New Blood

Wayne Gretzky thinks the NHL would work in Hamilton.

Wayne Gretzky thinks the Maple Leafs are going to be "fine."

Wayne Gretzky isn't going to lead Canada's hockey team into the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Gretzky, Gretzky, Gretzky. Amazing how the man can still make headlines with the most innocuous comments, more now than back in the days when he surprised the hockey world by calling the New Jersey Devils a Mickey Mouse organization.

Now, Gretzky's thoughts on Hamilton or the Leafs are relatively meaningless. After all, what's he going to say? That his hometown of Brantford has as much chance of landing an NHL team as Steeltown? That the Leafs, now run by an executive that Gretzky's own Phoenix team unceremoniously dumped, are going to be horrible?

The Olympic stuff, however, matters, and its a testament to the goodwill that Gretzky has built up over the decades that all the errors made in putting together the team that floundered in Turin - remember shut out by Switzerland? - have never stuck to him. Nobody blames him for picking Todd Bertuzzi, or not picking Sidney Crosby. It all just rolls off him, and if he'd wanted the top job for Vancouver, you can bet it was his to have.

But he doesn't. So where to turn?

Well, common sense suggests it would be appropriate to turn the operation over to the boys from Motown.

Sure, it's going to be a group effort, and Gretzky will even be involved in some way. But having Steve Yzerman and Ken Holland at the top - give 'em whatever titles you want - with Mike Babcock going behind the bench makes an awful lot of sense.

For starters, Yzerman has put Canada's team together for the past two world championships, and given that he isn't currently managing or coaching an NHL team, he has more time to devote to the effort than most high-profile NHL executives.

Holland has earned a shot, both through his work with the Wings and Canadian international effort. He's among the top five NHL GMs, and might even be the best. Babcock, finally, took himself to a new level by winning the Cup with the Wings last spring, giving himself the heft required to stand behind a bench of NHL stars in a pressure cooker situation like Vancouver will be.

it's a group likely to do Canada proud at the last Olympics involving NHLers.

 

Comments

[JT]

innocuous, big word cox! You could have made your article sound less 'i wish I could decide things Wayner can' by saying why he's not taking the job, not simply that he's not. He's an NHL coach now cox, he has a far more rigid timetable of day to day than as pres. So under my obligations theory, its not that he 'doesn't' want the job as much as he 'can't' take the job.

Can't wait for next one!

[OddyOh]

Ahem, I blame Gretzky (although not solely) for picking Todd Bertuzzi, and for not picking Sydney Crosby. Wouldn't have hurt Crosby to have 2006 experience going into 2010. But whatever, let's never speak of that performance again!

I can only pray this really is the last we'll see of NHLers at the Olympics...however, Bettman is an idiot, and now they want to expand to Europe (has someone invented commercial flights at light speed?), so that'll be enough to keep them in for the next 10 years at least.

[PVH]

What a shame that a terrific hockey mind and judge of character like Steve Yzerman is sitting around in Detroit while we Leaf fans anxiously await an old dinosaur like Brian Burke. Yzerman has tasted success at every level while Burke inherited a team constructed by Brian Murray. I wonder who is really the most qualified?

[selvig]

I agree, who cares what Greztky thinks? I'd much rather have Stevie Y involved.

Russia brought Ovechkin, so why didn't we bring Crosby? Because he didn't win a medal in 02.

With Gretzky no longer making the calls we won't have him dusting off the 02 team once more and we won't end up with such a mismatched team (No Staal or Spezza, but McCabe and Bertuzzi?)

[Bryan M]

The Detroit organization has the best credibility in hockey. Four cups in 11 years and I don't know how many President's Cups are testament to the kinds of hockey minds that run the franchise. It's a great suggestion.
On the Bertuzzi decision (which I should just put behind me, but I can't!), the absence of Crosby was a lessor crime than Eric Staal, who at the time of the Olympics was THIRD in the NHL scoring race, sat in the stands watching. That kind of stupidity really makes me questions the Great One's organizational ability.

[Colin W]

Gretzky speaks, the media trips up over themselves to report his every single word, some in answer to their questions no doubt, and all of a sudden it's his fault he's "making headlines"? Come on, Damien. I don't expect much positive comments in your columns about *anyone*, but your ability to use 20/20 hindsight to rip individuals in getting old. It's time for fresh perspectives.

[John]

I don't see if there is any point is arguing who is better between Wayne and Stevie. They're both great hockey players and are both developing into significant figures in their respective clubs. They both have also done a lot for Canadian Hockey.

I'd take either one in a second, and if both could be involved in setting up our next team, even better.

Wayne is clearly focused on his coaching, and good for him. The coyotes have the potential to be a playoff team in a couple years if not this year.

Furthermore, Wayne's comments are always gonna be in the news. That is what happens when you're the greatest hockey player ever. To be honest though, who cares, it's not as if he spends his time trying to get on the front page. So read it if you want, or not. I don't see the point Mr. Cox in putting down comments he made about the future of hockey in Canada, or how the leafs do in the upcoming years.

Although I really hope he's right. Go leafs go.