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Gretzky can finally relax, rejoiceas Canada takes gold in hockey
By Amy Donaldson
Deseret News Olympic specialist
WEST VALLEY CITY — It wasn't until Joe Sakic scored Canada's fifth goal of the gold-medal game Sunday that Wayne Gretzky cracked a smile.
With a three-goal lead and less than two minutes to go, he grinned, pumped his fist, hugged his assistants and kissed his wife.
The weight of a nation lifted from his shoulders, the executive director for Canada's 2002 Olympic hockey team didn't stop smiling until the medals were presented to the teams. For most of the Games, the man who'd given so much to the game of hockey didn't seem to be enjoying his moment at the helm of what was heralded as the world's most talented team.
When the Canadians lost to Sweden last week during the rounds that determined the seeds, Gretzky and company were criticized as having too much talent and not enough heart.
"I felt on Monday that the team was taking so much criticism, I had to do something," he said, wearing a Roots jacket that was embroidered with gold thread and declared Canada Olympic champions. So he did what good leaders do and said that if they lost the gold medal it was his fault.
"Then I didn't sleep for five days," he said.
His statement of support and responsibility was significant to his players.
"We took a lot of heat after that first game," said forward Joe Nieuwendyk, "certainly undeserved. From a management standpoint, he was an inspiration for us."
When Gretzky was asked if it was relief or joy he felt, he laughed.
"A combination of both," he said. "It's been a stressful two weeks . . . I'm real proud of this team and for Canada."
From the moment they lost in the championship game in Nagano in a shootout, there was no mistake that Canadians didn't just want the gold medal, they needed it.
"I'm happy for the Canadian people," he said. "We've waited a long time for this. Our country, we desperately needed to win this tournament."
Arguably the most dominant country in ice hockey, when Gretzky was named director of Team Canada, most thought there could be no doubt about the tournament's outcome.
Gretzky's every move and decision was scrutinized and often criticized, from the players he picked to the lines that skated. But after Sunday's win, the nay-sayers were silent. The Great One, who's accumulated four Stanley Cups, a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame and a place in every hockey fan's heart, now had the one thing he needed more for his country than himself.
"The feeling right now is pretty much incredible," he said. "It was our day today."
And when asked if he'd consider doing it all again, he laughed.
"Wanting to do it and actually doing it are two different things," he said. "I'm just going to enjoy the moment right now."
E-MAIL: adonaldson@desnews.com
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February 25, 2002
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