Gretzky celebrates Stars, coy on series vs. Oilers

DALLAS -- Wayne Gretzky was in the Dallas Stars locker room congratulating them after they advanced to their third consecutive Western Conference final, where they will face the franchise with which "The Great One" was a four-time Stanley Cup champion.

"He said we're going up against a pretty good team now," Stars captain Jamie Benn said Tuesday, the day before hosting Game 1 against Edmonton. "And I had to ask him who he was cheering for. It felt right, and he didn't answer, obviously."

Benn said it was "pretty cool" that Gretzky visited the Stars after their 2-1 overtime win Saturday night over Winnipeg that set up a West final rematch against the Oilers.

Edmonton won the West final over the Stars in six games last year, then lost to Florida in a seven-game Stanley Cup Final.

"What a great honor to have the greatest player of all time come down after the game and say hello," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said.

Gretzky told the Stars he had so much fun watching them play, and that they were now going to play "one of the greatest teams ever."

DeBoer was on the coaching staff for Canada for the team's 4 Nations Face-Off title earlier this year, and during that period got to spend some time with Gretzky.

"Extra special. That's my era. That's the guy we all grew up watching," DeBoer said. "He's a special guy when you get him 1-on-1 or in a coach's room or behind the scenes. You can see his passion for the game. He can sit and talk hockey and tell stories all night."

Gretzky was part of four Stanley Cup titles in a five-season span in the 1980s with Edmonton. He was the NHL career-leading goal scorer with 894 goals until Alex Ovechkin passed him on April 6, but still has the most points (2,857) and assists (1,963).

So when meeting the Stars and DeBoer, did Gretzky say anything that would create headlines in Edmonton, like saying he was hoping Dallas would win?

"He didn't. He would never say that and I would never put him in that spot," DeBoer said. "He was very respectful of our group and the job we'd done to that point. I think we all understand his allegiance to Edmonton and appreciate that, so he never went beyond that."