THE NHL : Gretzky Closes In on 2,000 Points; Ultimate Goal Might Be 3,000

Some time soon, probably in the next week, Wayne Gretzky will skate out from his favorite spot behind the net and slip the puck past a helpless goalie.

Or skate circles around a defenseman before slapping in a goal.

Or, perhaps, slide one of his trademark no-look passes to a teammate, who’ll slam the puck past the goalie.

However it happens, his fellow Kings will embrace Gretzky, the scoreboard will flash and the fans will stand and applaud as the announcer informs them, “For Wayne Gretzky, that was his 2,000th point!”

Two thousand points.

It may not be as memorable as last year’s early-season celebration when Gretzky scored his 1,851st point and broke Gordie Howe’s National Hockey League record. And it shouldn’t be any bigger than any other point Gretzky scores now, since each one improves his NHL standard.

After a while, it’s easy to take such greatness for granted. But reaching a plateau like 2,000 helps put it all back in perspective.

The number boggles the mind when one considers that 100 points in a season is considered special. Only 69 players have managed that feat in the NHL’s 73 years, fewer than one a season, on average. None had done it before Phil Esposito scored 126 points in the 1968-69 season.

Now, figure that a player would have to average 100 points a year for 20 years to reach 2,000.

Gretzky has played only 11 full seasons. Since he hopes to play at least six more, and perhaps beyond, 3,000 points would seem within reach--especially considering the way Gretzky has begun this season. When speculation surfaced last winter that perhaps his career had peaked, Gretzky responded by predicting a 200-point season if he and his new linemates, Tony Granato and Tomas Sandstrom, stay uninjured.

Gretzky has blasted off on just such a course. He has 17 points in the first seven games, including 12 in three games, and after getting three more Wednesday night against the Minnesota North Stars, he is four short of 2,000.

Only 25 other players in the history of the game have even scored 1,000 points.

There are similar comparisons in baseball: Sixteen men have had 3,000 hits or more. Twenty pitchers have won 300 or more games. Now imagine someone doubling those totals, getting 6,000 hits or 600 victories with still six or more years left in his career.

Unthinkable?

That’s what they once said about 2,000 points.

Gretzky’s skill at breaking new ground is not limited to frozen surfaces.

Before the Berlin Wall tumbled, before flags of freedom were unfurled in Eastern Europe, Gretzky showed he has a bit of the diplomat in him by doing his part to help thaw the Cold War.

In his new book, “Larionov: Where a Rebel Walks,” former Soviet star Igor Larionov, who plays with the Vancouver Canucks, writes about a light moment in the Canada Cup rivalry: “For me, the 1987 Canada Cup series began with a joke on (dictatorial coach Viktor) Tikhonov, a joke he never realized was played.

“The main site for the tournament was Hamilton (Canada). In a gesture of friendship and hospitality, Gretzky invited (several Soviet players and the NHL’s Dave Poulin) to meet his family in nearby Brantford, Ont. His father, Walter, would drive over and take us there.

“Tikhonov said no. Anywhere outside Hamilton was off-limits. It was out of the question. But Walter Gretzky arrived anyway, and we hit upon a plan.

“We took Walter up to Tikhonov’s room and he invited Tikhonov to dinner also.

“Tikhonov made a show of hesitating. ‘Let me think about it,’ he said. In a few minutes, we were heading for the car.

“We had a fine time, but when Wayne offered us wine and beer, Tikhonov said, ‘No. Only Pepsi-Cola. And ice cream.’

“We had Pepsi-Cola and ice cream, except when we (players) went down to the basement to view Gretzky’s trophy room. A lookout was posted at the stairs, and we had our beer.”

The Montreal Canadiens spent a month of the training season in the Soviet Union.

In an interview with the Boston Herald upon his return, Coach Pat Burns gave the impression it won’t make his list of top 10 trips.

He was asked how he liked the food.

“The food was brutal,” he said. “The water was poison.”

What about practice conditions?

“We’d have the ice from 10-12. They’d shut the lights off at 11.”

Were living conditions any better?

“The economic and political situations are bad, the worst I’d ever seen. People have resorted to stealing. When I was there in 1979-80, I could leave a suitcase on the sidewalk for two weeks, and no one would touch it. Leave it now for a second and it’s gone. Put your cigarettes down on a table and they’re gone.”

Burns is just happy he’s home.

With Milwaukee dropping out of the competition for an NHL expansion team, Gordie Howe has a write-in candidate.

Howe would like to see Houston, where he played four seasons in the WHA, join the NHL. “The city of Houston didn’t fail as a hockey town,” he said. “The league failed.”

Howe recently wrote a guest column in the Houston Post, saying the city should get an NHL team.

Gretzky, asked what he hopes his newly released autobiography will do, replied: “Make millions.”