One thought kept popping up in Wayne Gretzky's mind during the past few weeks:

It's time.

While no one wanted to see hockey's greatest player retire from the game he loved, many knew - including Gretzky himself - that time had come for The Great One to step aside.

Gretzky couldn't have been more right. The greatest player in the world scored just nine goals and 52 assists this season. That's a far cry from the NHL-record 215 points he recorded in his heyday during the 1980s. Sure, this isn't the same NHL as it was back then. There were only three 100-point scorers in the league this year. But the signs of Gretzky slowing down have been apparent for the past couple of seasons.

The scoring numbers haven't been there. Neither has the energy. Even during the first game this season, Gretzky looked tired and worn out. One particular shot on ESPN of Gretzky during the Rangers' first game against the Philadelphia Flyers told the story. After play stopped early in the game, the cameras caught a glimpse of Wayne leaning on the Rangers net, huffing and puffing and looking as if it was the last game of the season. It was obvious the years of scoring had taken their toll on The Great One.

It was sad to see Gretzky looking so old and so ragged in the first game of the year. Upon viewing that shot of him, one had to feel that this would be the last go-round for No. 99.

Gretzky was no longer Gretzky. He wasn't scoring the points. He wasn't winning. But most important was the fact that he wasn't dominating the game like he once did.

By the end of the season, it was clear Gretzky had had enough.

"I'm at peace of mind," Gretzky said. "It's the right decision. This is the right time. As I said this was not something that was decided in a week. I've thought about this for a long time.

"I just started to feel the fatigue mentally and physically that I've never felt before. I started questioning myself about it."

This season had to be particularly frustrating for Gretzky. Not only did his team not make the playoffs, but he had the worst year statistically of his career. His total of nine goals was the worst of his NHL career, and the fewest goals he scored since he was 12 years old.

Gretzky desperately wanted to lead the Rangers into the playoffs. It was the reason he went to New York in the first place. It was supposed to be his stage. He wanted to tell his teammmates to climb on his back and enjoy the ride to postseason magic. Unfortunately, Gretzky found he was no longer able to carry a team, no matter how much desire he showed. The skills and stamina were no longer there.

As the season went along, Gretzky slowed down more and more. The images of the greatest hockey player in the world sitting on the bench in pain with a heating pad wrapped around his neck were hard to swallow.

No one wants to remember Gretzky's career like that. They'd rather remember him for the four Stanley Cups he won in Edmonton or the brilliant playoff run he had in Los Angeles. That's also what Gretzky wants people to remember him for.

"You know, as I said to (Rangers coach) John (Muckler) on Tuesday, I want to be remembered - especially in his mind and to the hockey fans, that when he looked at me that I was contributing the way he always envisioned. That's why it's time to leave now -- because he still taps me on the shoulder."

Comments like those remind many of another NHL superstar who left the game a few years ago. Mario Lemieux left the game in his early 30s. He exited the same year he won an Art Ross Trophy for the league's top scorer. Lemieux could have played several more seasons, but he didn't want to be an average player, or above-average for that matter. Lemieux wanted people to remember him when he was on the top of his game.

Lemieux, who surprised Gretzky by showing up at his last game despite calling and telling him he couldn't make it the night before, said he almost cried several times during Gretzky's final skate around Madison Square Garden. But Lemieux said he was happy Gretzky decided to retire when he did.

"It's always a year too soon when you see a great player retire," he said after the game. "You always think they can play until they're 40 or 45 years old. But there comes a time when you step back and realize that maybe you're not the player you were years ago. That's always frustrating for a great athlete."

Even though Gretzky knew it was time to leave the game he loved, he still struggled with the realization that he had played his last National Hockey League game. Nearly an hour after the overtime loss to the Penguins, Gretzky was still in full uniform, shoulder pads, jersey, pants and all, when he addressed a room full of media members. It seemed like the man who spent most of the last 35 years in a hockey jersey didn't want to take it off for the final time.

"Probably subconsciously I don't want to take it off," Gretzky said. "I'm not gonna put it on ever again. It's hard. It's hard to take it off right now. I have to be honest with you. I don't want to take it off.

"You know, I said a million times, I was a boy that happened to love a game and got lucky that the good Lord gave me a passion for it. And I happen to follow some boyhood idols who were great NHL players. And I said many times, everything I have in my life I owe to the National Hockey League. I wouldn't have anything without it."

Wear the jersey as long as you want, Wayne. You might not have had anything without the National Hockey League, but the NHL would have been nothing without you.

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