Gretzky Works Out; Kings Worked Over

BURNABY, Canada —  That familiar stride, practically bent at a 90-degree angle at the waist as he drives up ice during sprints. The blond hair from out of the bottom and sides of the helmet. That metallic stick.

It was Wayne Gretzky, all right. Wearing blue.

Wayne Gretzky. As a Blue.

The new spirit in St. Louis began with a light workout Wednesday afternoon at the 8-Rinks Ice Sports Centre in suburban Vancouver, a warmup for tonight’s game against the Canucks and the rest of his hockey life. It was some 20 hours after he had been traded for three players and two draft picks, four hours before the Kings would play on without him for the first time.

“The emotions are very similar to eight years ago,” Gretzky said, comparing this day to when he was sent from Edmonton to Inglewood. “A lot of me is disappointed in that I had to leave, and yet a part of me is excited where I’m going.”

For starters: here.

The occasion of his first practice with the Blues drew about 1,000 fans and media members, prompting Coach Mike Keenan to make it a short outing. Only appropriate, though, this being a returning head of state and all.

The anticipation of watching history, or even just the opportunity to catch a glimpse of Gretzky and Brett Hull on the same line someplace other than an all-star game only increased once the Blues’ arrival was pushed back an hour. People waited, some inside the complex but most outside with the crisp air and sunny skies.

When a bus finally pulled up, the fans and cameras surged to the door. Then, disappointment. It was only Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and the Pittsburgh Penguins, getting in a workout before heading to Calgary since the Canucks couldn’t give them one the night before in a 7-4 victory.

By 3 p.m., the spectators were growing anxious. On the second floor of the 8-Rinks, a man standing at a window that overlooks the parking lot said to the two kids with him, “This is better than Christmas, eh boys?” Lemieux, Jagr, Gretzky, Hull--same day, same place.

Soon, the Blues arrived. Keenan and Gretzky headed first to the news conference, to be greeted by six mini-cams, dozens of reporters and the hundreds of fans who figured they were part of the proceedings. The coach and his newest player hadn’t even sat down before getting the first comment.

“Keenan sucks!” someone shouted from the back.

It got a little more encouraging for the Blues from there. Most notable was Gretzky, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, saying he wants to finish his career with the organization, putting at least a temporary end to speculation that he might play out the season and then leave.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Hopefully we can bring a championship to St. Louis, and, yes, that would be my last stop.”

Added his agent, Mike Barnett: “I’d really like to let St. Louis take the lead in terms of what their timing is [for contract negotiations]. Wayne does not want to have another issue lingering.”

And that the future won’t be in Los Angeles?

“I think the trade was made four weeks ago, in my opinion,” Gretzky said. “In reality, it just happened yesterday.”

The 10 still photographers kneeling on the floor in front of the head table snapped away, almost nonstop. He touched his chin. Click. Scratched his throat. Click. Took a sip of water. Click. Smiled. Click, click, click.

Finally, on a day in which he described his emotions as “nervous and excited,” Gretzky took the ice for the first time as a Blue. Practice lasted about an hour, the memories for some much longer.

“It’s carnival time,” assistant coach Roger Neilson said. “Mike cut it short today. I think wisely so.”

That was still long enough time for an impression, though. Gretzky, even on his first day, even after arriving in Vancouver from Los Angeles only three hours earlier, even in an abbreviated workout, had raised the level of play and revved up teammates by his presence.

Such a surprise.

“No question,” said Al McInnis, the Blues’ defenseman. “First of all, the practice facility was full, and that doesn’t happen too often. It gives the guys a chance to recognize how big Wayne Gretzky is in the hockey world and the sports world.”