Gretzky Takes One Last Skate

On this day in 1999, the New York Rangers played the final game of an uneventful season – a 2-1 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. So why did this game take on historic proportions? Because it marked the last game ever played by hockey’s greatest star, Wayne Gretzky.
The Great One scored a point in the game, which became a celebration of his contributions to the sport. With countless celebrities and past teammates on hand, Gretzky, trying to hold back tears, skated around the ice to a thunderous ovation “My last game in New York was my greatest day in hockey,” he said later. “Everything you enjoy about the sport of hockey as a kid, driving to practice with mom [Phyllis] and dad [Walter], driving to the game with mom and dad, looking in the stands and seeing your mom and dad and your friends, that all came together in that last game in New York.”

Watch highlights from Gretzky’s last game above.