Wayne Gretzky on Wednesday night stood at center ice and saluted the fans in the building he made famous.
“I wish we could be out there and play for them again, but we can’t do it anymore,” Gretzky said to cheers from thousands of supporters — most clad in orange, blue and white team jerseys — in a tribute ceremony to mark the last Oilers game at Rexall Place.
“The greatest thing about hockey is the people you meet,” Gretzky said. “The friendships I have, the memories, there’s nothing like it. It’s the greatest game in the world.”
Photo: AP
Gretzky was among scores of former Oilers of the NHL and World Hockey Association eras to join fans bidding goodbye to the rink after almost 42 years of hockey.
Before the game, fans watched the current Oilers, in their retro orange jerseys, down the Vancouver Canucks 6-2.
The game was called on TV by Bob Cole, the broadcaster who was there when the Oilers began their Stanley Cup dynasty run in the 1980s.
Other Oilers greats on hand for the ceremony included Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr, Kevin Lowe and Paul Coffey.
Gretzky and his family posed for photographs outside Rexall Place in front of the life-size bronze statue of Gretzky holding aloft the Stanley Cup.
The statue was put up in 1989, a year after Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, to commemorate his contributions to the Oilers.
The first game was played on Nov. 10, 1974, when the Oilers were still in the World Hockey Association.
That night, the Oilers and goaltender Jacques Plante defeated Gerry Cheevers and the Cleveland Crusaders 4-1.
The rink was still a work in progress at that point due to numerous construction delays. Crews were still installing seats as fans filed into the building that night.
Many of the building’s signature memories revolve around Gretzky.
He led the team to four of their five Stanley Cups, the first one captured at home on May 19, 1984.
The Oilers clinched the Stanley Cup four out of five times on home ice — in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988.
The Oilers are to move into the new downtown Rogers Place in the fall. The future of Rexall Place is uncertain.
In other games, it was:
‧ Red Wings 3, Flyers 0
‧ Blue Jackets 5, Maple Leafs 1
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