By the time it was done, Wayne Gretzky’s Hall of Fame weekend felt a lot like Christmas. It went on too long and whatever genuine pleasure it held was just about obliterated by the overkill. But, also like Christmas, it was necessary, unavoidable and something good lay buried beneath the nonsense. To gripe about it would be churlish.
So let’s just say - as most do on the first working day in January - that we’re relieved it’s over.
When Gretzky stepped up for his acceptance speech during Monday’s induction ceremony – a speech hailed as “very moving” but in fact fairly ordinary - he looked very tired. He had been in Toronto for five days, smiling for the cameras morning, noon and night, answering the same old questions over and over. Even Gretzky, the consummate media guy, was starting to flag. What a relief it must have been for him to get on the plane to L.A. the next morning.
And what a relief for the rest of us. It’s time for Wayne Gretzky to settle into his new career plugging gasoline or pop tarts or whatever, and for hockey to resume living in the present. Even Wayne himself says so, if you choose selective Gretzky quotes from the past week:
“No, I don’t have any.”
Skates, that is. He hasn’t skated since his final game in April. In case anyone missed the point of the Hall of Fame love-in, Gretzky the player has passed from the NHL’s present into its past. Historically, to be sure, there’s no more important player. But, as of right now, all those who wear NHL uniforms are more important to the game of hockey than Wayne Gretzky. Because they have skates, and use them every day. It’s a fundamental distinction. Gretzky is not a hockey player. He’s an ex-hockey player.
“I prepared myself for each and every game…approached each game like it was a Stanley Cup playoff game... I felt like a kid every single day.”
A lot of people were whining because the NHL continued regular business on Hall of Fame night by scheduling six games. The argument was that the evening should have been set aside for the Great One alone, as if he wasn’t already getting enough attention.
But surely Gretzky himself would appreciate that life goes on. He always tried to play just as hard on a Monday night in November as he did in game seven in June. So what better way to honour the man than to put that work ethic into action on his big night? The work ethic is the only Gretzky standard most players can ever hope to live up to: It’s hockey season. You’re hockey players. Get to work.
“These guys will never win. They’re not defensively responsible.”
That’s how Gretzky remembers the legions of critics who dismissed the Oilers in their first couple of NHL seasons. Glen Sather was accused of assembling a team that was too young and too reckless.
There are always naysayers. Glowing tributes to the Oilers’ dynasty are usually accompanied by the lament that we will never see the like again. But we probably will see the like again, or at least something different but just as good.
The great, transcendent teams often appear when least expected, turn the game into something new, take you by surprise. I suspect nobody could have predicted how good the Oilers would be, not even the players themselves.
"I don't think any one person will ever be bigger than the game.”
This is dismissed as mere modesty. But Gretzky himself recognizes how little even he could control. He spent the last ten years of his career trying and failing to win another Stanley Cup. His last turn on the international stage – the 1996 Olympics - was a crushing disappointment. He missed the playoffs in his last two years because the Rangers sucked and there was only so much he could do about it.
He certainly changed hockey, occasionally transcended it. His image is indelibly stamped on the game. And there were moments, full evenings even, when he could control the ice single-handedly.
But in the long run, he knew his place was within hockey, not atop it. Players retire and the world moves on. So it is in this case.
These are curious times for the NHL and the game of hockey. “Third man high” remains the motto of even the most explosive teams. The minutia of finance and collective bargaining dominates sports pages. You get points for losing.
Some of this is tied to Wayne Gretzky’s legacy, much of it isn’t. In any case, we’ve all watched the highlight reel and shed a tear. So let’s get on with it.
