The NHL’s All-Star festivities in Los Angeles will play a prominent role in the league’s celebration of its 100th anniversary and will be the site of a gathering of the players voted the 100 greatest in its history. Those players are scheduled to be onstage during a gala at the Microsoft Theater on Jan. 27, two days before the All-Star Game will be played at Staples Center.
The NHL on Tuesday announced that Wayne Gretzky will be its official ambassador for its many centennial activities. Gretzky, whose 1988 trade to the Kings from Edmonton glamorized the game and boosted hockey’s popularity in non-traditional areas, had kept a distance from the NHL since his brief stint as coach of the then-Phoenix Coyotes.