The NHL / Tracy Dodds : In Edmonton, 9,000 Show Up to Watch Gretzky Warm Up

On the morning of the All-Star game, Wayne Gretzky did some casual, loosening-up skating with the Campbell Conference team at the Northlands Coliseum. That’s all. Just a little ice time to work out the kinks.

More than 9,000 people showed up to cheer him. There were rows and rows of yellow school buses in the parking lot. The kids literally had a field day so that they could file into the Coliseum and chant, “Gret-zky, Gret-zky, Gret-zky.”

Gretzky is such a hero to the people of this city that they are planning a statue of the Great One that will stand outside the Coliseum.

In an Oiler uniform, of course.

Gretzky is on the front page of the newspapers here every day when he’s in town. Not the front page of the sports section. The front page of the newspaper. In full color.

Inside there are pictures of him on the ice, pictures of him at the press conference, pictures of him with his old teammates at the gala dinner, pictures of him with his wife, Janet Jones . . .

There’s no such thing as too much Gretzky here, where the cab drivers tell anyone from Los Angeles to “tell Wayne we love him and we miss him.”

There are so many Gretzky stories that some have to be reruns. A story in the Edmonton Sun Tuesday told the legend of Gretzky-teaching-Lemieux-at-the-Canada-Cup as well as it has ever been told.

The Sun quoted Chicago Blackhawks Coach Mike Keenan, who coached the ’87 Canada Cup team: “Wayne Gretzky didn’t verbalize it, but he said, ‘Here, Mario, here’s everything I know. But I’m still going to be best.’

“Without saying a word, Wayne showed Mario everything. He showed him the level of preparation and awareness you need to elevate your play. It was unbelievable the extent of Wayne’s unselfishness. It was like he was saying, ‘Here’s everything I know, now challenge me.’ ”

The Kings aren’t the only team that hit a slump before the All-Star break. The Oilers are 10-14-3 since the start of December. They haven’t won more than two in a row since November. Jari Kurri has only two goals in the last 18 games for the Oilers.

Oiler Coach Glen Sather is on the lookout for some help. He told reporters: “You can put an SOS out for any defenseman with four or five years’ experience in the league. We pay top dollar. There are good working conditions here in Edmonton. If you know anyone, please give me a call.”

As reporters were casting about for causes of the Oiler troubles, attention turned to former King Jimmy Carson, who is reportedly not happy in Edmonton and who has been at the center of a couple of trade rumors.

Oiler co-coach John Muckler said: “Don’t criticize Carson. He’s 20 years old. He’s a young man who has 41 goals. Where would we be without him?”

As for whether he was giving the Oilers his best effort, Muckler said that nobody can give 100% every night, adding: “You aim for that. Nobody does it all the time, but Carson does it almost every night.”

It’s Not What You Say That Counts: Calgary Coach Terry Crisp notes a lack of support for Bob Probert from his Detroit teammates. Crisp said: “What says a lot to me is the silence in the dressing room. I don’t read about players saying ‘Give this guy his due’ or ‘We want Probie to stay.’ That silence speaks volumes.”

Detroit has been actively trying to trade Probert since Jan. 25, when he was late for a game. He was suspended indefinitely, with pay, at $200,000 a year.

Probert has been in alcohol rehabilitation clinics five times. He admits that he is an alcoholic. But he says that his alcohol problems are behind him and he drinks only “moderately” now.

Detroit’s Petr Klima spent his three-day All-Star break in jail after pleading guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.

After hearing the sentence, Klima said: “I will never sit behind the wheel again after I’ve been drinking. Not even in my driveway.”