Gretzky says Canada will matchup well at 4 Nations Face-Off
In February, Gretzky’s insatiable appetite for the sport will be filled with the first best-on-best competition we’ve witnessed since the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games, and he is as excited as any hockey fan to see it.
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MANALAPAN, Fla. — On Monday, after taking part in a brief presentation TNT Sports gave the NHL governors at the Eau Palm Beach Resort and Spa, Wayne Gretzky carved out a few minutes with media to talk about the one thing that makes him just like the rest of us — being a hockey fan.
In February, Gretzky’s insatiable appetite for the sport will be filled with the first best-on-best competition we’ve witnessed since the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games, and he is as excited as any hockey fan to see it.
For so long Gretzky was the driving force of Canadian hockey success — as the country’s greatest player from 1981-1998, and also as architect and manager of the gold-medal winning teams at the 2002 Olympics and 2004 World Cup of Hockey — but now he’s just looking forward to being a spectator for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off being held in Montreal and Boston.
“You always miss that competitive spirit,” Gretzky said. “What I don’t miss is the controversy of who didn’t make the team, because we have so many great players on Canada, our team, and everybody’s got an opinion… I did it, I’m happy. I love the game, and I’m happy that I was part of it, but I’m enjoying what I do. I live down here, I’m happy. I’m almost 64 and the stress and the pressure of it is tougher than people think.”
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You think it’s high for Don Sweeney, who assembled Team Canada for this tournament?
Imagine how it’ll be for Jon Cooper to coach it.
In this short exhibition, the temptation to balance things out to give Canada its best chance against the United States, Finland and Sweden would be understandable. But everyone watching will be clamouring to see the three best players of a generation lineup together, including Gretzky, who played alongside Mario Lemieux during the 1987 Canada Cup and believes a line of Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon being assembled is what a competition like this is all about.
He, like the rest of us, would like to see it at one point or another. Even if it’s just for a shift.
“You always want to see the best players play together and the best players play against the best players,” Gretzky said. “I can remember training camp in ’87, Mario and I didn’t play much together at the beginning. (Coach) Mike (Keenan) didn’t put us together until near the end, and part of his reason was Mario was 21 years old at the time and he didn’t want to make him too nervous at the beginning. So he waited a few games just to get his feet wet and get him comfortable, and when he put him there he was our best player. He fit in like a glove.
“But I had the same feeling in ’81. I got to play with Flower (Guy Lafleur) and Gilbert Perreault, and I was a 19-year-old kid thinking these are the two guys I watched every night and now I’m centring these two guys, (so) don’t mess it up, make sure I get them the puck.”
The calculation will be similar for any player — no matter their age — if they’re fortunate enough to line up with any one of Crosby, McDavid or MacKinnon.
The challenge for all of them will be significant, with Finland and Sweden icing teams loaded with talented players who have been playing with each other at international events for years and with the U.S. bringing what many people believe is the strongest team they’ve ever assembled.
But Gretzky still sees Canada as the team to beat.
“I will say this: The Americans are a very good team and maybe I’m biased, but I think the Canadians match up really well against the Americans,” Gretzky said. “It’s going to be tremendous hockey. I’m not sure who’s going to win, but I’m just saying as a Canadian, I think our team matches up really good against the Americans.”
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Gretzky keeping his eyes on Ovechkin
As Alex Ovechkin continues to take significant steps towards returning from a fractured fibula suffered 21 days ago, Gretzky remains one of many people cheering him on.
Ovechkin has 15 goals in 18 games this season and is now just 27 away from passing Gretzky as the most prolific scorer in NHL history. The Great One is not only convinced the Great 8 will do it, he wants to see it happen.
“What he’s done is really incredible, what he’s done is remarkable, what he’s done is great for the game,” Gretzky said of the 39-year-old Ovechkin, who has 868 goals in 1,444 games to his 894 in 1,487. “He’s good for the sport, he’s great for the game, and hopefully I’m there to shake his hand the night he breaks the record.”
Whether that happens this season, or not, Gretzky thinks Ovechkin will eventually do it and doesn’t believe the pressure of becoming the greatest goal scorer of all time will get to him.
“He’ll be fine,” Gretzky said. “I talk to Alex periodically and I always wish him the best. He’ll be fine. He’s handled the pressure, he’s won a Stanley Cup, he’s been a big part of the success of the NHL, and he’s been a huge part of the Washington Capitals, he’s fine.
“He’s human, he’ll get a little bit nervous by the end, but he’s been nothing but positive for our sport, and that’s what’s most important. And good for him, man.
“He hasn’t changed his game much. I think his coaching staff has done a great job of utilizing him and moving him on the power play. He’s a bull. His shot is as good as anybody who ever played the game. I always say, I got to play with Jari Kurri and Brett Hull, and one of the greatest compliments I can give both of them (is) they never missed the net. If you miss the net, you can’t score, and Ovechkin doesn’t miss the net. All the more power to him. He’s been tremendous this year, and I know how hard it is at that age — it gets tougher and tougher, but he’s hung in and he’s a trooper. Good for him.”
