In the last few weeks, Wayne Gretzky said he wouldn't participate in the Winter Classic Alumni Hockey Game between the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers; then he said, 'hey, maybe I will if it means Glen Sather will stop bugging me' (we're paraphrasing); then he reportedly was approached about buying the Toronto Maple Leafs. Which was weird.
Alas, it appears that 99 has 86'd facing off against 88 on 12/31/11.
John Boruk, a reporter for Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, tweeted last night:
"Wayne Gretzky has informed WC he will NOT play in the alumni game. A couple sources says he would have played if the game was in NY."
OK, now we're really pissed off about the game not being at Yankee Stadium.
Rangers Nation is bummed. So is Kevin Delury of New York Rangers Blog, who writes:
"Would have been cool to see him skating around with Messier again, but there are other former Rangers I'd rather see such as Leetch, Graves, Richter, Sandstrom and Vanbiesbrouck just to name a few."
Adam Rotter reports that the Rangers alumni game roster is expected to be revealed on Saturday before the Rangers and Flyers play.