Ka kammala wannan magana: Yanzu yana gab da ƙarshen aikinsa, Gretzky yana son wata dama ta lashe lambar yabo kafin ya yi ritaya. Koyaya, takaici ya sa Gretzky ya matsawa gudanarwa ta hanyar buƙatar Sarakuna su sami ƙwarewar da ta dace - mai ci gaba mai ci gaba da mai tsaron baya don yin wasa tare da shi, ko kuma zai nemi yin wasa a wani wuri lokacin da kwantiraginsa ya ƙare a ƙarshen kakar wasa. Amma matsalolin fatarar da ke gudana sun sa hakan ya zama ba zai yiwu ba a fannin kudi saboda yiwuwar duba 'yan wasa. A ranar 27 ga Fabrairun 1996, an yi musayar Gretzky zuwa St. Louis Blues, don matasa masu zuwa gaba Craig Johnson, Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat, zagaye na farko a cikin
1997 (Matt Zultek) da kuma zagaye na biyar a cikin shirin 1996 (Peter Hogan). Ban da Craig Johnson wanda zai sami babban matsayi a cikin jerin don ƙarin yanayi bakwai, sauran 'yan wasan da ke ciki sun tafi cikin ɗan gajeren lokaci, kuma babu wani zaɓaɓɓen da aka samo daga cinikin da ya buga wasa guda ɗaya don Sarakuna, don haka ya zama ɗaya daga cikin mafi munin cinikin a tarihin mallaka.