Wayne Gretzky

“I heard people say, 'Why would he want to do this?' My answer is 'Why not?' It is what I love. It's what I know.”

“I'm probably the only guy in hockey who can win a scoring title and everybody is saying I had a bad year. I don't worry about it.”

“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”

“The Power of WHO provides great lessons about how to succeed in business and in life. If you surround yourself with quality people and great friends, the sky's the limit.”

“Most people marry their mother. I married my father.”

“One hundred percent of shots not taken don't go in.”

“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.”

“It's easier to lose than to win.”

“Listen, first of all, my wife is my best friend. My love for her is deeper than anything. The reality is, I'm not involved, I wasn't involved and I'm not going to be involved. Am I concerned for both of them Sure there's concern from me. I'm more worried about them than me. I'm like you guys, I'm trying to figure it all out.”

“The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.”

“The last year I was playing, I asked the stick boy to get me a Diet Coke and he said, "Really?" But I always had one on the bench because that's what I did in 1979 when there wasn't Gatorade. If you needed energy you went and got a Snickers or a Kit Kat. Nobody knew any better.”

“You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.”

“The biggest difference between L.A. and Edmonton was that instead of people looking at me I was looking at them.”

“The only shot I ALWAYS miss, is the one I don't take!”

“Not doing it is certainly the best way to not getting it”

“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.”

“Only one thing is ever guaranteed, that is that you will definitely not achieve the goal if you don't take the shot.”

“Your friends, family, and kids have to understand that's your priority. It's the only way you can be successful.”

“One of the key qualities that you need to be a great hockey player is fantastic anticipation and feel for the game - if you know where the puck is going before it is hit, that is half the battle.”

“As a player, you have one responsibility, to focus yourself and be ready for the game. As a coach, your responsibility is to get 20 guys ready and have them all on the same page. If you can't get every guy ready every night, you're going to struggle.”

“Competitive spirit is still at a premium. The more you win, the better you play, the more money you make, so they all have that in mind.”

“The best players in the game want the responsibility of being the best player. The reality is the game has changed from now back to '87. It's a lot tighter checking. The players are better today. So, that makes it harder for him just in that fact. We can't rely solely on Mario [Lemieux] to carry this team. We're not relying on that.”

“What you want to do with your best players is, it doesn't matter how many goals and assists they get, but when they get goals and assists. The best players get them at the most important times, and that's when we need those guys to come through.”

“I really wanted to write a book [99: Stories of the Game] on the tradition and history of the league, where kids can pick it up and read it and learn things and say, "Geez, I didn't know that. That's pretty cool."”

“I think the Americans are ready to play, they want to beat us. I think that players like Chris Chelios and his leadership over there goes a long way.”

“Most players go where the puck is. I go where the puck will be.”

“I have absolutely no complaints about my life. But people think I got handed everything, all this kind of fell in my lap, that I was just God-gifted with all this talent. I wanted people to realize it's a lot tougher than just waking up one day and you're in the NHL.”

“Eight days ago, we were the toast of the town. Eight days later we're Thanksgiving turkeys.”

“And people who know me would tell you that away from hockey I'm really not that competitive.”

“A lot of times, I can turn and pass without even looking.”

“There's no perfect coach in the world. Coaches are human, too. Mistakes are made. But, fundamentally, if you're sound, you eliminate as many mistakes as possible.”

“Hullie's a lot like a garbage can. You step on the pedal with your foot and the top opens up.”

“Good players skate to the puck. Great players skate to where the puck is going to be.”

“It's really hard. And it's harder today because of the salary cap. It starts in September at training camp - getting every guy on the same page, being as mentally and physically as focused as you can be. Then in April and May, you basically spend eight weeks practising, watching video and playing games. That's your life.”

“No matter who you are, we're creatures of habit. The better your habits are, the better they will be in pressure situations.”

“When you're playing an exhibition, you're kind of letting everyone get an opportunity.”

“The game is played out of instinct, but everyone on the ice has habits - good and bad. So the key to the game is to exploit the bad habits of your opponent.”

“I think the greatest thing about playing obviously is winning, and you can't replace that experience with anything.”

“I love everything about hockey.”

“When people come up to me and say, "I was at your Game 7 in the playoffs in Toronto," or, "I saw your first goal in the NHL," that triggers memories. But I don't sit around my kitchen table and tell my kids, "You know, one year I got 92 goals."”

“But in my mind, I don't think there's any question Sidney Crosby is the best all-around player in the game. His hockey sense is so strong and so solid, combined with his God-gifted talent of being able to see the ice, see the entire picture in front of him. And, most importantly, I don't care how good you are, if you don't have a work ethic, it doesn't matter. There's no question that each and every game, he's one of the hardest-working guys on the ice. In my mind, he's the best player in the game today.”

“I can't remember the last time I went to a game and there was a fight. I think they fight more in baseball now than they do in hockey.”

“When I was 5 and playing against 11-year-olds, who were bigger, stronger, faster, I just had to figure out a way to play with them.”

“My best friend had a hockey scholarship at Ohio State, so I would get a couple of pairs at the beginning of the season and send them down to him. They practised two hours a day. He'd skate in them for three weeks then ship them back.”

“I couldn't beat people with my strength; I don't have a hard shot; I'm not the quickest skater in the league. My eyes and my mind have to do most of the work.”

“Look at guys like Larry Bird and George Brett and John McEnroe; that's what they did in their careers. They all wanted to be the guy under the microscope late in the game or late in the match. So you just take on that know-how that that's part of your responsibility, and you learn that's what makes it exciting. That's what makes it fun!”

“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”

“I knew at a young age, whether I was playing baseball or hockey or lacrosse, that my teammates were counting on me, whether it be to strike the last batter out in a baseball game or score a big goal in a hockey game.”

“At the end of the day everybody lost. We almost crippled our industry. It was very disappointing what happened.”

“You miss the ball you do not hit 100%”