Waiting for Gretzky

TURIN - When it comes to the Winter Olympics, you can't accuse the IOC of always picking the prettiest girl at the ball.

My goodness, Vancouver is sure going to stand out from the crowd of its predecessors when the Games arrive four years from now. There was dullish Nagano in 1998, nondescript Salt Lake City in '02 and this year, a visit to Turin, a place of history, chocolate, coffee and wine, but not exactly breathtaking to behold.

Vancouver, of course, is arguably Canada's most attractive city, and won't that be nice for the world's athletes, doubly so when you start looking at the motley crew of burgs bidding for the 2014 Games. Other than spectacular Salzburg, it's not dazzling unless you like the idea of Almaty in February.

NHLers, needless to say, probably aren't going to bubbling over with superlatives when they arrive here. That's happening in dribs and drabs. On my flight in from Frankfurt this morning, the assembled including Aki Berg of the Leafs, U.S. assistant coach Mike Sullivan and defenceman Hal Gill, Swedish forward P.J. Axelsson and Russians Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Sergei Gonchar.

Team Canada arrives tomorrow in time for a 6 p.m. local time practice, and just so you know, the world is waiting for them. Well, specifically waiting for Wayne Gretzky. Journalists from around the world were curiously and eagerly asking about a scheduled press conference at the Palasport after the Canadian practice, so The Great One, it's fair to say, better bring his game face.

One suspects this could be a bumpy ride for Team Canada's executive director, even with reports coming out over the past 24 hours (wonder who leaked this stuff?) suggesting the wiretapped Gretzky talk with Rick Tocchet came last Monday, not weeks before.

Gretzky's a big boy and doesn't need any advice from this corner when it comes to handling himself before a large group of journalists. He's done it a million times.

But if he's intending on tossing out a few "no comments" and a couple "ask my lawyers" and then inviting questions on the health of third-string goalie Marty Turco, he might want to rethink the strategy.

At some point, the Phoenix coach is going to have to make it plain just what he knew about the gambling-related activities of Tocchet, and if anything, when he knew. Given that the other Coyotes assistant, Barry Smith, has said he was aware of Tocchet's extensive betting on football, it will be interesting to see if Gretzky will indeed say he didn't know anything about this business until last week when the cops swooped in.

If he can answer those two questions, this story could die quickly, providing there are no new revelations.

But if he chooses not to confront the basics, you can bet "Operation Slap Shot" will come up again and again and again.

You have to believe, by the way, the happiest person in the world has to be Team Canada forward Todd Bertuzzi, who might have been anticipating more than a small degree of interest in his hockey activities over the last couple of years from the international media, but now may be able to come in under the radar.

Given the manner in which Canada unconditionally cheered on Steve Downie at the world juniors, essentially developing short-term amnesia on the ugly incidents earlier in season involving Downie and hazing while he was with the Windsor Spitfires, Bertuzzi might reasonably expect the same, particularly if he gets off to a good start. The Vancouver winger has been up-and-down statistically over the past 25 games or so, going goal-less for nine games, then picking up a hat trick against the Islanders, then scoring once in six games before finishing with three goals in his last seven games before the Olympic break.

"Course, if things don't go well for Bertuzzi, or if he should do something, ahem, unfortunate on the ice, that'll be just another hot potato for Gretzky to handle and explain, won't it?

The Golden Gamble?

For starters, Wayne Gretzky didn't exactly put out the fire last night.

Not that he could have.

His comments pertaining to the Rick Tocchet gambling mess after his Coyotes lost another one, 5-1 to Dallas last night, reflected more exasperation than an intent to set the record clear:

"Well, before I start first of all I want to say that first and foremost I’m not going anywhere. I am still going to coach the Phoenix Coyotes.

I did nothing wrong, or nothing that has to do with anything along the lines of betting; that never happened.

I’m going to Italy on Sunday to be with Team Canada and be a part of the Olympic games. . .I’ve felt like the last three days I’ve defended myself over something that absolutely, unequivocally, I was not involved with. . .In saying all that I hope you appreciate that the last three days have been horrible. I’m just too tired mentally and physically to talk anymore about it.”

Whether he could have said more, or that his wife, Janet, is going to have to say a lot more to clear the family name, is open to debate. Certainly, Gretzky is going to need to explain at some point what he knew, and when he knew it. His initial comments, that he "wasn't involved," were at least disingenous and probably evasive, and ultimately, he's going to have to do a lot better than he did last night.

But No. 99 is going to Turin, and, based on what we know, he damn well should be.

I mean, who is honestly willing to argue Wayne Gretzky is not a good representative for Canada at the Winter Olympics? We are, after all, sending Todd Bertuzzi, and gosh, I'm so very proud of that. Can't imagine Steve Moore is going to enjoy watching Canada's games very much.

That said, there are those who would already argue that Gretzky going to Turin could prove to be a huge distraction for Team Canada.

Always love that one. It suggests that NHL players compete in a bubble, never thinking about anything else than their love of the game and determination to win Stanley Cups and gold medals. It suggests they are such delicate creatures that getting the wrong kind of dressing on their salads will plunge them into a day-long funk and make it impossible for them to perform.

Baloney. These guys are professionals who deal with "distractions" every day of the week, from bumps in their private lives to ongoing business deals to organizing vacations for their families to getting their cars fixed.

Do you really believe Joe Sakic, or Martin Brodeur, or Chris Pronger is suddenly going to get knocked off their game because Ol' Wayne has some problems back home?

