The Great One is gone.
Wayne Gretzky, embroiled in the saga surrounding the Phoenix Coyotes, has stepped down as the team’s head coach a week before it was to begin the NHL season.
Gretzky had been in the bizarre position of a training camp holdout as the team’s financial affairs and future are being settled in a Phoenix bankruptcy court. Hired as a managing partner and coach, Gretzky was thought to be the figure to make hockey fly in the desert.
But with the struggles of bankrupt owner Jerry Moyes and the bid by Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie to buy the team, that future has been in doubt.
The team has been handled in training camp by associate coach, Ulf Samuelsson and recently hired assistant Dave King.
Gretzky made the announcement on his website saying he no longer fits into the team’s plans.
“I often said it was the greatest honor and privilege I could imagine to be able to play in the National Hockey League, I feel the same way about being an NHL coach," Gretzky said in the statement. "I’ve loved the four years I spent coaching the Coyotes. Not a day went by when I took it for granted, and I will miss the competition of the NHL dearly. It was an honor to hold the position, and I will always consider myself especially fortunate to have had this opportunity.”
Gretzky has suggested to general manager Don Maloney that he immediately begin seeking a replacement.
