Gretzky will appear during key moments in the regular season — including opening week and the Winter Classic — and then throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“The Great One” is headed from the front office to a cable television studio. Turner Sports has reached a multi-year agreement with Wayne Gretzky to be a studio analyst when its coverage of the National Hockey League begins in October. He will appear during key moments in the regular season — including opening week and the Winter Classic — and then throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Turner’s seven-year agreement begins next season. Besides regular-season and playoff games, it also includes the 2023, ‘25 and ‘27 Stanley Cup Finals on the TNT cable network. Gretzky said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press that the opportunity to join Turner, as well as some other changes, led to this being the perfect time to move into an analyst role. Gretzky and his wife, Janet, moved to Missouri earlier this year to be closer to his mother-in-law, who turns 100 in August. The move from California also allows them to be closer to their two grandchildren, who are in South Florida. “We just felt like, after the passing of my dad and my youngest going to college this year, maybe this is a good time to move. We’ve kind of become empty nesters,” he said. “Atlanta is an hour from Florida and an hour from St. Louis. So I guess the stars were aligned. We get to spend a lot of time with our family, and I get to do what I love to do, which is talk about hockey.” Besides Gretzky, Turner has finalized Kenny Albert and Eddie Olczyk as its top announcing team.
