RALEIGH, N.C. – Want to know how busy Wayne Gretzky was on his first day as part-owner and head of hockey operations for the Phoenix Coyotes?

Saluting No. 99

The buzz around Raleigh before the Hurricanes-Coyotes game Friday was that walk-up sales in response to Gretzky's appearance at the game might result in a rare full house. Unfortunately, the hype went unmet as just 13,812 showed up. But those who did made Gretzky feel like it was a frenzied sellout when he came out in between the first and second period for a special banner raising ceremony in his honor. Gretzky received a long and sustained standing ovation -- which accompanied a video tribute to the Great One -- and he was clearly surprised and moved by the fan reaction. He might be Wayne Gretzky, but he never played for Carolina and only skated in Carolina a few times in his career. After the crowd settled down, and Gretzky's on-ice accomplishments were rattled off, Gretzky addressed the crowd. "If I had known you would be this nice to me tonight, I would have brought my skates with me," he joked. The Hurricanes were fully prepared for Gretzky's arrival -- it's tough to make a huge banner and video tribute in a day -- because the organization anticipated the possibility of Gretzky being in Raleigh as soon as the last set of deadlines were established for the sale of the Coyotes to the group Gretzky was involved in. All went according to plan (finally) with the sale, and the Hurricanes got to utilize Gretzky as a means to generate interest in the game.

After fielding questions in a news conference call Thursday night, Gretzky flew overnight to North Carolina to meet with the team before Friday night's Coyotes-Hurricanes game. The Great One arrived at around 5:30 a.m. ET and was accompanied by Cliff Fletcher, whom Gretzky has hired to be his consultant on player-personnel issues.

Television cameras were at the ready for the Coyotes' pre-game skate, but neither Gretzky nor Fletcher attended. According to team sources, Gretzky had a set of meetings and stayed away from the media because he needed to take care of a few basics, such as meeting the coach of the team.

That's right, Gretzky still hadn't met Coyotes head coach Bob Francis, who also skipped the morning skate.

Gretzky finally met with the team at a pre-game meal Friday afternoon.

"It was great to be around players again. It's my life. I love hockey," he said. "As a player, I never thought of myself any differently than any other guys, and now, in the position that I'm in, I'm part of the organization and I don't feel any differently.

"The only difference now is I'm helping pay for the meals. I haven't been in a team meal for two years and the food is exactly the same."

What did Gretzky say to the team?

"We talked about tee times," Jeremy Roenick joked.

On a serious note, captain Keith Tkachuk said the team will embrace the pressure that will accompany playing for one of the greatest players in the history of the game.

"I think it's great, it's what our team needs," Tkachuk said. "He's a winner and he demands a lot. Most of the guys will tell you no, but as a player you want to impress your boss, especially a legend who knows what it takes to win."

At the morning skate, several Coyotes spoke more freely about Gretzky's arrival.

Playing for The Great One

With Wayne Gretzky at the helm, the Coyotes will no longer be able to hide their heads in the sand after sub-par performances. The Great One and his ventures garner plenty of attention from fans and media. "I always thought that pressure was good and pressure makes you a better player," Gretzky said. "When I played in Edmonton, L.A. and New York, pressure was part of being a professional athlete. It's a lot more fun having people wanting to know about your team and people wanting to follow your team. It should make you a better player and more accountable. "There are probably no more off nights for this team. I think they are going to find there will be a media frenzy they haven't seen in the past, but they're professionals."

"I didn't expect it to take this long," said Claude Lemieux, who, literally, had a vested interest because he was playing for the league minimum while waiting for Gretzky's group to take over. It is expected that Lemieux will soon sign a new contract.

"But if you're going to play for someone, any kid in the world would want to play for Wayne Gretzky's team," he said.

Lemieux spoke with Gretzky on Thursday and said Gretzky was excited to "finally do what he wanted to do." Lemieux wouldn't elaborate on his contract status, other than to say, "We will all be rewarded in the end."

The players realize that Gretzky has a lot on his plate. And although the resounding chorus was "players play, managers manage," the consensus was that the players would like to see such things as the goalie situation and any potential trades settled quickly.

"The faster they make decisions, the better it is for the team," defenseman Teppo Numminen said.

Goalie Sean Burke finds himself in the middle of one of the more important question marks, namely whether the Coyotes will sign holdout goalie Nikolai Khabibulin. Both Burke and Khabibulin are established No. 1 goalies, and the team can't afford to keep them both.

Burke, no doubt dreading questions about his situation, declined to address the media on a game day. He wasn't scheduled to start Friday because of a sore knee but is expected to return to the lineup Sunday at home against Calgary.

"I don't talk on game days, guys," Burke said after the optional skate. He was the last to leave the ice after getting some extra work in.

The Hurricanes are reaping the benefit of Gretzky's pending appearance for the game. It is expected to be a near-sellout, and the Hurricanes hastily planned a ceremony honoring Gretzky.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.