He was joined by his wife, Janet, and their three children, Paulina, Ty and Trevor.
Kings owner Bruce McNall surprised Gretzky with a shiny black Rolls Royce convertible that was driven onto the ice.
"I really feel a little embarrassed standing here and getting this car," Gretzky said. "It's a little overwhelming, but I'll take it."
The Mighty Ducks presented Gretzky with a plaque, and it was announced that renowned sports artist LeRoy Neiman was painting a picture for Gretzky to commemorate the record goal.
"It's been a really tremendous time of my life these last six years," Gretzky told the crowd. "It's the best decision I ever made in my life to come down here. I hope to play for a lot more years."
Howe cited family commitments and did not attend.
In other news:
MOGILNY: COURT HEARING
Buffalo Sabres forward Alexander Mogilny testified that he feared for his life when a Russian countryman who helped him defect in 1989 confronted him last week and demanded $150,000. Town Court Justice Sam Maislin ruled there was enough evidence to send an extortion case against Sergey Fomitov to a grand jury.
Mogilny said Fomitov followed him to a restaurant in the Buffalo suburb of Amherst, N.Y., and threatened him after practice Friday. Fomitov demanded the money and said he had a gun in his jacket pocket, Mogilny testified.
"He said, 'I know in sports how important legs are,' " Mogilny said. "I knew then he was threatening me, maybe to stab me in the legs or shoot me in the back or shoot me in the legs."
Fomitov's attorney, Robert Riordan, said his client just needed to borrow money.
