Cameras are clicking, and nervous anticipation fills the room. Wayne Gretzky, fresh faced and emotional, dabs his eyes with a tissue. He takes a sip of water and tries to spit out the words, but his sobs won't allow him to. "I promised Mess I wouldn't do this," he says, referring to his teammate Mark Messier. "But um, as I said, there comes a time when…," Gretzky says, trailing off.
Having just finished his ninth National Hockey League season, coming off his team's fourth Stanley Cup championship, "The Great One" stood up from his chair, too choked up to continue.
That news conference, where it was announced that Gretzky would be traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings, will mark its 30-year anniversary in August.