LEAVE WAYNE GRETZKY ALONE AS A LOVELY AMERICAN WHO SEES A 51ST STATE IN CANADA
They no longer worship the legend in his native land, thanks to his bond with President Trump, and though Gretzky roots for Alex Ovechkin as he breaks his goal-scoring mark, he feels disgrace up north
He supports Vladimir Putin on his Instagram page, with a side-by-side photo. Wouldn’t this diminish Alexander Ovechkin as a man who will stand behind his government in the Ukraine invasion? “Well, he's my president. Like, I am Russian, right?” he said.
Yet, it’s still possible Ovechkin will be hailed in America beyond Wayne Gretzky. In a matter of days, or hours, he will score nine times and pass The Great One as the NHL’s all-time goal scorer. We will celebrate his unstoppable shot and gray hair and ask why he totaled 895 goals just as he turns 40, after Gretzky retired. In the world of Donald Trump, Gretzky somehow is seen as more confrontational today — never have we written such a word in his context — because he is a naturalized turncoat and a U.S. citizen.
Canada carried a grudge when he was traded to Los Angeles, where he turned hockey into a western-and-southern novelty when the Zamboni ran as temperatures exceeded 75. Now, Gretzky is seen up north as a Trump pal and MAGA coward who hung at Mar-a-Lago during the election and inauguration, which came before the President imposed tariffs and described Canada as “the 51st state.” Ovechkin will tally his historic winner and be saluted throughout the world, with no thoughts about Putin.
Sadly, because Gretzky is humble and proud, he will be loathed across the border and viewed curiously by Americans. He lives in Westlake Village, near Malibu, and belongs to a country club where his name is in the locker room. His wife is Janet, who played roles in movies. One of his daughters is Paulina, famous online for various reasons, and she is married to golf star Dustin Johnson. The Great One is a cool American who has no better friend than Charles Barkley. He serves as a lead studio analyst on TNT and is a major fan of Ovechkin, who recently said, “It's great. Even when I have a slump, he will sometimes text me and say, ‘Don't worry about it. It will come.’ He's on my side. If that kind of person is rooting for me, it's pretty cool stuff. He's the best player out there and he's a great human. He supports me and it's a pretty cool thing.”
They’d prefer to banish him in Canada, where Gretzky was the legend of legends after growing up on the outdoor Ontario rinks of Brantford and leading the Edmonton Oilers to four Stanley Cups. He was a true ambassador at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he ripped Team USA for leaking stuff about Canadian dissension. “American propaganda,” he said as his team’s executive director. “I don’t think we dislike those countries as much as they dislike us. They want to see us fail. They love beating us. We’ve got to get that same feeling toward them.”
Hockey and Canada? He knows better than anyone. “It’s a religion. You get married, you go to church, you have kids and you either watch hockey or play hockey,” he said.
Stunning how Gretzky’s bond with Trump has mangled base perceptions. When Canada played the U.S. last month in the 4 Nations Face-Off, with tariffs forming clouds over the ice in Boston, his countrypeople watched closely as he wore a blue suit, gave a thumbs-up sign to American players, did the same to Canadian players — and wore nothing in red. They said he should be ashamed. “We all see your true colours,” someone wrote.
The anger reached the point where Trump defended him. “He is the Greatest Canadian of them all, and I am therefore making him a ‘free agent,’ because I don’t want anyone in Canada to say anything bad about him,” the President said on social media. “He supports Canada the way it is, as he should, even though it’s not nearly as good as it could be as part of the Greatest and Most Powerful Country in the World, the Good Ole’ U.S.A.!”
Another Canadian hockey hero, Bobby Orr, also weighed in for Gretzky. “How fickle can people be when someone who has given so much time and effort to Canadian hockey is treated in such a way,” he said. “Listen, we all have our personal beliefs as they pertain to things such as religion and politics. Wayne respects your right to such beliefs — why can’t you respect his? Wayne is from Brantford, Ont., who made good and has done nothing throughout his life but give aid and assistance to innumerable Canadians along the way. Please, let’s take a time out. Extend a little grace, and a little respect for a good man and a great Canadian.”
Which led Gretzky’s wife to score her own game-winner. “I’ve never met anyone who is more proud to be Canadian,” she said, “and it has broken his heart to read and see mean comments. He would do anything to make Canadians proud, with his love for hockey and his country.”
The 895th goal for Ovechkin likely will come in a U.S. city, perhaps in Washington with three straight games later this month. But he might score it in Winnipeg, two provinces to the east from Edmonton. Will fans boo Gretzky? He’ll begin appearing at games with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. He will be kind. He will be gracious. He will hail Ovechkin.
“I mean, it's his shot,” Gretzky said. “Look at guys like Brett Hull, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy. They get those opportunities. Ovi. They never miss the net. And that separates a great goal scorer from good goal scorers, right? And he can be in any spot on the ice, he's going to hit the net.”
The politics remain against him in Canada. Mark Carney is the new prime minister and said of Trump, “Americans should make no mistake. In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.” The 51st state? Gretzky would rally behind it and maybe smother Trump in a hug.
Let him. He’s an American. Ovechkin’s a Russian.
Canada will cry and pay.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.