NHL

Wayne Gretzky is not only The Great One on the ice ... but clearly off of it too -- 'cause the NHL legend made a fan's life by re-autographing a baby shoe, and the story is awesome.

Back in 1986, a little boy and his mother ran into Gretzky -- but they had one problem ... they had no hockey memorabilia for Wayne to sign.

So, Mom thought quickly on her feet, handed over her little boy's Nike shoe ... and Gretzky gladly slapped his John Hancock on it.

The piece actually came out pretty cool ... it's a baby shoe with Wayne Gretzky's signature on it!!

But, after 30-plus years ... the signature faded, and the boy who had kept it all that time was heartbroken.

So much so, he says he tried EVERYTHING he could to get in touch with Gretzky to have him re-sign the shoe.

Fortunately, after years of reaching out, he posted his story on a Facebook group's page ... and the guys at Upper Deck eventually caught wind of it and decided to lend a helping hand.

They were able to ultimately get the shoe back in front of Gretzky ... and, after explaining to him the story of it all -- the hockey legend gladly signed it again!!

The piece is now truly incredible ... Gretzky wrote "1/1" on it alongside his signature -- and Upper Deck authenticated it and sent it back to the fan, who couldn't have been more grateful.

"I can't thank everyone enough that helped get this done," the fan said. "This shoe will remain in my Family forever. If I thought it was priceless before, it has now become even more priceless if that’s possible."

Ya had to see this one coming -- the New York Rangers have just been slapped with a MASSIVE fine by the NHL ... after the team went scorched earth on a league exec. earlier this week.

Remember, the Rangers were FURIOUS with the league after Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson was handed a measly $5,000 fine for his violent altercation with N.Y. star Artemi Panarin.

The team released a lengthy statement slamming the NHL's head of player safety, George Parros, saying he was "unfit" to serve the position ... and Wilson should have been suspended indefinitely.

Of course, the NHL didn't take kindly to the statement ... handing down a severe $250,000 fine to the organization on Thursday.

Commish Gary Bettman spoke about the punishment minutes ago ... saying, "Public comments of the nature issued by the Rangers that were personal in nature and demeaning of a League executive will not be tolerated."

"While we don’t expect our Clubs to agree with every decision rendered by the Department of Player Safety, the extent to which the Rangers expressed their disagreement was unacceptable.

He added ... "It is terribly unfair to question George Parros' professionalism and dedication to his role and the Department of Player Safety."

Both teams are still dealing with the chaotic fallout from Monday's incident -- the Caps vs. Rangers game on Wednesday started off with a line brawl ... and there were at least 6 total fights in the 1st period alone.

Forget the hockey game, the Rangers vs. Capitals matchup turned into "MMA on Ice" on Wednesday ... in the wake of a violent incident earlier this week.

The chaos started as soon as the puck dropped ... with several players attacking each other as retaliation for what happened on Monday between Capitals forward Tom Wilson and Rangers superstar Artemi Panarin.

The line brawl broke out one second into the game ... with at least 3 separate scraps going down.

The mayhem continued as Wilson entered the game ... with Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith going after him as soon as he touched the puck. Wilson later left the game with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Overall, there were more than 100 penalty minutes assigned stemming from 6 fights within the first 5 minutes of the game at Madison Square Garden.

As we previously reported, the Rangers were LIVID with the NHL for handing just a $5,000 fine to Wilson for his brawl with Panarin, which left the Rangers star with a season-ending lower-body injury.

The Rangers claimed Head of Player Safety, George Parros, was unfit for his job in a scathing statement on Tuesday ... and called Wilson's involvement a "horrifying act of violence."

Capitals winger Tom Wilson body slammed Artemi Panarin in the middle of their game on Monday ... rag-dolling the Rangers star on the ice -- and now, EVERYONE's pissed over it.

The wild scene all went down in Madison Square Garden ... wherein the 2nd period of the Washington vs. New York tilt, all hell broke loose near the Capitals' crease.

As a pile built up around the goal mount, 27-year-old Wilson jumped on Rangers star Pavel Buchnevich ... and then slid in a dirty punch that pissed off NY players.

