Wayne Gretzky Wants To Bring The NHL To Seattle
Perhaps you haven’t been thinking much about hockey lately. That’s understandable, what with the World Cup in full swing, the Seattle Mariners enjoying arguably their best season since 2003, and the Seahawks preparing to defend their Super Bowl championship. The Stanley Cup finals have long since come and gone, and if folks in Seattle are having a tough time remembering who played (Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers) or who won (L.A.), that’s perfectly alright. There hasn’t been much of a reason to think NHL thoughts lately.
Today, though, there’s big NHL news that pertains directly to Seattle. The news involves expansion, or relocation, or something. It’s vague news. Today’s news is big and exciting, because it involves the sport’s most legendary name. It has become known that Wayne Gretzky has joined an investment group looking to bring NHL hockey to the city of Seattle. That’s news worth discussing.
Wayne Gretzky is probably the best hockey player of all time and certainly the most well-known. He’s probably the reason you’ve heard of the Edmonton Oilers, or maybe he’s why you got into hockey as a kid. No matter, it’s certainly exciting to hear his name in the same breath as “Seattle.” Word is he wants the sport to make it’s way to the Emerald City.
Why would Gretzky want in on the NHL to Seattle movement? Good question, but perhaps the answer is more obvious than it’d seem. No, Gretzky doesn’t have any real ties to the area. But he did put himself in the middle of an attempt to buy the Toronto Maple Leafs that didn’t go through, and the Seattle group is thought to have the best chances at breaking into the NHL’s ownership ranks. Gretzky’s relationship with Seattle is purely a business endeavor at this point.
Relocation remains unlikely, and expansion seems like a downright daydream. But if one of those things somehow happens, Wayne Gretzky will likely become a folk hero in Seattle. That, in addition to being a folk hero in every other North American city with a pro hockey team. The news, in short: we can talk about Wayne Gretzky and Seattle hockey at the same time now. Which is neat.