Mike Gartner was shocked when he got the call from his good friend Jim Gregory, chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee, saying Gartner was going to be inducted into the Hall in 2001. But anyone who watched Gartner play during his NHL career knows that the right winger knew it was only a matter of time.
"It was just around noon and I was in the offices here (in Toronto) and was on my way down to the Hockey Hall of Fame, ironically, because the Pearson Award presentation was going to go on at that day at around 12:30 or 1 p.m. So, just as I was walking out of the office I got a call from Jim Gregory and Jim informed me of the great news," Gartner recalled.
"Actually, I'm not too often at a loss for words, but I was for several seconds and Jim said to me; ?Are you still there Mike?' I said; 'I'm here Jim, I'm just a little taken back by this whole thing.' It was a lot of fun. I know Jim a lot of years and it was great getting the call from him."
But the memories from that day didn't end with the phone call. Gartner still had to go to the Hall for the Pearson Award presentation and after the ceremony was over, he took a walk through the hockey shrine, trying to take in what had just happened to him earlier in the day.
"It gives you a little different perspective as you're walking in and looking around at all the displays they had going into the Great Hall and seeing where all the honored members were. It was pretty cool and I thought; 'Hey I'm going to be here someday soon,' and I just looked around a little harder than I had in the past.?
Gartner's stroll through the Hall also made him realize just how permanent an honor induction is.
2001 Hall of Fame Inductions
Editor's note: There's nothing more self-fulfilling to a hockey player than to be elected to the Hall of Fame. On Monday November 12, Four new members, Viacheslav Fetisov, Mike Gartner, Dale Hawerchuk and Jari Kurri, will be inducted into the Hall in the Player Category. Pittsburgh Penguin GM, Craig Patrick, will also enter the Hall, as he will be honored in the Builder Category.
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"Getting inducted into the Hall of Fame is really something that's very unique in that it's like a life-long achievement,? he said. ?It's not a moment. It's not a series. It's not a goal. It's a life-long achievement. It's something you have to work hard at for a long period of time and I think because of that it makes it more special to be included in that group and knowing that there are some great players that aren't in the Hall of Fame."
Gartner had the pleasure of watching and playing against three Hall of Famer forwards -- Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and Darryl Sittler -- growing up, and he tried to take whatever he could out of their games and add it to his arsenal.
"When I was watching hockey as a kid, Gordie Howe was a player that I looked up to," Gartner said. "He was a right winger and I was a right winger and I played right wing my entire life from the first day I started playing to the last day. That was the only position I ever played. So, watching Gordie Howe at the end of his career and then actually playing against him in the WHA and playing with him in the WHA All-star Game was also a huge thrill as well as Bobby Hull, once again a winger that used a great shot and some great speed to create a lot of goals and a lot excitement out there.
"These were two guys I watched early and then there was Darryl Sittler who I watched when I was a little bit older and Darryl being right here in Toronto was someone that I looked up to and loved watching play. Even though he was a centerman, I loved watching him because of his competitiveness and his skill."
Gartner used his own competitiveness and skill to perform his magic on the ice for 19 years in the National Hockey League. Before coming to the NHL, the high-scoring forward established himself in the WHA with the Cincinnati Stingers during he 1978-79 season, when he finished as the runner-up for top rookie honors to another future Hall of Famer, Wayne Gretzky.
Following his rookie campaign, where he notched 27 goals and 25 assists in 78 games for the Stingers, the WHA and NHL merged and Gartner, who was drafted fourth overall during the 1979 Entry Draft, joined the Washington Capitals.
The speedy winger, who has two Fastest Skater's title's from the NHL's SuperSkills competitions to his credit, made an instant impact on his new team, as he led the Capitals in both goals (36) and points (68) during his freshman year. Over the next 18 seasons, the Ottawa native went on to play for five different NHL clubs -- the Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Phoenix Coyotes -- notching 708 goals and 627 assists for 1,335 total points. During his standout career Gartner set NHL records by registering an astonishing 15 consecutive (17 total) 30-plus goal seasons. During his first nine seasons in the League, Gartner never scored fewer than 35 goals for the Caps, hitting the half-century mark during the 1984-85 season.
"I was someone that loved playing the game," Gartner said. "I competed hard I believe every night. I used my speed to create a lot of opportunities for me. In the early part of my career I used my speed to drive wide and used my shot that was pretty accurate and fairly hard. I like to think that I was a fairly dangerous player when I had the puck."
When asked to pick his greatest individual achievement on the ice as a player, the modest Hall of Famer had a tough time, as he views the world's greatest game as a team sport and not an individual competition.
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A seven time All-Star, Gartner also has two Fastest Skater's title's from the NHL's SuperSkills competitions to his credit.
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"As an individual, it's always hard because you play a team sport, probably the greatest team sport there is,? he said. ?But as an individual all the NHL records that I hold -- there aren't too many that Wayne doesn't own? but I do own a couple with one being the 15 consecutive 30-goal seasons and the 17 total 30-goal seasons. They're something I feel pretty proud of just simply because it's something that I always strove for and that was consistency as a player and as a person. I think that's reflective of who I am."
The three year waiting period required in order to be eligible for Hall induction has allowed Gartner to take a good long look at what he accomplished on the ice.
"I think the three-year waiting period was an important component in this in that it gave me time to reflect," Gartner said. "As a current player I never had that time to reflect. You don't have the time nor do you want to sit back and think about things that have happened. But when you're out of the game, you do have that time and I think that's an important thing to realize that yeah this was a pretty special opportunity that was given to me and it's pretty special that I was able to be elected into the Hall of Fame."
As for selecting his greatest on-ice memory, Gartner fond a few.
"I don't know if I can pick one particular memory, but there are a few that stand out. I think our Canada Cup victory when I was representing Canada in 1987 in the three-game series over the Russians when that was still such a huge rivalry and being part of that and being part of a team that we can say we were that we were the best team in the world at that time was certainly a highlight.
"Scoring my five and six hundredth goal at Madison Square Garden was a huge highlight for me as a Ranger and the seven hundredth goal with Phoenix in Phoenix at that time was a big thrill. I think those few things were moments I guess that stand out."
Gartner also has fond memories of the long lost Patrick Division that he used to play in as a member of the Washington Capitals.
"We had some really tough opponents during the first part of my career that I played in Washington when I used to play in the old Patrick Division, playing against Philadelphia, the Islanders, the Rangers and Pittsburgh time after time after time after time," he said. "I think the one year we must have played against the Islanders at least a dozen times and played against them in the playoffs again."
Speaking of the Islanders, Gartner recalls the tough times he used to have playing against Clark Gillies, the New York forward who was always opposite him on the ice whenever the Caps faced-off against the Isles.
"Certainly playing against a guy like Clark Gillies was always hard for me because I've played against him -- or should I say he played against me -- every single shift that I was on the ice," Gartner said. "He was bigger than me. He was stronger than I was, but he had to catch me first. That was the only thing I had going for me against him. It was hard playing against him and with Denis Potvin, too. It seemed like when I finally got past Clark Gilles than I would run into Denis. Denis was such a great player and he's also an extremely tough competitor and once again is someone that made you pay the price all the time. But even though it was hard playing against them, I loved it because I knew that if I wasn't on my game that nothing was going to happen that night. Especially too after I finally got it all done and got by those guys and Billy Smith was in nets."
But don't let him fool you, Gartner always found a way to put the biscuit in the basket during his astronomical career and for that he is deservedly honored by a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
