Gretzky takes indefinite leave from coaching

[Bob_R]

Gretzky takes indefinite leave from coaching
Posted: 13 hours ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Wayne Gretzky took an indefinite leave as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday night to return to Canada to be with his mother, who has lung cancer.

Gretzky left the team before the Coyotes played the Kings in Los Angeles and went to Ontario to be with his parents, Phyllis and Walter.

"We respect and support Wayne's decision," Coyotes general manager Michael Barnett said in a statement. "Family has always come first to the Gretzkys, as it should. The thoughts and prayers of the Phoenix Coyotes organization, and most surely, those of the entire hockey world, are with Wayne and the Gretzky family at this most difficult time."

Wayne Gretzky returned home Saturday night to be with his mother who has lung cancer.

Gretzky addressed the Coyotes at the team hotel about an hour before flying to his hometown of Brantford, Ontario, to join his family, including his sister Kim, and brothers Brent, Glen and Keith.

Associate coach Rick Tocchet assumed head coaching duties until Gretzky returns.

In his first season as coach, Gretzky - also the Coyotes' managing partner - has led Phoenix to a 16-14-2 record. The Coyotes entered play Saturday tied for third place in the Pacific Division.

Gretzky, the NHL's career leading scorer, also serves as the executive director of Team Canada, which is expected to announce its Olympic roster next Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear whether he would stay in that position or travel to Turin, Italy, for the games in February.

"When you think of Canadian hockey, he was the greatest ever to play the game," said Colorado's Joe Sakic, a contender to be Canada's Olympic captain. "When he talks, everybody listens. He has that much knowledge and respect, and whatever he has to say is important. It's not that we can't win without him, but we feel that much stronger with him."

If he is not able to lead Canada into the Olympics, it would be the latest blow to the 2002 gold-medal winners, who under Gretzky's leadership earned the country's first hockey gold in 50 years. In recent days, 40-year-old forwards Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman withdrew from consideration for spots on the team.

"His presence will still be there, even if he can't be there in person," said Avalanche defenseman Rob Blake, a two-time Olympian. "He's the greatest player in the world, and his presence and name means a lot to Canadian hockey."

The 44-year-old Gretzky considered taking over as Coyotes coach since June 2004, when Barnett, his former agent, brought up the subject. The Coyotes fired coach Bob Francis in February 2004, and Rick Bowness finished the pre-lockout season as interim coach.

After agonizing for months about whether the job would allow him time to focus on his family, including his mother, two sons in youth baseball and his daughter Paulina's budding career as an entertainer, Gretzky finally accepted the position in August, once the NHL lockout was settled.

"We're in a tough situation because of teenage children, and then we have a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old, so my family and my responsibilities is sort of a juggle," Gretzky said.

Gretzky cited his mother's illness as a reason why he didn't resume his role as the head of Team Canada during the hockey world championships in Austria last spring. He said then that her condition was improving.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Tough situation for #99....

But on a brighter side, this is the chance that Rick Tocchet needs, so he can get an NHL head coaching job...

Lots of people have said that he's been on a lot of short lists recently...

[Bob_R]

Phyllis Gretzky dies of lung cancer
Associated Press
Posted: 5 hours ago


TORONTO (AP) - Phyllis Gretzky, the mother of hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, died Monday night, the Phoenix Coyotes said. She was 64.


Wayne Gretzky's mother Phyllis Gretzky succumbed to cancer Monday. She was 64. (E.J. Flynn / Associated Press)
She was diagnosed with lung cancer late in 2004 and died two nights after her son took an indefinite leave of absence as coach of the Coyotes to return home to Ontario to be with her.

"Throughout my career, she was in the background but she was the glue," Wayne Gretzky said at the time of his mother's diagnosis. "She's always been the toughest in the family."

The 43-year-old Gretzky, the NHL's career leading scorer, left the Coyotes on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

He also is the executive director of Canada's Olympic hockey team, which is expected to announce its roster for the Turin Games on Wednesday.

It is not known when or if he will return to those jobs.

The down-to-earth mother of five was perhaps the least known of the Gretzky family as she tried to maintain privacy for her children amid the spotlight of Wayne's celebrity status.

Wayne Gretzky's phenomenal success created much curiosity about the family. His father was comfortable in the public eye, while his mother preferred to keep a low profile. She sought to maintain a normal lifestyle, and the community around her respected that.

Phyllis Hockin was born and raised in Paris, Ontario, of British ancestry. She was a descendant of Isaac Brock, a general with British forces during the War of 1812.

She met her future husband when she was 15, and the couple was married three years later in 1960. Wayne was her first-born child, and he learned how to play hockey on a backyard rink. She would drive her children to early-morning hockey practices. Her husband, Walter, would go to games after work in the evenings.

She is survived by her husband, all five children and 12 grandchildren.