For one weekend Wayne Gretzky is going to be back behind an NHL bench.
Gretzky will serve as the coach of the Metropolitan Division team during the All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, serving as the replacement for Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella according to Pierre LeBrun and Elliotte Friedman.
Tortorella was originally supposed to coach the team but had to withdraw on Thursday due to the failing health of one of his family dogs.
Update: The NHL has officially announced that Gretzky will coach the Metropolitan Division this weekend.
Gretzky, arguably the greatest player in the history of the sport and the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer and point producer, spent a significant portion of his career playing in Los Angeles with the Kings.
He was honored on Friday night as one of the Top 100 players in league history. The team he will be coaching this weekend has two of the six active players to be included on that list, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.
Following his playing days he was the coach of the Arizona Coyotes for four years between the 2005-06 and 2008-09 seasons.