As the Rangers rushed to Pavel's defense ... Wilson fought back hard -- and went to work on throwing Panarin all over the ice.

You can see in footage of the melee, Wilson body slammed the Rangers' 29-year-old goal scorer not once, but TWICE ... and it was violent.

Fortunately, it seems Panarin escaped the fracas without serious injury ... but the NHL world was sent into a frenzy over Wilson's actions regardless.

Despite Wilson receiving 10-minute misconduct ... many on social media called for more severe punishments from the league -- with Rangers coach David Quinn ripping the guy for his actions after the game.

"We all saw it," Quinn said. "There are lines that can't be crossed in this game."

He added, "You got one of the star players in this league now that could have gotten seriously, seriously hurt in that incident ... You all saw what happened, and it happens time and time again with him. Totally unnecessary."

Wilson ended up with the last laugh ... the Caps player not only flexed on the Rangers from the penalty box -- but he helped Washington win the game, 6-3, scoring an empty-net goal late in the contest.

Heartbreaking news coming out of the NHL on Tuesday morning … T.J. Oshie’s father, known as "Coach Oshie," has died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.

The Washington Capitals star made the announcement on his Twitter page ... revealing Tim Oshie -- who had been fighting Alzheimer's since at least 2012 -- passed away this week at 56 years old.

"It's with a heavy heart today that my family mourns the passing of my Dad 'Coach Oshie,'" 34-year-old T.J. said. "Coach lived life to the fullest and was unanimously loved by everyone who met him."

"Thanks to all the family and friends for their support. Heaven received a legend today. #RIPCoachOsh."

T.J.'s father had a HUGE role in the hockey superstar's life ... he was T.J.'s first coach -- and the Caps' winger clearly loved him dearly.

In fact, T.J. talking about his dad after winning the cup in 2018 is still one of the most heartwarming moments in NHL history.

You'll recall ... while his teammates were marching the Stanley Cup around the arena, T.J. got emotional on television broadcasts.

"My dad's here in the crowd," T.J. said of Tim. "He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and he doesn't remember a lot of stuff but you bet your ass he's going to remember this one."

T.J. did not play in the Capitals' game against the Rangers on Monday night ... with the team announcing the winger was out for personal reasons.

Kevan Miller was feeling VIOLENT on Tuesday -- the Boston Bruins player unleashed the fury all over multiple Buffalo Sabres players ... culminating with a KO in a mid-game fight!

The brutality began in the 2nd period when Miller came flying across the ice to smash Sabres' forward Rasmus Asplund into the boards at breakneck speed. Asplund went crumpling to the ground.

Asplund's teammates took issue with the shot because it looked like an illegal blindside hit -- even though it wasn't called for a penalty.

That's when Sabres' player Tage Thompson squared up with Miller looking to avenge Asplund ... but he quickly learned Miller was all about the smoke.

The gloves came off ... and Miller immediately opened up a can of whoop-ass all over Tage's face -- beating him down onto the ice in a one-sided mauling.

Eventually, the refs stepped in and put a stop to the fight when it became clear Thompson had no chance.

FYI, Miller is a very experienced fighter -- with 20 scraps under his belt since 2013.

Thompson, on the other hand, has only fought once in the NHL since joining the league a few years ago.

It's almost like Thompson didn't realize what he was getting himself into ...

As for the game, the Bruins ended up securing the "W" in an overtime shootout.

The death of Team USA hockey legend Mark Pavelich -- a key part of the "Miracle on Ice" team -- has been ruled a suicide, officials announced.

The 63-year-old died on March 4 at the Eagle's Healing Nest in Minnesota -- where Pavelich had been undergoing court-ordered treatment as part of a 2019 assault case.

After a thorough investigation, the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office issued a statement Monday saying Pavelich "died of asphyxia due to a plastic bag over head. The manner of death is suicide."

Pavelich -- who famously made the assist on the game-winning goal to beat the Russians in the 1980 Olympics -- had been battling mental health issues in recent years.

In fact, during his assault case -- stemming from a violent altercation with a neighbor -- the ex-hockey star was diagnosed with PTSD and multiple clinical psychologists found him to be both mentally ill and dangerous.

