GLENDALE, Ariz. — 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 in an interview. "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.
Brett Hull, who at 41 is the NHL's No. 3 career scorer behind Gretzky and Gordie Howe, signed with Phoenix because he knew Gretzky was going to be the coach.
Coyotes general manager Mike Barnett is Gretzky's former agent and has known him for 25 years. When Gretzky was still playing, Barnett said, the two were in Indianapolis for a charity appearance and attended a Pacers game where Larry Bird was coaching.
On the plane ride out of town, Gretzky spoke of how he admired Bird's style.
Gretzky became a part-owner of the Coyotes, and Barnett reminded him of that conversation when talk turned to finding a new coach following the 2003-04 season. The NHL lockout ensued and months went by before Gretzky told Barnett he would take the job.
"From that day on, I haven't seen him as recharged and excited since he retired," Barnett said.
Gretzky said he simply missed the game.
"I think that everybody has to have a purpose in life," he said. "My enjoyment of so-called working was to be around hockey."