Not a chance. See, what's happening to Gretzky isn't happening to them, and unless there's a player or two who have a betting connection with Tocchet, you can imagine they've spent the last few days watching with detached bemusement as leaks, speculation and rumour have run rampant.

They may at some point find it to be a pain in the ass, but they're not losing a wink of sleep over it. Sakic looked just fine scoring the winner against Minnesota last night. Brodeur was brilliant with 37 saves against Boston. Goodness gracious, even Kris Draper managed to find the net for only the fourth time this season last night against Nashville, putting him only 30 behind Team Canada reserve Eric Staal.

Sure, the media heat could be white-hot by the time Team Canada rolls into Italy with Gretzky at the helm. But it was going to be like that anyway, particularly with Canada going in as defending champs and favorites to win again. In fact, if Gretzky were to stay home, the players would be left a lot more uncomfortable having to deal with questions and issues about something with which they likely have absolutely no knowledge.

The absence of Scott Niedermayer, the adjustment to a higher calibre of play by Bryan McCabe or the continuing struggles of 2004 Hart Trophy winner Martin St. Louis could impact Team Canada, but "Operation Slap Shot" isn't likely to, not unless there is a revelation coming in the next day or so which puts the entire affair in a much different light.

This tournament will be won or lost by the players, primarily, with the assistance of the coaching staff.

The controversy swirling around Gretzky over the activities of his banished assistant coach and the betting habits of his wife won't influence whether Canada comes home with gold. So let's not set it up as an easy excuse going in.

Getting messier - and it's not the Moose we're talking about

What a day to start a blog.

They've often called Wayne Gretzky the Teflon hockey player for the way in which even the misdeeds of those around him have never sullied his dazzling image.

Start with Peter Pocklington and move on to Bruce McNall and maybe throw in a little Marty McSorley, and you get the picture.

Well, this could be The Great One's toughest test yet.

According to this morning's edition of the Newark Star-Ledger, police have Gretzky on wiretap surveillance discussing the gambling organization of his friend and assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes, Rick Tocchet.

That's certainly different than what Gretzky had to say when the news first broke two days ago, although Jersey police are also saying No. 99 didn't place any bets himself.

That may have been more to the tastes of his glamorous actress wife, Janet, who may make her own public statements on the matter today. Speculation is that she made have bet as much as a half-million through Tocchet.

The story quotes sources suggesting Mrs. Gretzky may have wagered $75,000 on last week's Super Bowl, including - gotta love this one - $5,000 on which team won the coin toss.

Now, I'm no betting guy, never have been, and quite honestly a lot of this stuff goes right over my head. Even odds - 15-1, 6-5, 7-2 - leave me completely befuddled, although most disinterested.

But I did watch that Super Bowl, and I have to say that a game filled with that many odd or downright questionable officiating calls and even plays by individual players certainly could leave a bettor, particularly a losing one, wondering about much that unfolded.

And, based on the strangeness of some of the plays, it would be the last competition I'd want to wager big-money on.

But maybe that's just me.

Based on today's story - and we're just getting started, folks - Mrs. Gretzky's very busy  husband was certainly well aware of his wife's bets.

"The reality is, I'm not involved, I wasn't involved and I'm not going to be involved," Gretzky said when first asked about the allegations about Tocchet.

Perhaps Gretzky didn't know about the links to a New Jersey state trooper who has been charged in connection with "Operation Slap Shot," but wouldn't you think he might have said to Tocchet, "You know, I'm not so sure this is a good thing for you to be doing."

Or how about, "Please don't do this on company time." But instead of that, Gretzky seemed content to let his assistant coach not only continue this off-ice activities, but also keep coaching, even after police promised to lay charges.

For selfish Canadians hoping to see their men's hockey team capture gold in Turin over the next few weeks, could this come at a lousier time?

There is talk in at least one report that Janet Gretzky will make a statement today, and that will be interesting.

But Canadians and the hockey world will want to hear from Gretzky, and now's the time to come absolutely clean. A simple "no comment" could be devastating.

It sounds like he has nothing to hide. But his initial comments sounded more like an evasion that an honest response, perhaps reasonably so given the shock of the story hitting the headlines, but two days later he has to know that this is the time to lay out for everyone all he knows, even if it implicates his friend.

The Coyotes are at home tonight against Dallas, and while Tocchet has been forbidden to be anywhere near the Desert Dogs as part of his laughable "leave of absence" agreement with Gary Bettman, Gretzky will be there and can't simply let this story swirl all day without saying something clear on the issue.

One suspects he'll be hearing from the Unabomber Hunter himself, new NHL investigator Bob Cleary, or maybe already has.

This doesn't have to be a story that drags Gretzky into this mess - unless he's a lot more involved than we think - but it could be if he chooses to stay mum and not say all he knows.

That doesn't mean he has to disavow or abandon Tocchet. He never abandoned McNall, and that's a laudable trait in a man, to stick by friends.

But there are a lot bigger issues here, including the integrity of the Coyotes and the integrity of the league.

The clear question that follows all of this, at least for Canadians, is should Gretzky go to Turin? You can bet European journalists are not going to be shy about raising the gambling story, just as they're going to be very, very interested in going over the entire Steve Moore incident again with Canadian Olympic winger Todd Bertuzzi.

With Dick Pound again raising questions about the NHL's drug policy on the eve of the Olympics, there are going to be any number of very tricky stories following the Canadian team as it seeks to defend the gold won in Salt Lake City.

You can bet if things don't go well, the gambling story and Bertuzzi story and Pound allegations will all be brought up again and again and again.

Then again, Gretzky should be there to stand up and answer all the questions, shouldn't he?