Duhatschek: In the City of Angels, NHL mends fences with The Great One

There he was, on Monday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, a gorgeous sunny day, wearing a shirt and tie in the 27 C heat: Wayne Gretzky, making his first official appearance on behalf of the NHL in eons and it was good to see him back.

Officially, the occasion was the arrival of the ice truck a term used to describe the largest mobile refrigeration unit in the world which will turn the stadium infield into a hockey arena under the swaying Southern California palm trees two Saturdays from now.

Unlike the previous Winter and Heritage Classics, all played in traditional hockey markets, this game in the NHLs Stadium Series will be played between Gretzkys former team, the Los Angeles Kings, and the No. 1 team in the league, the Anaheim Ducks, against a lush and summery backdrop.

There will be a beach volleyball court set up in left field, a sound stage in right field where the rock band Kiss will play, and, in centre, a swimming pool with the Ducks logo emblazoned in the middle.

Gretzky attended the press gathering at the urging of his former teammate Luc Robitaille, now the Kings president of business operations, but also because the NHL asked him to come in and help bang the publicity drums.

This was noteworthy because Gretzky hasnt been seen in too many NHL arenas of late. And though he would never characterize himself as estranged from the league, it is no coincidence fences are finally being mended now that the NHL has finally paid him what he was owed him as an unsecured creditor of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Gretzky, who was accompanied Monday by his wife, Janet, had kept the NHL at arms length after he resigned as Coyotes head coach, preferring to watch his children play sports and essentially be a stay-at-home dad, sprinkled with the odd promotional appearance for his corporate sponsors.

Robitaille said the Kings invited Gretzky to be part of the outdoor game festivities, but it was important it came from the league, too. It was [NHL chief operating officer] John Collins and his group and [commissioner] Gary Bettman and [deputy commissioner] Bill Daly, they reached out to him and asked him to be part of it. We wanted to make sure it came from everyone. We cant have this game without having Wayne.

Wayne Gretzky is probably like our Babe Ruth and we need him around. When he came to L.A., it changed the game in the United States forever. You look at what hes done on the ice, its incredible. A lot of what hes done off the ice is his legacy and it lives on. Its very important hes a part of the league and involved in all the big events that are going on.

The league has wanted to get its most iconic face more visible for some time now, and Monday was the perfect opportunity on two separate fronts.

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Duhatschek: In the City of Angels, NHL mends fences with The Great One