If you ask a random 1,000 hockey fans who their favorite-ever hockey player is, the vast majority will probably, although he retired more than 20 years ago, say Wayne Gretzky.
Gretzky earned himself the nickname ”The Great One,” and never has a nickname been so accurate.
Gretzky wasn’t just great; he was the best, and he’s the best in hockey history. He’s widely acknowledged as the GOAT, and looking at just numbers, you can’t really argue it. Gretzky is the best goal scorer in league history, the best assist producer, and the highest point scorer.
When he retired, he held 61 NHL records, and that number has barely decreased since.
Gretzky revolutionized how the game was played and just made everything look so simple. Gretzky was, and still is, a great ambassador for the beautiful game of hockey, and he’s still a cult hero for so many people.
But believe it or not, Wayne Gretzky’s wife, Janet, doesn’t have her husband as her favorite hockey player.
Some years ago, before an Alumni game in Winnipeg, The Great One revealed that his wife Janet instead has Teemu Selanne as her favorite player.
“She loves watching Teemu,” Gretzky said per NHL.com. “He’s a wonderful guy, a really nice young man. She always said to me, ‘I really like you, but he’s my favorite player.’ It’s going to be wonderful for the city and the people in Winnipeg.”
Who would have thought? It’s a great shout, however. Teemu Selanne is a Hall of Famer who recorded an incredible 1 457 points in 1 457 games.
If you loved this story about The Great One, you just have to read this, about the time when he and Mario Lemieux humiliated Patrick Roy!
READ MORE: This is Wayne Gretzky’s best-ever NHL game, according to The Great One himself
