Gretzky takes blame for loss from Black Sheep Press
No Canada isn't the only country that plays hockey anymore nor can it expect to automatically win all its international games. This hasn't been the case for more than thirty years. That said, Canada still sends more players to the NHL then any other ... [Read More]

Tracked on February 24, 2006 3:56 PM

Well we can second guess all we want but the fact is this team was suffering from the New York Rangers syndrome. Put it plainly hockey isn't an individual sport, all the talent in the world isn't going to help if you have no heart. This team was tin man already in November so this result should be no surprise at all.

I agree. The belief that Canada has the God-given right to hockey supremacy and that we will accept nothing less than gold is arrogant and even unsportsmanlike. There is no doubt the media played a large role in the Canadian reaction as well. The Ugly Canadian, anyone?

Kate
In spite of the fact that youre not going there......I did, lol.
I am impressed.

You know, win, lose or draw, Canada has always been- and will be- a hockey force to be reckoned with.

Notwithstanding the Montreal Canadiens dynasty, for example, there was some great- and breathtaking- hockey rivalries played out in Boston and Toronto.

Not always bringing home the trophy is not a measure of the quality of the game being played.

It was an important tournament but just a tournament. The "cash" team played poorly. Canada could have sent 3 teams and each would have had a shot. But saying its "just a hockey game" just excuses the lousy results. Certainly Canada is a hockey power, but it is apparent to me that Canadaians know very little about what is going on outside of their own country. Russian, American, Swedish, Finns, Slovakian and Czech kids love hockey as much as any Canadian kid and they aspire to win Olympic Gold too. They also wouldn't mind winning the Stanley Cup either. Canadian's have a sense of entitlement when it comes to hockey that just isn't healthy. On a positive note, I am very pleased about canada's best ever games and think that Cindy Klassen is a hero. And that's what we need to focus on.

the team had the talent but weren't ready or psyched.

the ready part is a coaching fault - they were unable to adapt to the big ice, the speed and the breakout system. defence was flat footed in every game, powerplay was "confused", forecheck was weak. Needed, but didn't have, a Grind Line. . .

the heart part comes from leadership in the dressing room . . with so many leaders in there it might have been too many . . the old too many cooks syndrome

team played without grit, determination, spirit & heart.

They need Sutter for a coach. He'd bench anyone who didn't put in 100% + on EVERY shift. he'd call them out for being prima donnas and slap a few up side the head when they needed it & not give a shot about how much money they make in the NHL.

Sutter would DEMAND performance, Quinn expected it.

When a Canuck blindly worships at the Canadian altar of Olympic Hockey, I am certain that Trudeau is smiling up from his new sweltering tropical digs.

Hockey "religion" makes a sane man puke.

Get a life.

The press is getting down on Gretz...funny I din't see him on the ice. If Wayne had to do it over again I wonder if he would leave 'Bertuzzi the goon' home and bring Crosby along. Bertuzzi has enough of a time carrying all that baggage around.
As for Pat Quinn...the power play stunk, enough said.

In the end neither Pat or Wayne laced 'em up and all those over priced players will have to go home and look in the mirror because they were the ones who got shut out in three games and had an offence that was anemic at best. Good defence and goaltending though.

Team cohesion and chemistry is one of the intangibles that doesn't show up on paper and seems to take some hard knocks to produce. We throw a team together at the last minute and expect to win on talent alone, there is more to a team than a group of individuals...the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Things will look better in 2010 in Vancouver...I hope. Chalk this one up to a lesson needing to be leaned by a hockey arrogent nation (me included) that has no right to claim hockey supremacy based on one gold medal in recent times.

Go Canada. Cindy Klassen is awsome. An amazing Olympics for Canada 20 or more medals, a new record!!!

I have to get back to eating my lunch..crow and humble pie.
Daniel

I'm not that old but I remember being in Grade 1,2,3 in late 70's and setting my hockey stuff out before school walking to school, walking home from school, putting on my stuff, walking up to the arena, practicing and then changing back and walking home with my equipment. My parents had work and younger kids to look after. I didn't mind, I was excited to go. I guess today you have your one or two designer kids and pamper them; try having a bunch and you get this feedback that you're not being a good parent by not taking kid to a hundred and one activities. We're not helping kids or parents with this attitude.

