from Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice,

After 18 wonderful years, including the last 14 covering the Devils, I am moving on to NHL.com, where I will be a regional writer based in Washington. I'm excited to join the team at NHL.com, but also will miss working at The Record and living in New Jersey, my home state for more than 23 years....

My first year was Wayne Gretzky's last in the NHL. I remember being a little nervous as I introduced myself to him at the start of the Rangers' training camp at the University of Vermont. Gretzky quickly informed me that he already knew who I was.

That shouldn't have been a surprise. Gretzky always took the time to learn people's names and to talk to them. He seemed to understand as well as anyone that talking to the media was part of his job as an ambassador of a game he loved playing.

I was very fortunate while at The Record to have covered as a beat reporter for at least one full season the top three scorers in NHL history – Gretzky, Mark Messier and Jaromir Jagr – and the league's all-time leader in wins and shutouts, Martin Brodeur.

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