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 GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Wayne Gretzky was lured to coaching by the most basic reason: a love of the game. Hockey's greatest player knows his Phoenix Coyotes are not blessed with his amazing skills. But, on the eve of his regular-season debut as an NHL coach, he insists he has the patience and drive to build a winner in the desert.
"When you're playing, there's nothing like it," Gretzky said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press. "You know you can go out there and affect the outcome of the game each and every night. Now the effect I can have on the game is very different, but the passion I have to help this team win is still the same I had as a player."
All 30 NHL teams will play Wednesday night, marking a return of a sport that lay dormant during a year of labor strife. The Coyotes play at Vancouver, a fitting location for Gretzky's debut, because in Canada his fame is virtually without limits.
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