[Buckery]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/artic...07_163911_5096

PHOENIX (CP) -- Wayne Gretzky says he is excited about moving behind the Phoenix Coyotes bench.

"I'll be honest with you, when I was 22, 23, 24, I never thought I'd be a coach in the NHL," Gretzky told the Arizona Republic on Sunday night. "But I'm excited about the challenge . . . . The last couple of weeks I've been following my son's baseball team around and I kind of got the itch to coach, as silly as that sounds."

Gretzky told the Republic that former Detroit Red Wings associate coach Barry Smith, former Coyotes player Rick Tocchet, and Coyotes interim head coach Rick Bowness will be his assistant coaches.

"I'm ecstatic to have this staff," said Gretzky,

The Great One, who has a multi-year coaching agreement, will remain the team's managing partner and maintain his 18 per cent ownership in the team.

Gretzky told the newspaper he's not worried about his lack of coaching experience.

"By no means am I Scotty Bowman, but I know the game, I love the game, I have a really good staff and we have a really good team," Gretzky said. "It's exciting. I haven't felt this way since I was 17."

Smith has been an NHL assistant coach for 17 seasons and won five Stanley Cup titles. He was most recently with Detroit.

Tocchet played 18 NHL seasons, including three with the Coyotes from 1997 to 2000. He was an assistant coach with Colorado leading up to the lockout.

Bowness has been with the Coyotes for six seasons and was named the interim head coach in February 2004, after the Coyotes fired head coach Bob Francis.

Gretzky, who retired from playing in 1999 after 20 NHL seasons, won four Stanley Cups and owns dozens of NHL records, including goals (894), assists (1,963) and points (2,857).

He has already committed to serve as executive director for Team Canada at the Winter Olympics in Turin in February.

The Coyotes have a new $220-million US arena, which they have yet to play a full season in. They moved to the Glendale Arena in December 2003, but they didn't get opportunity to open a season there before the lockout began.


If Wayne is anywhere near as good a coach as he was a player then he'll surely put Phoenix on the map. Great news to hear Wayne is staying in the game.

If he does poorly do they fire him?

B

[naught33]

im not sure how wayne will be as a coach..he obviously knows the game and has a great hockey mind, and will command immediate respect from the players, but will he be a good coach? i guess we will find out