My co-workers and I were very sad at the office when the game ended (we had all snuck downstairs to watch the 3rd period). And I was pretty grumpy on the way home. But when I saw Chanda Crawford's cross-country gold medal race and her interviews afterwards it brought back a smile to my face. She did interviews for HOURS and was smiling and bouncy and just the happiest person I'd ever seen. And see her belt out O Canada on the podium was very heart-warming. The Olympics are for athletes like her. Maybe it's time to get the pros out of the Games?

the mens' team consists of millionaire pros who can't afford to get injured over there and possibly ruin their NHL season, so they play carefully with no heart, while the women come home and go back to their jobs at Home Depot (northwest Calgary in the plumbing dept.) they played with heart and deserved to win...again.

Good points. Indeed it is the kids carrying their own equipment to the slopes and rinks who are winning medals. The true olympic spirit lives in them.

I don't give a damn about Wayne Gretzky. I could care less which team wins the Stanley Cup. Sports personalities are no different than Hollywood celebrities, best to just ignore them. Thank God my son never took an interest in hockey! Living in a quintessential "hockey town" in Alberta, occasionally our son/family doesn't fit in, but screw 'em because what it all boils down to is playing a game. One out of every 10,000 or so kids will get drafted to the NHL. What boggles my mind is the amount of time, money and the degree of misguided effort of unrealistic expectations is invested into chasing this so called "Canadian dream". With those kind of odds I think it's best to have junior keep up with the three R's and avoid the municipal arena at all costs.

Clue in folks: at the end of the day, regardless if Wayne & Janet Gretzky are "made members" of some gambling mafiosa, regardless who wins gold in hockey at Turin it's a game. Your mortgage payment and gas bill is still due at the end of the month and Janet will still be playing the $25,000 tables in Vegas. Put half of that effort into helping your child study. Think of the hours of tutoring at a Sylvan Learning Centre that one season's worth of hockey equipment can buy you. Take your kid to Church. A museum. Get them volunteering. THAT is what builds character.

To be honest, this whole hockey and Tim Horton's bullshit we insist that defines "what it means to be Canadian" is just that: Triple Grade A bullshit. At the risk of being labeled a neo-con, I prefer the U.S. mantra which is basically "Get of your ass, pay your own way, work hard and you'll enjoy the good life. Fuck with us and you'll be vapourized. Quit your whining and get to work." Here in Can-uh-duh it's basically "I wonder what kind of government program I can apply for....gee I sure could use a large double-double....I wonder if I bribe Junior with Timbits or a twenty dollar bill he'll actually get a goal this weekend....."

>end of rant

Its not the end of the world. The other teams played better. This will set an exciting Olympic
games in B.C. If they fail again it will be necessary to bring back the death penalty.

Hey Eskimo

I agree some parents and kids are living your so called "Canadian Dream" but most are just out to enjoy the game. Hockey and any other team sport builds alot of good qualities such as confidence, leadership,teamwork as well as being healthy.

I don't disagree with you in that people should got to church or museums etc. But to say that most people only have the NHL in mind at a minor hockey game, get a clue.

Thanks for that, Ron...I admit that sometimes I go off the deep end. I guess I've heard far too many "hockey mom" stories.

That being said, Ron... compared to hockey, how many parents do you know that would boot Junior out of bed at 4:00AM every Saturday for 5 months, drive for two hours in an early morning blizzard to a math tutor's house in hopes of getting Junior's D upgraded to a C-?

I guess this is the crux of my hockey beef.

My view is that the Olympic hockey game losses by the Canadian team proves that spending nearly a weeks pay to go to places like the Air Canada Centre with your kids is a total ripoff. I thought it was before, but it is nice to have proof and a good proof is when the proof is proven, or something like that.:)

Keep in mind that you have to win each game in the Olympics. The fact that the Swiss beat Finland and Canada or that Belarus beat Sweden last Olympics is an example of how at a professional level - any team can beat a better team in any given game.

Now, if we had 3 or 7-game series in the Olympics, I think teams with real depth like Canada, the Swedes and the Czechs would definitely crush teams like Belarus or Switzerland.

As for losing to Russia, they can play hockey, so we in Canada can make vodka.

Gushue will take Gold in Men's Curling. Mark my words.

Ace, 3 or 7 game series? Do you remeber how many games Canada lost in this Olympic games?

I'm over it already.
As for the pathological naysayers.....who cares?

