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30 years ago: Gretzky joins Rangers for final act of legendary career
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- 30 years ago: Gretzky joins Rangers for final act of legendary career
New York Rangers fans were ecstatic on July 21, 1996, when Wayne Gretzky, the greatest scorer in NHL history, decided to rejoin old friend and former teammate Mark Messier on Broadway by signing a two-year, $8 million contract.
At 35, Gretzky wasn't the player who had combined with Messier and their teammates with the Edmonton Oilers to win the Stanley Cup four times in a span of five seasons. But the lure of reuniting with Messier and coming to a team that was just two years removed from winning its first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years was too much for the Rangers to resist.
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"With the Rangers I am on a legitimate contender for the Cup and have a chance to win another," Gretzky said at his introductory press conference. "I wanted to play in New York with the Rangers and took less money to play here. (General manager) Neil Smith showed me that the Rangers respected me and wanted me. That is very important to me."
Eileen Blass/USA TODAY NETWORKCredit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Gretzky said the chance to play with his old friend and teammate from their Stanley Cup-winning days with the Oilers was a big reason he decided to sign with the Rangers after finishing the 1995-96 season with the St. Louis Blues .
"I guess what probably tipped the scale was the chance to play with Mark and the opportunity to get a chance to play with a team that is really focused on trying to win a championship," he explained. "I'm probably one of the first free agents to ever come to New York that came for a less-money situation. This will be my last stop. I'll make that clear."
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Like Blueshirts fans, Smith was also elated to have No. 99 on board. Gretzky joined a Rangers team that was eliminated in the second round of the 1996 playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins but still had championship aspirations.
"When Wayne accepted," Smith said, "I felt a great rush of happiness."
Wayne Gretzky played final 3 seasons of career with Rangers
Gretzky's first season in New York was his best. He scored 25 goals, his most since 1993-94, tied Mario Lemieux for the League lead with 72 assists and tied for fourth in the NHL with 97 points. The Rangers finished fifth in the Eastern Conference, earning them a first-round series with the fourth-place Florida Panthers – who were led by ex-Rangers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck.
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"Beezer" blanked the Rangers 3-0 in Game 1, but the rest of the series belonged to Gretzky and the Rangers. He scored the winning goal in New York's 3-0 victory in Game 2, then had one of the greatest individual efforts by any Blueshirt in Game 4 – a natural hat trick in the second period that provided all the offense in a 3-2 victory at Madison Square Garden. Esa Tikkanen's overtime goal in Game 5 closed out a 4-1 series win.
The Rangers went on to upset the conference champion New Jersey Devils in the second round before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Final. Gretzky added to his lengthy list of honors by being named a Second-Team All-Star.
Gretzky put up 23 goals and 90 points in 1997-98, tying for third in scoring and again earning a Second-Team All-Star berth. But with Messier gone to the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent, the Rangers finished third from the bottom in the Eastern Conference.
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The 1998-99 season was even worse, and after turning 38 in January while playing for a team that would miss the playoffs for a second straight season, Gretzky decided in April 1999 that it was time to retire. His last NHL game was on April 18, 1999, when he assisted on the Rangers' lone goal in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Needless to say, Gretzky was the main focus afterward. The Penguins lined up to shake his hand, and the sellout crowd went wild when he came onto the ice for a solo lap.
He arrived for the postgame press conference still wearing his blue No. 99 sweater and answered every question – more than 15 minutes' worth – before the writers and tapeheads decided they'd had their fill. He stayed put in his chair as they filed out, realizing the finality of it all.
"Probably, subconsciously, I don't want to take (my uniform) off," he said. "I'm not going to pull it on ever again. It's hard. It's hard to take it off right now. I have to be honest with you. I don't want to take it off. I was a boy that happened to love a game and got lucky, and the good Lord gave me a passion for it."
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Rangers fans were lucky to see that love and passion up close for three seasons. Even at the tail end of his career, Gretzky was still "The Great One."
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