No. 99 won’t be announced as No. 1 when the NHL completes its introduction of the 100 greatest players of its first century, a marquee event leading up to Sunday’s All-Star game at Staples Center.
Actually, the 67 men who will be honored Friday at the Microsoft Theater — like the 33 recognized on New Year’s Day — won’t be announced in order of the votes they earned in balloting by a panel of executives, former players and journalists. And that’s fine with Wayne Gretzky, who justifiably gets the top spot in most discussions of the best players who ever laced up a pair of hockey skates.