Yes Dante. Gushue will win gold for sure. There's no way Canadian men's curling will lose 3 gold medals games in a row. In fact we shouldn't have lost any. Harris came down with the flu in 98 and Martin choked his last stone in 02. Plus, you can't lose to a guy named Uusipaavalniemi! Lord, that's a long name.

Everyone should forget about the men's overpaid and overhyped hockey team and celebreate Canada's 20 medals (best ever) which also includes about a dozens 4ths. Bravo Canada!

I agree with Peter. I think it is time to get the pro's out of the Olympic's. This is all about amateur sports. Why isn't it the Junior's playing??? I am actually glad that the bum's got beat. With the price of their salaries and the cost of tickets to go to a game, I am so tired of all the hype. I think they need to find out what it's like to earn a real day's pay. The Canadian women at these Olympic's rock!! Go GIRLS!

I think that all 10 year-old goalies should have a custom painted mask; it should be a tradition!

Cheers
JMH

First off, Quinn can't coach when he has to. If talent's equal, Quinn loses.
Second, look at the very best players in the NHL right now.
Jagr - Czech
Forsberg - Sweden
Ovechkin - Russia
See a Canadian in that list?
I'd have put Crosby there, but he didn't make the cut... and he should have.
Canada would have been better off going with a team of first-year NHLers from Canada (Crosby, Phaneuf from Calgary, Carter and Richards from Philly just to name a few) with Brodeur in goal. The NHL game is not the international game (bigger rink, more accent on creativity). Pure grinders don't help in the international game.
That said, I think the NHL games this season have been more entertaining than the Olympic games I've watched.
Go Finland!

Daniel, "Bert the goon" was our best player by far - until word came of Moore filing another lawsuit on the first day of the Olympics.
Can't blame Gretz for picking Bertuzzi, how could he know Moore would file his second lawsuit at the worst possible time for Team Canada?

Fred: "..team played without grit, determination, spirit & heart."

I guess after 50 or 60 games so far this season, they just weren't hungry enuff. Would stopping the NHL 2 weeks before the olympics make a difference? I dunno. The other countries have Olympic teams, and sprinkle a few NHL'rs in the mix. We just pick a bunch, put them together and expect them to win based on talent alone. Might be different result if we picked one NHL team to represent Canada, say the Canucks, or Flames etc. But to just put 22 guys together and expect perfection in a few days is ludicrous. I say either have an Olympic team and supplement with NHL, or pick a team from our 6 and send them. You can't have team chemistry the way it is now.

I concur with Fred - Sutter would have been my pick for coach. Someone who would keep the prima donna's egos in check and DEMAND that his (and his coach's) style of play be used with 100% effort. Shut out three games - yikes. I missed the last part of the game, but didn't Bertuzzi take a stupid penalty that led to the Russian's first goal?

2010 - Send in the Goons!

You guys seem to forget that Sutter coaches systems.

Systems replace creativity and skill in order for lesser talent teams to compete. The Olympic team is an all-star team. They should be allowed to free wheel and play old style hockey.

Sutter would be a disaster with the pros as well. Sutter should be relegated to the history books as a high-calibre all-star coach. He isnt one.

Team Canada lost because we took too many veterans who cannot play six games in eight days. The average age was too high. Also having Ken Hitchock behind the bench is a recipe for low scoring games. Not fun or interesting for the type of players we sent over.

I'm with Colin. George Laroque should be the captain of the 2010 team. :)

I thought Bert was invisible. I thought there were a handful of players who really tried -- Ryan Smith, Joe Sakic, Jarome Iginla. I thought our defense was slow (albeit Chris Pronger was apparantely playing with a broken foot). I wondered from the start why Phaneuf wasn't there, but I doubt if he would be a game breaker. Crosby possibly could be a game breaker. Ahh, couch coaching -- I love it. And yes, I would be in favour of dumping the pros from the olympics, in favour of more heart and enthusiasm. The world junior tourny is way more fun to watch, and it is every year! Let those kids go, and watch the fireworks. BTW that Cdn aerial guy who lost his skis in practise was a beauty. Lucky he didn't hurt himself.

