GOODBYE, GREAT ONE; GRETZKY TO RETIRE AFTER RESHAPING NHL.

Byline: Roger Phillips

He began his legendary NHL career in the Western Canadian outpost of Edmonton.

He ended it in New York, the largest media market in the United States.

But Wayne Gretzky's impact on the sport he loved and dominated was never greater - locally and nationally - than it was during the time he spent in Los Angeles with the Kings.

In seven-plus seasons as a King, Gretzky's magnetism, charisma and unprecedented skill attracted fans to the Forum to watch hockey in numbers not seen before - or since.

On Friday, the Great One announced he will end his remarkable 20-year career following the New York Rangers' game Sunday against Pittsburgh.

``I'm done,'' the 38-year-old Gretzky told a news conference in New York, his family alongside him, surrounded by photographs of himself on the ice.

``It's just time. Of course I'm sad. I've played hockey for 35 years, since I was 3 years old. I'm going to miss it. . . . In my heart, I know I've made the right decision. This is the right time. I'm at peace of mind.''

It was Gretzky's star quality that drew new fans to the game, paving the way for franchises in such warm-weather climes as Anaheim, North Carolina, Dallas, Miami, Nashville, Phoenix, San Jose, Tampa and, next season, Atlanta.

``He's meant more to the game than any single player,'' said Kings general manager Dave Taylor, a teammate of Gretzky's for six seasons. ``A lot of teams wouldn't be there if Wayne hadn't come to Los Angeles.''

Perhaps paradoxically, Gretzky's greatest allure was his seeming ordinariness, his otherworldly gifts wrapped in a boy-next-door package. He wasn't known as the fastest skater or the player with the hardest shot. Certainly, at 6 feet, 185 pounds, he wasn't exceptionally big.

But as with former Laker Magic Johnson, the man he shared the Forum spotlight with for several seasons, Gretzky always made the pass no one else saw to make, and in his prime he could elevate his game whenever the situation demanded he do so. Completing the package was his public image: soft-spoken modesty.

``As far as an ambassador, you'd never hear him say a bad word,'' Taylor said. ``He was very humble. And he's the kind of guy, if it's 6-1, he wants to make it 7-1 or 8-1. He doesn't let up. And he reached levels people never thought would be reached.''

It took the one player who could attract the uninterested to his sport for the Kings' attendance to reach levels never thought possible.

In 1987-88, the year before the Kings acquired Gretzky from Edmonton in one of sports' biggest blockbuster deals, the Kings averaged 11,667 fans at their home games. In 1996-97, the first full season after the Kings traded Gretzky to St. Louis, they averaged 12,297.

But in the seven-plus years Gretzky was a King, the team averaged 15,417 at its regular-season games in the 16,005-seat Forum and had 212 sellouts. In the 24-plus years the Kings have been without Gretzky, they've sold out only 79 regular-season games, including only four this year. In 1991-92, the Kings sold out the entire season, the only professional team in Los Angeles sports history to accomplish the feat.

``He's the one player able to transcend the sport,'' Taylor said.

And, oh yes, there was the hockey.

With Gretzky, the Kings won the only division title in franchise history in 1990-91, and made their only trip to the Stanley Cup finals two years later. And in 1988-89, his first year with the Kings, Gretzky had 168 points, a franchise record.

For those who played with Gretzky, it was an unforgettable experience.

``The first day, I couldn't sleep all day,'' former King Tony Granato recalled Friday in the San Jose Sharks' dressing room.

``I was still a young kid. They said, OK, you're playing with Gretzky tonight. For a hockey player getting that opportunity, you were scared, excited and didn't want to blow it.''

Kings left wing Luc Robitaille added, ``If you got him the puck and you got open, he found you. He was the greatest goal scorer of all time, and then he became the greatest playmaker of all time. . . . No matter what, this is the greatest player ever to play the game. When 100 points was huge, he came in and scored 200. He was the hardest-working superstar people had ever seen. He always wanted more.''

If there was ever a criticism of Gretzky, it was that his role with the Kings exceeded a player's boundaries. Gretzky was believed to have been involved in several personnel moves, including the 1990 trade that sent Bernie Nicholls to the Rangers for Granato and Tomas Sandstrom, and the 1994 trade in which Robitaille went to Pittsburgh for Rick Tocchet.

``He had a hand in it,'' said Nicholls, now an assistant coach with the Sharks. ``There wasn't anything that went on in L.A. that Wayne didn't have a hand in. He talked to (former owner Bruce McNall) every day. . . . There were hard feelings at the time because I was traded and didn't want to leave. The hard feelings were more toward the owner. I've got no hard feelings toward Wayne.''

Granato said, ``If I've got the greatest player in my sport in my locker room and I'm the general manager, no one knows the game better than Wayne . . . Why wouldn't you want Wayne's opinion and advice?''

As for Gretzky's retirement, Granato said, ``I'd love to see him play for another 10 years, but that can't happen. I knew this day would come. I was hoping it would be down the road. But it's here. It's going to be sad that he's out of the game. On the other hand, we should celebrate and be thankful we had 20 years of nothing but the best he had.''

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Photo

PHOTO (Color) Wayne Gretzky celebrates after setting a new scoring record with his 802nd goal on March 23, 1994, when he was with the Kings.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News