One psychologist testified Pavelich suffered from "mild neurocognitive disorder due to traumatic brain injury with behavioral disturbance (psychotic symptoms, aggression)" -- and suggested the condition may have been caused by repeated hits to the head.

Pavelich's family had said they believe hockey was a major contributing factor to his brain injuries.

After his stint on Team USA, Mark spent 5 seasons with the NY Rangers -- followed by brief stints with the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks.

He retired from pro hockey in 1992.

Disney famously made a movie about the "Miracle On Ice" team in 2004 -- and Pavelich was played by actor Chris Koch.

Horrific scene on the NHL ice Sunday ... a star player for the Florida Panthers suffered a gruesome knee injury mid-game and was forced to leave the match on a stretcher.

Aaron Ekblad -- who was leading the Panthers in total ice time this season -- took a check from an opponent in Florida's game against the Dallas Stars when things went terrifyingly wrong.

Ekblad's knee and skate got caught under his body ... and when he came crashing down on top of the leg -- it all bent and crumpled awkwardly.

***WARNING: THE CLIP IS TOUGH TO WATCH***

You can see in video immediately after the injury ... Ekblad was in SERIOUS pain -- writhing on the ice, screaming, and holding on tightly to team trainers.

The defenseman was eventually strapped to a stretcher and taken off the ice. In a postgame update, Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville said Ekblad would be out indefinitely.

"It was pretty tough," Ekblad's teammate, Jonathan Huberdeau, told reporters after the game ... before adding, "You hear him scream too. I mean, it must have hurt so bad."

St. Louis Blues legend Bobby Plager -- who had his jersey retired by the team back in 2017 -- died Wednesday after a car crash in Missouri.

The 78-year-old was killed when his vehicle was involved in a two-car accident on Interstate 64 in St. Louis, according to multiple media outlets.

The Blues said in a statement hours after his passing the org. is devastated by the tragic news.

"It is unimaginable to imagine the St. Louis Blues without Bobby Plager," the team said ... adding, "Today, our hearts are broken, but one day they will be warmed again by memories of his character, humor and strong love for his family, our community, the St. Louis Blues and generations of fans who will miss him dearly."

Plager began his career in 1964 with the New York Rangers ... but after he joined the Blues in 1967, he went on to build an unrivaled resume with the team.

In his 11 years in St. Louis, he played in 616 games ... and helped lead the Blues to multiple Stanley Cup Finals appearances.

After his playing days ended following the 1977-78 season ... he joined the team's front office and went on to hold multiple different positions with org.

In 2017, the Blues retired his #5 ... making him just the seventh Blues player to earn that honor.

In their statement, the Blues said they were thrilled Plager got to celebrate their Stanley Cup victory in 2019 before his passing.

"The St. Louis Blues send all of our love and support to his family, and we hope everyone will find strength knowing that Bobby got his parade."

The NHL just canned one of its referees after the guy was caught on a hot mic admitting he called a questionable penalty against the Nashville Predators because he wanted stick it to the team.

It all went down Tuesday night during the 2nd period of the Predators vs. Red Wings game -- when ref Tim Peel blew the whistle on Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson for tripping Jon Merrill.

It sure seems like Merrill flopped -- even the announcers commented, "That's such a dive" -- but Peel seemed locked in on calling Arvidsson for the penalty anyway.

Moments later, a hot mic captured referee Tim Peel explaining why he made the call ... and his explanation is troubling.

"It wasn’t much," Peel said of the tripping penalty, "but I wanted to get a f***ing penalty against Nashville early in the ..."

The audio trails off before Peel completes his thought -- but it sure sounds like Peel had out it out for Nashville, which is a huge problem for the NHL. Refs are NOT supposed to have an agenda when it comes to calling a game.

The NHL immediately launched a probe into the remarks ... and it took just hours before the league formally fired the 53-year-old ref.

The league didn't hold back in explaining the decision either ... saying straight up there was "no justification for [Peel's] comments."

"Nothing is more important than ensuring the integrity of our game," league exec Colin Campbell said in a statement.

