Leafs Missed Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky wanted to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs when he was a free agent 13 months ago, but the team’s owners decided against it, according to Cliff Fletcher, the Leafs’ former president and general manager.

The league’s all-time leading scorer would have signed a Toronto contract for less money - about $4 million - than he eventually accepted to join the Rangers.

Fletcher said the club’s executive committee “felt that we were going in a different direction at that time.”

The Leafs missed the playoffs last season while Gretzky was fifth in the league in scoring and led New York into the third round of the playoffs.

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Mike Vernon, winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the 1997 playoff MVP, will be traded to the San Jose Sharks for draft picks, according to published reports.

Booth News Service cited NHL sources who said the deal could be announced today. Detroit would receive two second-round picks, the report said.

An NHL arbitrator ruled that the Philadelphia Flyers’ five-year, $16.5-million offer to Tampa Bay center Chris Gratton, a restricted free agent, was valid.

The decision voids a trade between the Lightning and Chicago, leaving Tampa Bay with one week to match the Flyers’ offer or accept five first-round draft picks from Philadelphia as compensation.