Wayne Gretzky was introduced as the honorary captain of Team Canada on Thursday night ahead of the matchup against the U.S. in the 4 Nations Face-Off final.
Gretzky, arguably the greatest hockey player of all time, received some cheers as he stepped out onto the ice with Team USA’s pick, Mike Eruzione. Clearly, the Boston crowd was far more behind Eruzione than they were “The Great One.”
On social media, Gretzky’s appearance as Team Canada’s honorary captain drew some ire because of President Donald Trump’s musings about the United States’ northern neighbors becoming the 51st state in the union. The president has even gone as far as suggesting that Gretzky be the “governor” of Canada.
Hockey fans watching the game were far from amused.
Gretzky was spotted at Trump’s inauguration last month. Trump touted the hockey legend on Christmas Day, suggesting Canadians draft him to become the next prime minister.
TRUMP GIVES TEAM USA PEP TALK BEFORE 4 NATIONS FINAL VS CANADA
As Trump teased Canadian lawmakers, he said he asked Gretzky to become the “governor of Canada.”
“I was with Wayne Gretzky. I said, ‘Wayne, would you like to be the governor of Canada?’ I can’t imagine anybody doing better than Wayne,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago press conference earlier this month.
“Wayne was not too interested. But he probably would have liked statehood,” Trump added. “He’s a friend of mine. He’s a great guy. He’s the great one. We call him the great one, right? He’s a great hockey player.”
Gretzky did not appear to be swayed one way or the other.
The Hockey Hall of Famer was spotted at Trump’s election victory party in November.
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