jose, Ann Killion: "Gretzky made hockey matter, even to
sandal-wearing Californians like me" (MERCURY NEWS, 4/17).
THANKS: The NHL took out a full page ad in Sunday's
N.Y. Times and Monday's USA Today featuring Gretzky, which
read, "Thank you for 20 great years. Your NHL family."
WHERE DOES THE LEAGUE GO FROM HERE: NEWSDAY's Johnette
Howard: "The question the Rangers and the NHL face today is
how do you go on as a franchise, as a league, when the
greatest leaves?" (NEWSDAY, 4/19). In Boston, Kevin Paul
Dupont wrote that even with Gretzky's departure, "the game
itself will not suffer in his absence," as it has had some
"brilliant, identifiable stars emerge." The game "is not
hurting for interest or eyeballs," but it "has a significant
financial problem," and the quality of play "is another,
dicey, discouraging issue" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/18). ISI Exec
VP Steve Rosner, on the next generation of NHL stars: "I
don't think you can just point a finger and say, 'Here's the
next one.' Unfortunately, hockey has been the fourth sport
in most households. And Wayne Gretzky has been the reason
they're fourth, because before him, they weren't even on the
radar screen" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 4/17). In L.A., Bill
Plaschke wrote the number of "active hockey players that the
majority of folks in the United States have heard about will
drop dramatically after Gretzky's final Sunday in New York.
From one, to zero" (L.A. TIMES, 4/17). In NJ, Tom Gulitti
wrote that "with no one ready, or apparently willing, to
take charge, the role Gretzky played will probably be shared
by the game's stars. Whether that will hurt or help the
league remains to be seen." None of the group of Eric
Lindros, Jaromir Jagr, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne "has
the outgoing personality of Gretzky" (RECORD, 4/18).
