End of an Era: Great One Retires

NEW YORK (A.P.)--There were four farewell laps around the rink, tears and a simple wave--and then he was gone.

Wayne Gretzky ended his NHL career on Sunday to rousing cheers and endless chants from an overflow crowd at Madison Square Garden.

Smiling through his tears, the greatest player ever made it easy for everyone to say goodbye--skating around the arena slowly enough for plenty of souvenir photos to be taken.

He touched youngsters' hands every time he noticed them extended from the crowd. He even played to the adoring fans, donning a blue Yankees hat, then a red Rangers beret.

The 38-year-old Great One skated one lap around the rink with teammates in tow, then came an encore, as a lone spotlight followed him around the ice and Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better" blared throughout.

Perhaps the most excruciating moment for him came as he fought the tears, occasionally looking down at the ice, while posing for one last photo with teammates, who all wore No. 99 caps.

"I'm devastated I will no longer be a hockey player," Gretzky said. "I will miss every part of the game, because I loved every part of the game."

But he never second-guessed his decision to retire, which he announced Friday.

"I've made the right decision. You know, this is not a passing on, this is a moving on," he said.

Gretzky ended his career with an assist, setting up a second-period goal as his New York Rangers lost to Pittsburgh 2-1 in overtime.

On the final shift of his 21-year pro career, with all the fans at Madison Square Garden on their feet cheering as if a Stanley Cup title was imminent, Gretzky did nothing special. That was rare, particularly on this day--when he set up a dozen good scoring chances--and for his unparalleled career.

During a Rangers timeout with 40.4 seconds to go in the third period, his wife, Janet, started to cry as the fans began the long, final salute to her husband. Gretzky acknowledged it with a nod, then a wave, then by raising his stick in the air.

"When John called timeout, it hit me that I was done," he said, his eyes watering once more. "Then is when it hit me that I had only 30 seconds left."

Moments after the timeout, he nearly had a breakaway, but Pittsburgh goalie Tom Barrasso, who had a sensational game, beat Gretzky to the puck.

Appropriately, as if his career just wasn't supposed to end now, the game went into overtime. But it ended abruptly when Jaromir Jagr, hockey's dominant player these days, scored.

"Maybe it's only fitting that the best young player in the game scored the winning goal," Gretzky said.

The crowd and the Rangers seemed stunned, but only momentarily. Then everyone remembered why they'd come to an otherwise pedestrian match up.

As the "Gretz-ky" chants began again, he skated over to the Penguins, who were lined up at the blue line, and shook hands with several. Then he hugged Jagr -an unofficial passing of the torch?--before returning to his teammates.

Then began the final moments of the Gretzky era, which NHL commissioner Gary Bettman ensured would end historically by announcing that no one will ever again wear No. 99 in the league.

"When a gentlemen told me in 1977 to wear this sweater, I didn't imagine one day nobody else would be allowed to wear it," Gretzky said.

That was the first of several times Gretzky became teary. It happened again when his father, Walter, was driven to center ice in a new black Mercedes presented to Gretzky as a parting gift.

"I feel so lucky to be able to play in the NHL," the sport's greatest player said. "I've been so fortunate to play with some of the greatest players, against guys I admired so much, like the best player I ever played against Mario Lemieux...my teammates and, of course, the best player I ever played with, Mark Messier.

"And it would be nothing without family and the great friendships I have developed over the years. I appreciate all the accolades. I tell everyone the greatest place to play is right here in New York."

Gretzky wore a huge grin as friend Bryan Adams sang "O, Canada."

"We're going to miss you, Wayne," Adams ad-libbed late in the song.

The "Star-Spangled Banner," as sung by John Amirante, was altered to include the words "in the land of Wayne Gretzky."

Gretzky, who holds or shares 61 NHL records, set up Brian Leetch, John MacLean and Niklas Sundstrom for first period scoring chances. All failed.

At the first television timeout, Gordie Howe--whose records Gretzky regularly broke--appeared in a video, saluting his prodigy.

Another sports king, Michael Jordan, appeared in a second-period video, telling Gretzky, "Your golf game is not going to get better, so don't think that will help. It will probably get worse, because you've got more time."

Moments later, he set up MacLean for a semi-breakaway, but Barrasso stopped a slap shot. Then Gretzky broke in on a two-on-one with MacLean, who held the puck too long for a shot.

Finally, the Rangers were able to convert his magic. On a power play while trailing 1-0, Gretzky passed from the right wing boards to Mathieu Schneider in the slot. He faked a shot and passed to Leetch for a tap-in open-net goal.

That led to a mob scene at the sideboards as his teammates hugged, although Gretzky didn't seem very emotional. Of course, he'd done this 2,856 times before in the NHL.