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Wayne Douglas Gretzky, OC (born January 26, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario) is a retired Canadian-American professional ice hockey player who is currently part-owner and head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. Nicknamed "The Great One," Gretzky was called "the greatest player of all time" in Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the NHL. He is generally regarded as the best player in history and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters, players, and coaches. He set 40 regular-season records, 15 playoff records, six All-Star records, won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, and won nine MVP awards and ten scoring titles. He is the only player ever to total over 200 points in a season (a feat that he accomplished four times in his career). In addition, he tallied over 100 points a season for 15 NHL seasons, 13 of them consecutively. He is the only player to have his number, 99, officially retired by the National Hockey League for all teams - no player in the NHL will ever again wear the number 99. He retired from playing in 1999, becoming Executive Director for the Canadian national men's hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics. He also became part owner of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2000 and following the 2004-05 NHL lockout became their head coach.
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