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“Am I hot? Yeah, I’m hot. Because I’m tired of people taking shots at Canadian hockey.”
— Wayne Gretzky, 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City
Canadians angry with Trump’s America have found a new object of derision: Wayne Gretzky. Has the Great One’s affinity for U.S. President Donald Trump permanently ruined his relationship with Canada?
The Macro
I didn’t pay much attention when Wayne Gretzky strolled out to centre ice before the 4 Nations Face-Off final game between Canada and the U.S. on Feb. 27. I was watching the game in a packed bar in Toronto and was far too stressed out to worry about the politics that followed Gretzky onto the ice as honorary captain of Team Canada.
However, it seems quite a few hockey fans felt it was wrong to have him represent Canada given how chummy he’s been with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Fans at the game in Boston booed him when he came out to centre ice. After the game, many other fans pilloried the Great One on social media as a “traitor.”
Very quickly, here is the source of all the anger: since Trump won last fall’s election, Gretzky has spent a lot of time with the president. He attended Trump’s election night blow-out at Mar-a-Lago and was an invited guest for the inauguration in January. Gretzky’s wife, Janet, posted a photo on Instagram of the two men to congratulate Trump on winning the election.
Former NHL player Wayne Gretzky, right, and his wife, Janet Jones, arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 20. (Kevin Lamarque / Pool / The Associated Press files)
And then, at a news conference in January at which he outlined his plans for punitive tariffs on Canadian imports to the U.S., Trump singled out Gretzky for accolades.
“I said, ‘Run for prime minister, you’ll win — it will take about two seconds.’” Trump then went on to recount how Gretzky asked whether he should run for prime minister or governor, an acknowledgement Trump has continued to muse about absorbing Canada as the 51st state.
“I said, ‘Let’s make it governor. I like it better.’”
In the tidal wave of criticism Gretzky has received, there have been some other issues raised. Fans were miffed he was not wearing a Team Canada jersey at the final, while honorary U.S. captain Mike Eurizone — of Lake Placid “Miracle on Ice” fame — was. Some fans also took issue with the fact Gretzky gave the thumbs-up sign to the U.S. bench, whose players were applauding Gretzky’s appearance.
I don’t put much stock in either of those concerns. I think it’s fine to question the decision to ask Gretzky to represent Canada given all that is going on between the two countries. But let’s not dislocate a shoulder trying to stretch to find new complaints.
There is one concern I do think is worth mentioning.
CBC presenter Tom Harrington pointed out on X that Gretzky was not wearing his Companion of the Order of Canada lapel pin when he appeared at the game. He is one of only 136 recipients of this, the highest national honor bestowed upon Canadians. Harrington mentioned that Canadian actor Martin Short did wear his OOC pin when he appeared at the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary show earlier this month.
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Toronto-based journalist Patricia Treble, who writes about all things Royal, noted that Gretzky didn’t wear his pin because he has never picked it up. All OOC appointees need to be formally invested in a ceremony in Ottawa, and Gretzky has never made the time to visit Rideau Hall.
(It should be noted former hockey great Mario Lemieux, an officer of the Order of Canada, was not wearing his pin when he appeared as honorary Captain at the first Canada-U.S. game in Montreal a week earlier. However, Lemieux did visit Rideau Hall to be invested, so he at least has his pin.)
The tarnishing of the Gretzky legacy is a sad story, made particularly sad because I have always thought Gretzky produced one of the all-time greatest speeches about Canadian hockey.
It was the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and Gretzky, executive director of Team Canada, held a news conference at which he alleged tournament organizers were out to stop the Canadians from winning gold. His angry, “us-against-the-world” rant during a pre-game news conference is widely credited with motivating Team Canada to capture gold.
I borrowed one quote for the beginning of my newsletter. But here is, I would argue, the seminal excerpt from that news conference:
“I don’t think we dislike those other countries as much as they hate us. They don’t like us, they want to see us fail, they love beating us. They may tell you something different, but when you’re on the ice, that’s what they say. They don’t like us.
“We gotta get that same feeling towards them.”
Would the 2002 Gretzky have cozied up with a wannabe despot keen to consume and eradicate Canada as a sovereign nation? Highly unlikely.
Only one thing is certain: Gretzky will never become prime minister. And it would take about two seconds after the polls closed for that to become clear.
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