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Not to belabor the Brett Favre thing (who are we kidding), but it was undeniably striking to see him line up opposite the green and yellow of the Packers. It was strange to see Michael Jordan wearing a Wizards uniform for the first time. It was odd to watch Roger Clemens wearing a Blue Jays uniform ... and increasingly less odd to see him sign on the dotted line for the Yankees and Astros. But none of those situations changed an entire league the same way Wayne Gretzky did when he donned a Kings sweater for the first time.

ESPN Films' "30 for 30" series comes to life tonight (ESPN 8 p.m. ET), with acclaimed director Peter Berg's documentary (click here to listen to Berg's podcast visit with Bill Simmons) on how the Great One's trading Stanley Cup glory in Edmonton for Los Angeles affected both his career and the NHL itself.

Meanwhile, on the ice, the Kings opened this season by losing to the Coyotes. Then again, the Coyotes won each of their last three season openers when Gretzky was behind the bench. It was the other 81 games that seemed to give the team trouble.

• Your Power Rankings: Are the Coyotes no longer the worst team in the league?
• Peter Berg Chat: The director talks about "Kings Ransom" with SportsNation, 5:30 ET
• NHL Chats: E.J. Hradek talks opening week, 3 ET | Scott Burnside's Monday wrap

“

It's not like the Coyotes are as weak as they have been. They kinda WERE BUSY during the off-season as far as signings go. It's not like they spent the whole off-season in the courtroom, THEY DID MAKE SIGNINGS. And some damn good ones at that. The Kings are a potential playoff team, but there's no shame in losing to the 'Yotes at this point.

” -- stl_iceman

• Vote: Pick the Hart, Vezina, Norris, Calder and Jack Adams winners.
• Vote: Pick the division, conference and Stanley Cup winners.
• Your Power Rankings: Do the Penguins open the season No. 1?

Believe it or not, the start of the NHL regular season is just about a week away. No, seriously, we're not kidding. We know the leaves haven't turned and summer doesn't actually end until today, but what the heck, it's been, what, at least three or four weeks since the Penguins won the Stanley Cup, right?

Then again, maybe that short offseason helps keep the NHL fresh in SportsNation's mind. A year ago, voters correctly predicted the Red Wings to win the Western Conference and made the Penguins their second choice, behind the Red Wings, to win it all.

Blackhawks star Patrick Kane and ESPN.com writer Scott Burnside stopped by chat Monday to help SportsNation get its ice legs before jetting off to Europe (Burnside to Stockholm for the Red Wings and Blues and Kane to Helsinki for the Blackhawks and Panthers).

Jason (Ellicott City, MD)

You are only rated an 86 in NHL. What is up with that?

Patrick Kane

I think an 86 is pretty good to be honest with you. I think the highest are Crosby and 94 and Ovechkin at 92. I thought I'd be better than Teows, but I am still on the cover. I got him by that. Full transcript

AJ (Champaign, Ill.)

How do the Blackhawks avoid a lull in their performance after they return from Finland?

Scott Burnside

AJ; Good question. The European experiment has been decidedly mixed in terms of how it affects teams. All four coaches who went last year got fired although the Pens did end up winning a Cup. I think the 'Hawks' youth and the nice steady hand of head coach Joel Quenneville will keep them from going off the rails when they get back from Finland. Full transcript