"Tim Peel's conduct is in direct contradiction to the adherence to that cornerstone principle that we demand of our officials and that our fans, players, coaches and all those associated with our game expect and deserve."

Peel had been reffing in the NHL for more than two decades ... and had been reportedly set to retire after his scheduled final game late next month.

As for the impact of the penalty ... it didn't seem to affect the Preds much -- they still went on to win the game over Detroit, 2-0.

Now, the big question ... why did Peel want to penalize Nashville -- and did he unfairly target other teams during his career???

19-year-old Timur Faizutdinov -- a star player in Russia's Junior Hockey League -- has tragically died after being hit in the head by a puck ... his team announced Tuesday.

Faizutdinov was skating for his Dynamo St. Petersburg's squad in a playoff matchup with Loko Yaroslavl on March 12 when his opponent accidentally flipped a puck at his head.

The frozen rubber caught Faizutdinov up high near his temple ... and he immediately crumpled to the ground in pain.

Faizutdinov -- St. Petersburg's captain -- was rushed to the hospital ... but, unfortunately, his team announced he died this week due to the injuries the puck caused.

"Dynamo Saint Petersburg defenseman Timur Faizutdinov has tragically passed away at the age of 19," Faizutdinov's team wrote in a statement.

"He had received a fatal head injury during an MHL match against Loko in Yaroslavl on March 12. SKA Hockey Club extends its deepest condolences to Timur’s family and friends."

Faizutdinov had reportedly logged nearly 200 games for Dynamo St. Petersburg in his career ... and had just been named team captain.

Dynamo St. Petersburg announced it will hold moments of silence for Faizutdinov prior to its upcoming games for the foreseeable future.

NHL forward Jujhar Khaira was knocked out after taking a violent punch during a fight Monday -- and the blow was so vicious, the Oilers player had to leave the game due to injury.

The scrap went down in the 1st period of Edmonton's clash with Calgary ... shortly after Khaira infuriated Flames players by checking Oliver Kylington in the head with his shoulder.

Calgary forward Brett Ritchie hunted Khaira down, got him to drop the gloves for a fight, and then socked him right in the face.

You can see in the clip, Khaira appeared to be KO'd on his feet ... and once the 26-year-old hit the ice, he looked at refs with a completely dazed expression on his face.

Khaira immediately headed for the locker room to be looked at by trainers ... and he did not return to the contest afterward.

Thankfully, in the post-game, Edmonton coach Dave Tippett said he believed Khaira was "feeling all right" and is now just day-to-day dealing with the after-effects of the tilt.

An NHL rink looked more like the UFC octagon Thursday night ... 'cause a Red Wings player was straight-up KNOCKED OUT by one punch in an on-ice fight.

The violent scrap all went down during the Lightning's game against the Red Wings in Detroit ... when things between Tampa Bay's Barclay Goodrow and Detroit's Adam Erne got chippy and escalated quickly.

Late in the 2nd period ... Goodrow checked Erne into the boards -- and Erne didn't take kindly to the shove, throwing his stick at Goodrow's legs.

Goodrow returned the favor by attempting to trip Erne ... and then the guys went at it!!

They dropped the gloves, started swinging ... and a few seconds later, Goodrow landed a haymaker right on Erne's jaw.

You can see in the clip, Erne appeared to be knocked out on his feet ... and in an awesome gesture from Goodrow, the Lightning player held up his opponent by his jersey so his head wouldn't crash down on the ice.

Both players were assessed penalties for fighting ... and Erne had to head to the locker room to get checked out by trainers.

Hockey, man.

Wayne Gretzky was fighting back tears at his father's funeral this weekend -- especially during an emotional eulogy ... where he remembered the man as the ultimate hockey dad.

The NHL legend delivered remarks Saturday at the St. Mark's Anglican Church in Brantford, Ontario shortly after laying Walter Gretzky to rest. Wayne stepped up to the podium in front of a socially distanced crowd in the pews ... and reminisced about Walter's life. The service was limited to family.

