Wayne Gretzky joined the NHL on TNT panel to discuss Alex Ovechkin’s 900th career goal, a historic milestone that made Ovechkin the first player in NHL history to reach that mark. The goal came last week against the St. Louis Blues, nearly a year after Ovechkin passed Gretzky’s record of 894 goals on April 6 of last season.
During the broadcast, the panel replayed an old clip of Gretzky promising Ovechkin he’d buy him a car if he ever hit 900 goals. Gretzky then laughed about how Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington tried to hide Ovechkin’s 900th-goal puck in his pants, saying it reminded him of moments from his own playing days.
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Wayne Gretzky praised Binnington’s playful move, saying it was all in good fun and part of what makes hockey great, and the mix of competition. “That’s what makes our game great. You got to have some characters in the game,” Wayne Gretzky said.
When asked if anyone ever tried to take one of his milestone pucks, Gretzky smiled and said, “Maybe some of the guys did steal them.”
Panelist Paul Bissonnette then joked about a similar moment from another sport, when NFL legend Tom Brady’s jersey went missing after Super Bowl LI in 2017. “Tom Brady got his jersey stolen after the one Super Bowl. I would imagine some people still took some stuff out of your stall.” Paul Bissonnette said.
The jersey was later recovered after police traced it to a member of the international media, thanks to a tip from fan Dylan Wagner.
Gretzky admitted, “Oh, yeah. I’m sure sticks were taken and gloves were taken. I was telling the story today that I had this scalper in Toronto, and I had to get two ice seats for game seven. And I said to the kid, “Go out there and ask him how much it’ll cost me.” He came back in. He said, “Pair of game-used gloves and two game-used hockey sticks.” I said, “Done.” And I got four tickets out of it.”
Off the ice, Wayne Gretzky has also dealt with multiple cases of stolen memorabilia. In 2020, thieves took more than $500,000 worth of collectibles from his father’s home in Brantford, Ontario, resulting in several arrests. Then, in 2022, another large batch of his sticks and pucks was stolen from a storage unit in Saskatchewan owned by a private collector.
