The NHL lockout has been in effect for more than two months now, and so, with no actual games to report on, we’re going to link to a different hockey video every day until a new CBA is reached. Today: the Great One sits down with David Letterman.
There are a couple of neat old interviews with Wayne Gretzky on YouTube: This one with Larry King includes the Great One talking about his love for baseball, what it might be like to play for the Rangers, and how he’s not a very good teacher of hockey. (Gretzky, of course, would go on to coach the Phoenix Coyotes decades later.)
But the video below — from a 1986 appearance on Late Night with David Letterman — is worth a watch for a couple reasons. It’s really quite amazing that even at 25, Gretzky could already be called the greatest player of all time. (He held 38 NHL records at the time this interview was conducted. Again, he was 25 years old.) There’s a discussion in this interview about the “Mickey Mouse franchise” comments Gretzky made about the New Jersey Devils. And there’s some talk about the role of intimidation in hockey, and how Gretzky’s teammates have his back. (Said No. 99 to Dave, “I don’t like getting hit.”) Our favorite part, however, might be when the conversation turns to the Wayne Gretzky Fan Club. Look at those pictures!
And so, on Day 75 of the NHL Lockout, all the way from Edmonton, and the Oilers, please welcome Wayne Gretzky.