| |
 'I need to do what's best for myself' Gretzky says he will decide by Sunday whether to retire
Posted: Wednesday April 14, 1999 07:32 PM
RYE, N.Y. (AP) -- His coach, his teammates, his fans and even his wife have urged him to extend his glorious hockey career one more year. But Wayne Gretzky alone understands what must be done, and his decision on retirement will come by the time the New York Rangers end their season Sunday. "I need to do what's best for myself. ... Nobody else has any bearing on this at this point in time," he said Wednesday. Speaking after practice in a chilly room of whitewashed concrete block above the practice rink, the 38-year-old hockey great said he will decide by Sunday -- "not today or tomorrow" -- whether to end his 20-year career in the NHL. "I'm not trying to be an idiot about this," he said. "It's just a lifetime decision. Once it's done, it's done, 100 percent, whether I come back or I don't." Gretzky, who smiled and seemed relaxed on the ice but seemed somewhat emotional afterward, said he spoke with coach John Muckler and planned to meet with general manager Neil Smith after the team got to Ottawa for Thursday night's game with the Senators. It could be Gretzky's last game in his homeland, and he said "I'm going to enjoy tomorrow." In Ottawa, Prime Minister Jean Chretien said the Great One should keep playing and a Canadian TV network switched plans so it could cover the game. As many as 200 reporters were expected. Gretzky said Muckler talked about "my importance to the organization as far as my presence, what I bring to the hockey club." "I said to him, 'I think this team will be a better team next year than it is this year,' and he said that it would be a better team next year if I'm back." Gretzky seemed to vacillate even during the news conference about whether he wanted to come back, but he said he was "leaning somewhat more one way than the other." He did not elaborate. Gretzky said his wife Janet -- whose opinion he values most, he said -- "would like me to play one more year."
"She knows I love to play and probably she agrees with John and Neil that we came a long ways this year and next year we'll be better. She wants me to be part of that." "Everybody I've talked to says, 'You've got to play next year' and that part's been really difficult," Gretzky said. "The response has been overwhelming." He said he didn't want to "let down" his coach or teammates or fans, "But I know eventually I'll make the right decision." Gretzky, who led the league in scoring 10 times, said he's confident he can still play well, though he complained of a neck injury that cost him 11 games this season and said, "I'm not going to play at the level I did 10 years ago." He spoke of a call from the great Gordie Howe, who still plays hockey. "He's 70 years old, and he said, 'I love it,"' Gretzky said. "I think I'll have the same feeling 30 years from now." "I love this game," Gretzky added. "The practice, sitting in the back of the bus with the pizza and the guys ... the camaraderie and what goes on between the guys ... coming in the next morning after a big win. I mean I love everything about it. ... No matter what happens, I'm going to miss it more than anybody." Gretzky expressed disappointment about the Rangers' missing the playoffs. "Everybody wants to go out like Michael Jordan did, but it's not a perfect world. ... It's not going to happen that way, not this year, but it is nice to be able to say people do want me to play more." Near the end of his remarks, Gretzky said his 6-year-old son is scheduled to play a baseball game Sunday, the same day as the Rangers' last game. "I said, 'Are you going to come to my hockey game?' And he said, 'No, I've got a baseball game.' And I said, 'Well, I don't know about next year,' and he said, 'Well, I don't care. I've got a ball game.' "He seems to have everything in perspective," Gretzky said.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
