We previously reported about Wayne Gretzky appearing in “The Last Traction Hero” as a guest star, but it has been confirmed he’ll appear in the christmas episode “The Nightmare After Krustmas“, the 10th episode of season 28, scheduled to air December 11, 2016.

Al Jean, in an interview with the NHL site, says: “We reached out to him. We were looking for heroes of the winter like Santa Claus and Jack Frost, and there couldn’t be a bigger hockey hero than Wayne Gretzky.”

#TheGreatOne on @TheSimpsons?! pic.twitter.com/hLpLx09nhM

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 17, 2016

“People argue about a lot of things, but they never argue about who’s the greatest hockey player. It’s always him. I don’t think there is anybody better at anything that Gretzky is as a hockey player. He had a lot of great stories and it was a real pleasure to meet him.” Gretzky recorded his part in the summer.

Jean lived in Michigan and is a Detroit Red Wings fan. “We just did a list (of athletes on the show). [Gretzky is] one of my favorites. I would say the only one that rivals him in terms of success in their sport is the Williams sisters (Serena and Venus) in tennis, and Magic Johnson in the NBA.”

This is the first time a hockey player will guest star in the show. “We had to get permission, and his wife, Colleen, thought it was a great idea to use him in the show. Growing up a big Red Wings fan, there’s nobody bigger than Gordie.

Jean concludes: “My dad has had season tickets at Joe Louis Arena for pretty much the whole run of Joe Louis Arena. He got the tickets back when they weren’t a good team, and we saw the whole rise and Stanley Cups. When the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup for the first time in my life in 1997, that was one of one of the highlights of my life, to go with my dad to that game. We have a lot of Canadians on the staff and a lot of hockey fans. A lot of us grew up in the northern U.S. or Canada.”

Source: NHL.com