Edmonton Oilers center Wayne Gretzky celebrates after scoring his fourth goal for the Campbell Conference in the 1983 NHL All-Star Game — an 8-3 win over the Wales Conference at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Ray Stubblebine / AP Photo
In the 1998-99 season, the NHL started awarding the Rocket Richard Trophy to the league’s highest goal scorer. At that point in his playing career, Gretzky was a shadow of his prime. He scored just nine goals in what would be the final season of his career.
That year, the trophy’s namesake, legendary Montreal Canadiens sniper Maurice “The Rocket” Richard met with Gretzky, telling him, “You know, Wayne, you’re never going to win this trophy. But you should have one for all the goals that you scored.”
Gretzky retired as the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer with 894. Had the Richard Trophy been awarded in his heyday, he would’ve taken it home five times.
Gretzky wrote in his book, “99: Stories of the Game,” why Richard’s gift meant so much to him, “It was true [that I’d never win it]. The older we get, the more honest we get as players. I was so excited that he had given it to me and taken the time to give it to me, that it’s the only trophy I kept.”
