Wayne Gretzky
Article 297

Gretzky to work as analyst for TNT at Heritage Classic

(3/9/22) Wayne Gretzky will be a television analyst for TNT when the Buffalo Sabres play the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2022 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, SN NOW, NHL LIVE, TVAS).

The Hockey Hall of Famer will join play-by-play commentator Kenny Albert, and fellow analysts Eddie Olczyk and Keith Jones. It will be the first time he will be in the booth for an NHL game as a part of the broadcast team.

The leading scorer in NHL history joined Turner Sports as a studio analyst May 26 after stepping down from his role as partner and vice chairman with the Edmonton Oilers.

Gretzky played his first nine NHL seasons for the Oilers, helping them win the Stanley Cup four times, before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings on Aug. 9, 1988. He retired April 18, 1999 after 20 NHL seasons with the Oilers, Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers as a 10-time Art Ross Trophy winner given to the leading scorer in the NHL, a nine-time recipient of the Hart Trophy voted as NHL most valuable player and two-time winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy voted as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

His No. 99 was retired throughout the NHL prior to the 2000 All-Star Game. He holds or shares 61 NHL records, including goals (894), assists (1,963) and points (2,857), and was inducted into the Hall of Fame on Nov. 22, 1999.

This will be the third outdoor game for the Sabres, who are the home team.

Buffalo played the inaugural NHL Winter Classic, falling 2-1 in a shootout to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York on Jan. 1, 2008. They also played the 2018 Winter Classic, losing 3-2 in overtime to the Rangers at Citi Field in New York on Jan. 1, 2018.

The Maple Leafs have played three NHL outdoor games. They defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in overtime in the 2014 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Jan. 1, 2014, lost 5-4 in overtime to the Red Wings at the Centennial Classic at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto on Jan. 1, 2017, and lost 5-2 to the Washington Capitals in the 2018 Stadium Series at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland on March 3, 2018.

Coverage of the 2022 NHL Heritage Classic will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET with the "NHL on TNT Face Off Presented by Verizon" pregame show from the studio in Atlanta. Host Liam McHugh will be joined by three-time Stanley Cup Champion Rick Tocchet, 10-year NHL veteran Anson Carter, and hockey personality and former American Hockey League and NHL veteran Paul Bissonnette. The studio crew will return for the Lexus First Intermission Report, the Discover Second Intermission Report and a 15-minute postgame show.

Live streaming coverage of all NHL on TNT games will continue to be available via the WatchTNT app on mobile, tablet and connected TV devices and athttp://www.tntdrama.com/watchtnt. Fans will be able to access the games whenever and wherever they desire by logging in with the username and password provided by their TV service provider.