McDavid and Gretzky Fittingly Steal Show at NHL All-Star Weekend

During a weekend spectacle built around honouring the greatest players in the history of the NHL, it was all too fitting that The Great One and The Next One stole the show.

In his first career All-Star Game (now in tournament format), Connor McDavid had four points over two frames of 3-on-3, including a beautiful goal in each. Despite the Pacific Division's captain all but putting his team on his back, McDavid's squad fell short to the Wayne Gretzky-coached Metropolitan Division team in the final.

There's a reason why Gretzky called him the best 19-year-old he's ever seen.

Gretzky, of course, was a huge part of the weekend celebrations, but the former King was much more than a passive bystander in his return to Los Angeles. After head coach John Tortorella pulled out of the event to care for his ailing dog, Gretzky stepped in as a last-minute replacement behind the bench and quickly made it clear he was coaching to win.

Never was this more evident than when Gretzky pulled out the coach's challenge on a controversial goal in the final game against McDavid's Team Pacific. The Great One used the challenge (generally meant for use in games that actually mean something) and had a call reversed as it was ruled offside after review. The Metropolitan team went on to win the game 4-3, and that reversed goal proved to be the difference.

As much fun as All-Star weekend is, seeing Gretzky's competitive juices take over with a chance to win on the line was so gloriously refreshing. The fact that the King of California hockey put up that kind of coaching performance in his return to the Staples Center was something special, too. Gretzky was the camera's best friend throughout the whole event, and several moments were captured of The Great One's priceless reactions behind the bench.

Please enjoy this never ending loop of Wayne Gretzky laughing while coaching at the All-Star Game. — nope (@myregularface)January 30, 2017

As the one player almost everyone can agree has the best chance to be the Gretzky of the next century, McDavid has one extra skill set that the great one never quite had. Speed. So much speed. The 20-year-old crushed Nathan MacKinnon (one of the fastest players in the league) by six-tenths of a second (13.02 to 13.62) in the fastest skater challenge. After winning on a modified lap route, McDavid chose to challenge Dylan Larkin's record mark of 13.17, but fell just short—though Larkin did have a skating start in the 2016 event.

As the youngest captain in league history put on a performance in front of the the greatest player to ever live, a large contingent of the NHL's recently named top 100 players of all time looked on from the stands. It was the perfect passing of the torch and a fitting transition into the next era.

With studs like McDavid, Patrik Laine and Auston Matthews already making signigicant impacts, it's clear there will be no shortage of talent to choose from when the NHL selects its next crop of the 100 greatest players.

[CBC]