This Day in Hockey History
1999 - The Great One announces his retirement
Following a 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wayne Gretzky announced that he would be retiring from professional hockey at season's end.
"It's a gut feeling, something I believe is right," Gretzky said, via Sports Illustrated. "I started to feel fatigue -- mentally and physically -- that I never felt before."
Gretzky, then 38, would cap off his legendary career with a final game on April 18, and left the game as the holder of a plethora of NHL records, highlighted by the following:
- Most goals: 894
- Most assists: 1,963
- Most points: 2,857
- Most goals, single season: 92
- Most assists, single season: 163
- Most points, single season: 215
- Most 40+ goal seasons: 12
- Most 100+ point seasons: 15
The Rangers did not qualify for the playoffs during Gretzky's final season, but he took solace in the fact that many believed his career could have been extended by at least one more season. "Everybody wants to go out like Michael Jordan did [with a championship], but it's not a perfect world," Gretzky said. "It's not going to happen that way, not this year, but it is nice to be able to say people do want me to play more."
1992 - Mike Gartner hits all the milestones
In a 7-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Mike Gartner of the New York Rangers scored one goal and added an assist, becoming the first player in NHL history to reach 500 goals, 500 assists, 1,000 points and 1,000 games played all in the same season.
Gartner retired in 1998, capping off his career with 708 goals and 627 assists in 1432 games. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.
1992 - Leetch reaches 100 points
In the same game as mentioned above, defenseman Brian Leetch recorded one goal and three assists, earning the distinction of being only the fifth defenseman in NHL history to reach the 100-point mark in a single season.
Leetch finished the year with 102 points, and sits in the exclusive 100-point group with Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Al MacInnis and Denis Potvin.
Birthdays
1954 - Mike Zuke
1963 - Gary Galley
1988 - Kyle Okposo