He recounted a couple different stories that were pretty heartwarming -- one where Wayne says Walter insisted on going to a hockey tournament when he was young, this despite the fact his wife and Wayne's mom, Phyllis, was due to give birth at any moment.

Sure enough, she popped while he was away with Wayne ... and as people gave Walter a hard time about missing the birth of his own child, he hoisted up the first-place prize that Wayne and co. had won, and proudly said ... "Yes, but we got the trophy."

Wayne went on to remember Walter as an incredibly proud Canadian and hockey's #1 fan. He said he loved his kids and grandkids ... and was always looking to give back to Wayne's fans as he grew in his career.

WG said Walter was not afflicted with COVID, and his death had nothing to do with the virus. He reiterated his dad suffered a bad hip injury as a result of his Parkinson's ... and was already in declining health. He thanked the crowd and those afar for sending food and well-wishes as the family stayed with him for 21 straight days in the hospital until he eventually passed Thursday.

Toward the end of his speech, Wayne choked up and walked off stage ... and the audience gave him a slight round of applause.

Walter was 82.

Sad news out of Canada ... Wayne Gretzky's father, Walter Gretzky, has died after a battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 82.

"It's with deep sadness that Janet and I share the news of the passing of my dad," Wayne said in a statement late Thursday evening.

"He bravely battled Parkinson's and other health issues these last few years, but he never let it get him down."

"For me, he was the reason I fell in love with the game of hockey. He inspired me to be the best I could be not just in the game of hockey, but in life."

The stories about Walter Gretzky's role in Wayne's career are legendary -- he served as The Great One's personal coach growing up, hammering home the fundamentals of the game.

One of his most famous lessons for Wayne focused on ANTICIPATING the action -- skate to where the puck is going, not where it's been.

Walter loved hockey -- but never played at the pro level. He played junior and senior hockey growing up in Canada but realized he wasn't good enough to make a career out of it.

His son, however ... well, we all know how that turned out.

In fact, Walter basically built a shrine to his son at the family home in Ontario -- which somebody actually burglarized back in 2020.

Family members reported roughly $500,000 worth of Wayne Gretzky memorabilia was stolen from the home .. including game-used sticks, jerseys, gloves, pants and even a Player of the Year award.

But, the story had a happy ending for Walter ... after a 3-month investigation, cops recovered a bunch of the items.

Wayne concluded his tribute to his father by saying the family is at peace knowing Wayne has been reunited with his late wife, Phyllis, who passed away in 2005.

Former NHL star Sean Avery busted a man's car mirror during a heated altercation in L.A. Thursday morning ... but he tells TMZ Sports he's the real victim in the situation.

Here's the deal ... law enforcement tells us cops were called out to the 8300 block of the Yucca Trail near West Hollywood around 10 AM to respond to a call of vandalism.

What happened preceding the call, though seems to boil down to two sides.

On one end, there's Niku. On the other, there's Avery ... and both guys claim the other dude was the aggressor in the incident.

Niku says a couple weeks ago, back in mid-February, he got into a confrontation with Avery in the neighborhood after unintentionally blocking the former hockey player down a two-way, one-lane road.

Niku says when he backed up to let Avery by ... the 40-year-old ex-NY Ranger became aggressive, rolled down his window and yelled "slow down you fat f***" over and over.

Niku says he hadn't had any contact with Avery since ... until Thursday morning, when he drove by the NHL player, who was on a jog.

Niku claims Avery recognized him from their February incident, and became incensed, and chased after him.

In video of the incident, you can see what happened next ... Avery caught up to Niku and opened his door -- before Niku quickly pulled it shut.

Niku then rolled down his window and called Avery a "psychopath."

Avery then stood in front of Niku's car ... until Niku drove slowly towards him while honking his horn.

Avery eventually got out of the way, but elbowed the dude's driver's side mirror as he stepped aside.

Avery, though, claims the whole thing was started because Niku hit him while he was jogging.

Avery says he chased Niku down to try to get him to stop ... saying Niku, "Tried to run me over." Avery added, "My leg's a little hurt."

Cops wouldn't reveal any more details from their investigation into the incident Thursday ... only telling us that a report was taken. They added no arrests were made.