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It has been a tough hockey season for fans of the late Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes (1996-2024) with the team currently inactive after its hockey assets were sold to the league’s newest franchise, the Utah Hockey Club.

However, Wayne Gretzky told a story that may have made it even worse for those fans, revealing on Wednesday night’s broadcast on TNT that the Yotes nearly drafted Patrick Kane.

…or, at least thought they’d get the chance .

Patrick Kane and the Detroit Red Wings paid a visit to his old Chicago stomping grounds to play the Chicago Blackhawks, the team that drafted him and with whom he won three Stanley Cups.

So, Gretzky decided that this was as good a time as any for storytime.

Wayne Gretzky told the story of the brief moment he thought that Patrick Kane was going to be a Coyote. (Getty Images)

For A Brief Moment it Looked like Kane Was Headed To The Desert

Gretzky said that back in 2007 when he was coaching the Coyotes, the team was gearing up for the NHL Draft Lottery. However, this was before the Draft Lottery was a primetime schedule given that this was the dark times when the post-lockout NHL was still sequestered to Outdoor Life Network.

So, instead, the results were announced with a simple conference call.

“Not a lot of people know this, but in ‘07 when he got drafted, we had the lottery and we did it by telephone,” the Great One said. “And the guy actually said on the telephone, ’The first pick goes to the Phoenix Coyotes,’ and then he goes, ‘Oh, I got it wrong, it’s the Chicago Blackhawks.”

The Coyotes wound up picking third in that draft behind the Blackhawks who selected Kane at No. 1 and the Philadelphia Flyers who took James van Riemsdyk at No. 2. The Yotes selected Kyle Turris, who actually came into the draft as the top-ranked player according to the NHL Central Scounting’s final rankings.

Of course, while Turris turned into a good player, he’s not a Hall of Fame shoo-in with three Stanley Cups to his name like Patrick Kane is.

“Patrick Kane became a generational player, obviously, it was an honest mistake. The guy misread the ball.”

Man, can you imagine the butterfly effect Kane going to the desert would have had on the NHL? It would have been huge.

But still, what a story. I would listen to a podcast that is nothing by Wayne-O weaving yarns, because that guy has some unreal stories. Of course, he’s the best player ever, but he bridges the gap between different hockey eras.