Wayne Gretzky Gives NHL a Boost on Conan O’Brien

There was no man more instrumental in selling the game of hockey than Wayne Gretzky and now, almost 15 years since his retirement, not much has changed.

Gretzky made an appearance on Conan Thursday night to talk about Sunday’s Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings game being held at Dodger Stadium, his history on late-night TV and a pile of other topics.

This is very good news for the NHL and hockey in general. Gretzky and the Phoenix Coyotes were bogged down in a legal spat for years after he and the team cut ties years ago and he kept a very low profile while that was dealt with in the courtroom. However, now that the NHL stepped in and paid Gretzky the $7-8 million he was owed, the Great One seems ready for a new role with the league.

Gretzky had some good one-liners through the segment with O’Brien. At one point Conan asked him about all of the records he amassed in his career and whether he thought they’d ever be broken. Gretzky gave the token “records are made to be broken” clip to begin with, but then said that his record of 50 goals in 39 games would be the hardest to break.

“50 goals in 38 games is a lot of goals,” Gretzky quipped.

Gretzky also discussed who his wife Janet Jones pushed him into hosting Saturday Night Live in the 1980s. O’Brien was actually an SNL writer at the time and played a part in Gretzky’s “Waikiki Hockey” sketch.

O’Brien and Gretzky touched on his trade from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings and what it was that made No. 99 realize it was time for him to retire back in 1999.

The Los Angeles Kings will play host to the Anaheim Ducks Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium in the NHL’s first official outdoor game in a warm-weather climate. Temperatures in the mid to high 50s are expected but that doesn’t have the NHL worried about ice conditions thanks to new ice-making technology. Former Kings great Luc Robitaille skated on the ice Wednesday and was happy with the surface.

“These guys know what they’re doing, and the ice is going to be great,” Robitaille said. “This is an incredible opportunity for these two teams to bring hockey to a new level in Southern California.”