Wayne Gretzky reveals which team he wanted to play for growing up

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Cooper Godin
July 24, 2023 (8:23)

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Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky grew up in Brantford, Ontario and if you aren't familiar with the city, it is just over an hour away from Toronto, nearly two hours from Buffalo and three hours from Detroit.

Why are those cities notable? They're the three closest cities with National Hockey League franchises to Brantford and in an interview with The Athletic, Gretzky opened up about which team he wanted to play for when he was younger.

"They were fun to watch," Gretzky said. "At that time, the Flyers were a tough team. The Sabres were trying to be this finesse team. My dad would always say to me, 'We need the Sabres to win because we need finesse back in hockey. It will be good for you and your career.' So I became a huge Sabres fan."

He added, "It goes back to Punch Imlach. He made the Buffalo Sabres. He drafted Gilbert, got Richard Martin, got Rene Robert, Jim Schoenfeld, Roger Crozier, and Tim Horton. I can still remember thinking, 'Gosh, I wish one day I could wear that Buffalo Sabre jersey.' It was amazing. When you're a kid you dream, right? That's the best thing about being a kid you dream about things that you love."

It's interesting to look back now and think 'what impact would Gretzky have had on the Buffalo Sabres?'. During Gretzky's NHL career, which spanned from 1979 to 1999, the Sabres made the playoffs a total of 17 teams and made the Conference Final/Semi-Finals three separate occasions. In 1998-99, which was Gretzky's last season in the NHL, the Sabres made it to the Stanley Cup Final, but lost in triple overtime in Game 6 to the Dallas Stars.

It's probably safe to say that if Gretzky played for the Buffalo Sabres at some point during his NHL career, with the team's they had, they would have won the Stanley Cup. Sabres fans are now left wondering 'what if we had Gretzky' and how it could have changed the NHL landscape.

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JUILLET 24 \| 145 ANSWERS Wayne Gretzky reveals which team he wanted to play for growing up If Gretzky played for the Sabres, would they have won a Stanley Cup?
Yes	75	51.7 %
No	45	31 %
Not Sure	19	13.1 %
See Results	6	4.1 %
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Wayne Gretzky reveals which team he wanted to play for growing up

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky grew up in Brantford, Ontario and if you aren't familiar with the city, it is just over an hour away from Toronto, nearly two hours from Buffalo and three hours from Detroit.

If Gretzky played for the Sabres, would they have won a Stanley Cup?