Gretzky Return Stirs a Great Deal of Interest

Wayne Gretzky today makes his first return to Southern California since being traded by the Kings when the St. Louis Blues play the Mighty Ducks at the Pond of Anaheim.

It’s not quite the big event Monday’s game against the Kings at the Forum will be, but anticipation has been high enough that the game sold out several days in advance, in contrast to the Ducks’ typical game-day sellout.

Gretzky says the Ducks are just another opposing team to him, but he admits wondering how the Kings are going to fare against their local rivals in the months ahead, now that he and most of the team’s marquee players are gone.

“That’s going to be the hardest thing for the Kings, the competition within the city with the Ducks,” said Gretzky, who was traded to the Blues on Feb. 27. “I don’t think people realize or understand the impact--the competition for fans, coverage in the newspapers, corporate sponsors. And the Kings are a little handicapped in that they don’t have the same kind of facility that the Ducks have.”