Drop the Puck

NHL teams

In Edmonton Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 jersey was retired before the Oilers and the New York Rangers skated to a 1-1 tie despite the new format overtime.

The defending champion Stars start the new season with a new and younger look. Gone are Pat Verbeek, Dave Reid, Craig Ludwig, Tony Hrkac and Roman Turek. New faces include touted youngsters Jamie Pushor, Juha Lind and Pavel Patera.

"This isn't a whole new offensive system," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "This is just a system that's based on more use of what we have as a team. We have more speed, so let's make better use of it. We're trying to become more of a team that's going to come out cleaner, rather than jam it in areas and try to jam it out.

Edmonton will honor the greatest hockey player ever Wayne Gretzky by lifting jersey to the ceiling of the rink where he helped the Oilers win four Stanley Cups.

Earlier Gretzky will officially change the name of the expressway that runs past the Skyreach Center to Wayne Gretzky Drive. Authorities are expecting 15,000 people to attend the ceremony in front of the City Hall.