Greatness Confirmed

The NHL has always subscribed to the theory that violence sells. Indeed, it has sold. Philadelphia, the most penalized team in the league each of the past 11 seasons, also has been the league's top drawing card on the road since 1976-77. Inevitably, the Flyers' popularity has affected youngsters who play the game. Monkey see, monkey do. The results can be seen at any youth or high school hockey game. Kids, protected by mandatory face masks, skate around like little kamikaze pilots, sticks held at head level, elbows flying, the natural grace of the sport lost in the near-mayhem.

Enter Gretzky, who has averaged just 24 minutes of penalties a season in his pro career and who uses his stick solely to manipulate the puck, as was originally intended. Does that sell? In 1979-80, Edmonton's first year in the NHL, the Oilers were the worst road draw in the league, playing before 71.3% of capacity. Last season, however, the Gretzky magic took hold. Edmonton was third in road attendance, drawing 88.7% of capacity. The Oilers' last 17 away games were sellouts. In two appearances in Detroit, home of the hapless Red Wings, Gretzky's Oilers attracted the largest (20,628) and third-largest regular-season crowds in NHL history. And Edmonton led the league in road attendance through the first quarter of the 1982-83 season despite a middling 9-7-4 record. The fans are coming to see Gretzky. Artistry sells.

Says Orr, "It takes some time before the professional influence filters down to the kids, but it does filter down."

To the foundation.

It's the night of Nov. 14, and Phil Esposito is in the television broadcast booth high above the ice in Madison Square Garden. Esposito now does color commentary for New York Ranger games, and tonight the Rangers are hosting the Oilers. Like Gretzky, Esposito, 40, was a center, and during his 18-year career he had 717 goals and 873 assists while playing for Chicago, Boston and the Rangers. Only Howe got more career goals and points. Espo's best years were with the Bruins, for whom he had 76 goals and 76 assists in 1970-71. Those 76 goals and 152 points were NHL single-season records until Gretzky came along. In a funny way, Esposito had been expecting him.

"When Wayne Gretzky was 16, he played for the junior Greyhounds in the Soo," says Esposito, referring to his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. "My dad owned a piece of the team, and he called me one day on the phone. 'Phil,' he said, 'I saw a kid who's going to break all your records.' 'Oh yeah?' I said. 'Who is this kid?' ' Wayne Gretzky. Believe me, he's as good as Orr was.' Well, I'd heard of him, but for crying out loud he was 16 years old. But my father's always been right when it comes to judging talent, so I started following Wayne. I never had the God-given talent of Wayne Gretzky. The only guy who had that was Bobby Orr. They're in a class by themselves, but it takes guts to recognize that you have that talent and dedicate yourself to it."

For the Ranger game Gretzky is playing on a line with Jari Kurri and Jaroslav Pouzar. Sather uses Gretzky with many different sets of wings, and it's a measure of Gretzky's remarkable skills that he can adapt to whoever is out there with him. When Esposito set his records in 1970-71, three other Bruins rounded out the league's top four in scoring—Johnny Bucyk, Ken Hodge and Orr. Gretzky had no such supporting cast last season. No other Oilers were among the top 10 scorers, yet as a team Edmonton set a record for most goals in a season (417). Gretzky either scored or assisted on better than half of them.

In the first period against the Rangers Gretzky breaks in on goal, two-on-one, and threads a pass to Pouzar through a defenseman's legs. Pouzar, shooting on an open net, hits the post. "Did you see how soft Gretzky put that pass on his stick?" Esposito asks the TV audience. Later, when Kurri takes a shot from the right wing, Gretzky breaks immediately to the left boards. The shot misses the net, and the puck caroms directly onto Gretzky's stick. "Did you see what he did then?" Esposito says. "Most players would have gone straight to the net, but Gretzky knew that nine times out of 10 either that shot was going to miss the net or the goalie would kick the rebound to the left side. That's why he's as great as he is. He's so smart."

Halfway through the second period, Gretzky has two goals and an assist. Esposito sounds like a Gretzky cheerleader, and he doesn't have to work to summon his enthusiasm. He turns to Jim Gordon, the Rangers' play-by-play man, and asks rhetorically, "O.K., it's 4-2 Oilers, and Gretzky has three points. Do you say the heck with the fans and follow him around now?"

In other words, should the Rangers shadow Gretzky, a ploy that's often effective but is unpopular with many hockey fans who resent seeing Gretzky or any star stifled by a defensive specialist. The only team to have shadowed Gretzky successfully so far is Boston, which uses a young center named Steve Kasper for the job. Kasper was voted the best defensive forward in the NHL last season largely because he held Gretzky to a total of one goal and four assists in three games. In the two games the Bruins and the Oilers have played against each other so far this year, Gretzky has gotten only three assists. Shadowing is a trend to which Gretzky will soon grow accustomed.