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Gretzky to Call Shots in New Role

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From Associated Press

Wayne Gretzky returned to hockey Friday, not as a general manager or coach, but as the man with the final say on all on-ice decisions for the Phoenix Coyotes.

He will decide the fate of General Manager Bobby Smith, Coach Bob Francis and others left dangling since owner Richard Burke agreed to sell the franchise to Phoenix developer Steve Ellman.

“Any decision regarding hockey operations is the decision of Wayne Gretzky,” Ellman said during a news conference that felt more like a public celebration of Gretzky joining the team as managing partner in charge of hockey operations. “I have no reason to believe that Bobby won’t be with our organization for a long time, but that decision isn’t mine, it’s Wayne’s.”

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He declined to say what Gretzky’s share of the team would be.

Gretzky joked that his mother-in-law told him everyone needs to be employed, but he said he did not take a day-to-day job.

“I see myself as a sounding board,” said Gretzky, the most-prolific scorer in NHL history. “Hopefully, I have some knowledge and expertise about hockey.”

Gretzky joined Ellman’s ownership group on May 26, the day the developer had to come up with a $10-million down payment on the team, which the group is buying for $87 million.

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Gretzky’s entry into the partnership kept the Coyotes in Arizona. Had Ellman defaulted on the down payment, Burke has said he would have sold to Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen, who wanted to acquire an NHL team to share Portland’s Rose Garden with the Trail Blazers, his NBA team.

“I didn’t think I was going to be back into this quickly, quite honestly,” said Gretzky, who retired from the New York Rangers last season.

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