No one was really surprised when Wayne Gretzky became an NHL owner when he bought into the Phoenix Coyotes. And he seemed a natural fit to be the executive director for Team Canada in the Olympics and World Cup.
But this is a doozy: Gretzky is thinking about coaching the Coyotes when the lockout ends.
The Coyotes don't have a coach and haven't interviewed anyone, leading to speculation that Gretzky will coach. General manager Mike Barnett brought up the idea to Gretzky before the draft in June.
"I have so much on my plate with my personal and business commitments that I haven't really sat down to seriously discuss the idea," Gretzky told the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, Ariz. "It's the closest thing to playing, and I do miss being around the team atmosphere. But I certainly have a lot of other things to occupy my time that are also exciting. Coaching is something you have to throw yourself into. The daily preparation is a tough job."
Late last week, Gretzky was asked again and didn't rule it out, though people around the Coyotes are putting the chances of Gretzky coaching around 40 percent.
Still, that's high considering Gretzky never seemed interested in coaching.
One thing to consider is the Coyotes seemed poised to make a leap in the standings. They signed several big-name free agents in the offseason, including Brett Hull and Petr Nedved.
If Gretzky becomes coach, the guess is Rick Bowness, who finished last season as interim coach, would be one assistant. Former Colorado assistant Rick Tocchet and Utah Grizzlies coach Pat Conacher would be candidates for the other assistant spot.
WORKING MAN, PART I: Seeing as how the owners and players haven't talked in more than a month and no negotiations are set, it would appear NHL commissioner Gary Bettman doesn't have a lot to do these days.
Not true.
"I pine for (hockey) on an ongoing basis," Bettman told New York's Newsday. "But I don't have a lot of free time. I'm talking to our teams on a daily basis. We're planning for our future.
"We're making plans for the game on the ice and off the ice ... So we're just not sitting around looking at the sky."
WORKING MAN, PART II: Hey, what about the officials? NHL referees and linesmen are taking jobs during the lockout to help pay the bills. For example, referee Dave Jackson is working as a substitute teacher and Bill McCreary has taken a job installing kitchen cabinets.
"I haven't worked this hard since I was a young guy 25 years ago," McCreary said.
NEED A JOB: If you think McCreary has it bad, consider Oilers forward Ryan Smith. Or, actually, Mrs. Ryan Smith.
"A bunch of us (teammates) are skating in town. Other than that, I'm just changing diapers and driving my wife nuts," Ryan Smith said.
ON THE MARK: Any time a league shuts down, it can't be good for the sport. But Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, a huge hockey fan, thinks the lockout could save hockey, particularly if it results in lower ticket prices.
"I think the lockout has a chance to be the best thing that ever happened to hockey," Cuban said, "if they use this opportunity to adjust the economics in the fans' favor."
A ROLL OF THE DICE: A couple of newspapers are coming up with their own NHL seasons while there is a lockout.
The Denver Post is bringing in kids on Avalanche game nights to play the Avs on an Xbox video game. Then the Post writes a story about the game for the next day's paper. The Avs started the season 1-2.
Meantime, the Toronto Sun is playing a whole season with dice. The Sun has a Bettman Conference and a Goodenow Conference. The names of the divisions have been changed to CBA issues such as Revenue Sharing, Cost Certainty, Luxury Tax and so forth. At the end, the conference champions will play for the Salary Cup.
The Lightning, by the way, started the season 0-3 in the Sun's dice league, but no word if Vinny Lecavalier and John Tortorella are getting along.
Information from other news organizations was used in this report.
