How many NHL teams did Wayne Gretzky play for? He played for four NHL teams: the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and New York Rangers. He appeared for those teams during a 20-season NHL career from 1979 to 1999.
Gretzky spent most of his career with Edmonton, where he won four Stanley Cups and became the league’s defining superstar. The Oilers traded him to Los Angeles in 1988, a move that helped expand hockey’s profile in Southern California and across the United States.
Late in his career, Gretzky briefly played for the St. Louis Blues after a 1996 trade, then signed with the New York Rangers. He never played for the Edmonton Oilers after the 1988 trade, although the club later retired his number and he eventually returned to Edmonton in an executive role. Junior and international teams are not included in this NHL-only count.