Wayne Gretzky shares surprising story involving Patrick Kane and the Arizona Coyotes
Wayne Gretzky was once the coach of the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes, and there was a time when he accidentally thought his team won the NHL Draft lottery.
The Chicago Blackhawks were on ice last night against the Detroit Red Wings in a nationally televised game on TNT. Notably, on behalf of this matchup, TNT's pregame show sported an all-star panel of hockey experts: Liam McHugh, Paul Bissonnette, Anson Carter, and legend Wayne Gretzky himself. Dynamic, if we do say so, a set that brings a variety of insights to the game, most notably, arguably the greatest hockey player of all time in Gretzky.
During the broadcast, Gretzky related a story that had Blackhawks fans in stitches. He remembered leading the Phoenix Coyotes and how he thought his team had won the 2007 NHL Draft Lottery for a few seconds. He explained that early over the phone, the lottery results misread the winner as the Coyotes. A few minutes later, they corrected the announcement to show the Blackhawks had won.
For a few seconds, Gretzky dreamed about coaching the top pick in this case, Patrick Kane. Kane went on to be an icon for Chicago, helping the Blackhawks win three Stanley Cup championships. Meanwhile, the Coyotes, who picked third, took Kyle Turris, a fine player but not of Kane's caliber. Gretzky did feel that hockey history might have changed had the Coyotes hung on to that first lottery win.
The following story was inspired by Kane's trip to Chicago as a Detroit Red Wing. His return to the city is always an event, and it became the prompt for Gretzky to share this behind-the-scenes moment from years ago. It is very well appreciated by the fans, who know the way it eventually all went right for Chicago.
This story just outlines how fortunate they were to land Patrick Kane, a player who could very easily be on the "Mt. Rushmore" of all Chicago athletes. Of course, that was a lottery win that worked out in their favor, and it cemented Kane's status in Chicago sports history.
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