Upon his arrival in New York prior to the 1996-97 season, Gretzky’s reunion with Mark Messier landed the pair on the cover of Sports Illustrated and on the Late Show With David Letterman 

During the 1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Gretzky became the only Ranger in franchise history to have two hat tricks in the same playoff year.  

Gretzky was – and will be – the only player to wear his famous No. 99 with the Rangers. In a pre-game ceremony prior to Gretzky’s final NHL game on April 18, 1999 at MSG, it was announced that he would be the last NHL player to ever wear jersey No. 99. 

Gretzky led the Rangers in assists and points in each of his three seasons with the Rangers. Among players who appeared in at least 200 career games with the Blueshirts in the franchise’s history, Gretzky has the second-best assists per game average (0.82) and the third-best points per game average (1.06). 

Gretzky has more career assists than any other NHL player has points.