For the first time in his NHL career, Gretzky was not named captain, although he briefly wore the captain's 'C' in 1998 when captain Brian Leetch was injured and out of the lineup.
=== New York Rangers (1996–1999) ===Gretzky je svojo profesionalno hokejski kariero zaključil pri New York Rangersih, kjer je odigral zadnje tri sezone, s klubom pa se je uvrstil v konferenčni finale v sezoni 1996/97.