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Wayne Gretzky rubbed plenty of Canadians the wrong way based on what transpired when he served as the hockey team’s honorary captain ahead of their 4 Nations showdown with the United States. Now, his wife has decided to take his detractors to task while defending the man she says has been left with a “broken heart” due to the backlash he’s been forced to endure.
There was a virtually unprecedented amount of hype surrounding the contest that saw America face off against Canada in the inaugural 4 Nations championship showdown in Boston earlier this month.
It’s safe to say the game lived up to the hype, as the guys representing the Great White North avenged their loss earlier in the tournament with a 3-2 victory in overtime after the United States made the questionable decision to leave Connor McDavid wide open in the slot before he fired the game-winner past a largely helpless Connor Hellebuyck.
Prior to the game, Auston Matthews and Sidney Crosby met at center ice for the ceremonial puck drop featuring two hockey legends who served as honorary captains: Mike Eruzione, the captain of the American team responsible for pulling off “The Miracle on Ice” at the 1980 Winter Olympics, and Wayne Gretzky, the man who more than earned “The Great One” moniker.
Gretzky was born and raised in Ontario, spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Oilers, and played for Team Canada in eight different international competitions (including his one and only Olympics appearance in 1998 where the team fell to Finland in the bronze medal game).
However, plenty of Canadians managed to convince themselves he’d betrayed his homeland after he had the nerve to acknowledge the Americans by flashing a thumbs up while making his way past their bench after arriving for the pregame ceremony—a move that some fans literally painted as an act of treason.
Gretzky:
Enters through US bench
Gives thumbs up to US players
Wears no red or NOTHING repping Canada
Doesn’t even look Team Canada’s way
He’s a traitor & MAGA coward
Good riddance. #4nations pic.twitter.com/1YqguI3yqF— Alex 🇨🇦 (@alex_upnorth) February 21, 2025
Gretzky (who holds dual citizenship) was also dragged for not only declining to wear his country’s jersey (as Eruzione did) but not opting for any red apparel.
Some people were also mad he didn’t go out of his way to give the Canadian team the same treatment, which ignores the fact that he entered from the other side of the rink and had already gotten the chance to interact with them by announcing the starters in the locker room before the contest.
Last weekend, the Toronto Sun published an op-ed written by fellow Canadian hockey legend Bobby Orr where he defended his countryman from the backlash, and on Thursday, Gretzky’s wife Janet featured it in an Instagram post where she pushed back against the “mean comments” her husband has received while discussing the emotional toll they’ve had on him.
Now, it’s worth noting there is also a political element to the issue at hand.
The current tensions between the governments of the United States and Canada were on plenty of people’s minds when their hockey teams faced off in the 4 Nations final, and Gretzky’s public support of Donald Trump has not gone over well with plenty of Canadians who haven’t been thrilled to see him cozy up to the man who’s said he wants to make their country America’s 51st state.
As a result, I can understand why he’s fallen out of favor in certain circles, but the fans who freaked out over the relatively innocuous clip posted above probably need to log off for a bit.