GRETZKY WANTS TO SEE NHL PLAYERS BACK IN OLYMPICS
Wayne Gretzky was riding on the Edmonton Oilers team bus the other day, sitting beside former Hockey Canada boss Bob Nicholson, when the subject of Connor McDavid and NHL participation at the Olympic Games became part of their conversation.
“We were talking about the young stars in the NHL today, like Connor or Mitch Marner or Auston Matthews getting the opportunity like we had to play in the Olympics,” said The Great One.
“These kids, they grew up watching the NHL players in 2010 and 2014 playing in the Olympics. Watching Sidney Crosby. Watching Jonathan Toews. So from their point of view, I’m sure they’re devastated they’re not playing in the Olympics. It would be nice if the NHL and the union could sit down and figure this out. It’s only a positive for the sport. It’s great for the game.”
And you should know and probably do that it’s unusual for Gretzky to rock a hockey boat. He’s still a team player. He isn’t just the greatest scorer of all time, he’s an NHL flag-waver. Yet he’s also a flag-waver for Olympic hockey.
“I’m a big believer that the Olympic Games is great for sports,” said Gretzky. “I’m a big believer that the Olympics is great for our game and wonderful for our country. We rally around it.
“Especially at this time of the world where there seems to be so much unrest away from the games, away from sports. Sports seems to bring people together and it brings the country together.
“I admit I don’t understand the business side of it. It’s way over my head. That’s something for the league, the owners and the union to figure out. But after watching the Canadian junior team play and seeing how exciting it was and how emotional it is for the country, Bob (Nicholson) and I were talking and we want it. I don’t see any negatives about it other than the travel and the time commitment. I feel bad that these kids may not get the chance that we did.”
If commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL owners get their way, there will be no NHL participation in Beijing. Bettman claims it makes no economic sense to stop his season for an Olympic tournament. There are problems with the International Olympic Committee. Problems with insurance. Problems regarding ownership of highlights. Problems with jersey sales.
But negotiations can bring an end to all those problems.
The players want this. Those going and those not going want it. The fans in Canada and the United States want it, and you probably could include fans in Sweden and Finland and Russia and more.
We want NHL players at the Olympics. The NHL doesn’t want it — even with Gretzky’s urging.
The NHL wants a World Cup. I don’t know anyone outside of NHL owners and Bettman who wants another World Cup. The days of the Canada Cup meaning something are long over. Hockey fans and hockey players want Olympic participation.
McDavid said, not surprisingly, on Monday morning that “of course” he wants the chance to play.
“Any time you get a chance to represent Canada in best on best, it’s always so special and the best hockey. So I hope that I get that opportunity one day.”
McDavid will be in his absolute prime when the 2022 Games are held in China. If there is no NHL participation, he will be 30 when the 2026 Winter Olympics are held in Italy. If Bettman is still around heading into 2026, the odds are the NHL will still say no.
Which means we may never see McDavid playing hockey for Canada on the biggest stage.
And Americans won’t get to see Matthews play on the biggest stage. And the world won’t get to see McDavid going head to head against Matthews at the largest sporting event on the planet.
Shame on the NHL for being the party pooper.
“I brag about my Olympic experience, it’s one of the highlights of my career,” said Gretzky. “It was new territory for all of us in ’98. Everybody was unsure how we would fit in. As hockey players, we probably had more fun than any of the other Olympic athletes. For us it was like being kids again when you went to hockey tournaments and you got billeted. We truly enjoyed staying in the village.
“First day I walked in the commissary, and one of the great things about the commissary, you get food from China, Japan, Polish food, Canadian.
All the athletes are looking at me. What’s he going to eat? I went straight to the McDonald’s buffet and I got two Big Macs and french fries. And I thought ‘I don’t care what they’re going to think of me.’
“I was in a room for four in the village with Steve Yzerman, Rod Brind’Amour and Martin Brodeur. It was the greatest experience. It’s something you can’t duplicate. I hope these kids get to experience something similar.
“I really hope they find a way to get this done.” ssimmons@postmedia.com