Simple fact, best talent, WITHOUT COMARADARIE AND FELLOWSHIP, amounts to nada. Without question, loads of talent. However: we were NOT first to puck, we did NOT check, we did NOT have a sense of urgency for loose pucks, in short, we did not have the essentials required to win as a TEAM. Wonderful individuals, piles of individual talent but as a TEAM we were not there. More time and practice to gell as a TEAM would have been nice, better team vs individual ego's would have been nice, perhaps a stronger more demanding coach would have been nice, but net effect is, we didn't have the TEAM chemistry, herefore, we failed to deliver.

Nada to do about it now, but we have to hope everyone takes note and next go around we focus more on building "last mile" mentality versus "my shift" and "me" mentality.

Gobs of talent, no delivery, shame, but it happens at every age level, not just here when wearing the maple leaf.

My thoughts and mine alone.

I'm over the hockey.

But I want those Bombardier goofs terminated IMMEDIATELY!

I want that woman under "her" train, and I want that guy gobbled up by the lions (or optionally, run over by the Land Rover).

Tim

"Bert the goon" was our best player by far"

Huh! If he was our best, then we should have stayed home. Where was the discipline in the last of the game against Russia. He took a "goonish" penalty that may or may not have been the icing on the Russians cake.
Todd may be someones 'Hockey God' he's not mine and I think he should have sat this one out in favor of Crosby. That's my opinion.

"Can't blame Gretz for picking Bertuzzi, how could he know Moore would file his second lawsuit at the worst possible time for Team Canada?"

I stand by mt earlier comments, as you can tell, I am no Bertuzzi fan and just for the reason that you have highlighted. I think that there is still alot of bad feelings amongst the players over what Bertuzzi did to Moore. This is a part of the baggage that he brings with him. I think most people here agree that the team chemistry and cohesion wasn't what it has been in the past. Why is that? I guess we all have our opinions and I think that in that department Bertuzzi takes away more than he adds because of the dark cloud that he carries with him. Sure the lawsuit came along at a bad time...what's with that! I do see that as another issue, although related since he may have been hearing rumors about it before he ever left for Turin.
I feel for Gretz. He has had alot on his plate. His mom and grandmother passing away recently and then the whole gambling thing blowing up when it did. Everything has an impact in a team sport, but hey there is always 2010. Go Canada!
Daniel

He shoots! But nobody scores...

To the tune of Alice Cooper...

"Million dollar babies"

Hey Mississauga Matt -- I am not that familiar with the train commercial, but I thought I was the only one who wanted the lions to have a feast in the other one. As they say in OZ, good on ya mate. Further -- tho I again live in B.C., I spent 6 years in Oakville, and gained just enough insight into the middle Canada psychy to ask why you are so understated on the subject of hockey? It seemed every person I talked to had an opinion one way or the other (mostly pro leaf) but at least they were willing to talk hockey ad infinitem if you let them.

Anyone who is knowledgeable about hockey will know that Bertuzzi was on the team because of his play-making abilities and ability (aka Phil Esposito) in front of the net. The penalty he took was not goonish, stupid yes, poor judgement yes, but not goonish. It was interference. He impeded the progress of a player who was not carrying the puck.
As to Canadian Hockey Supremacy, I liken our dilemma to that of Britain and Football (soccer) or Cricket. They invented these games but have given up supremacy to other countries. Nevertheless, they remain passionate about these sports and continue to field first rate clubs and national sides.

Jack
I stand corrected, perhaps goonish was a poor choice of terms. Using yours:

stupid + poor judgement = dumb goon

Leave him home for previously stated reasons...there are other playmakers who could have filled the role.

I like your analogy using Britain and soccer. Come to think of it, sometimes they have a goon or two loose as well...usually in the stands though. Cheers
Daniel

The Canadian men's hockey team met the Canadian Standards of Excellence, the standard is mediocrity. You don't agree, look around you!!

What?,

It is true that Canada lost half its games this time around, but it won most of the easier games against Italy, Germany and Switzerland(2 out of 3) and it won (1 out of 3) against the harder teams like Russia, Finland and Czechs.

My point is that the good teams are fairly evenly matched (Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Czechs, US). This has been true ever since the Summit Series. Dare I say that Switzerland is going to become a hockey power? I don't think so, but time will tell.

In a 3 or 7-game series, I would be shocked if Canada, Russia, Sweden, or Finland lost to Italy, Germany or Belarus. But these underdogs are more likely to upend the big boys in a 1-day, winner-take-all scenario.

Kate,

I frequent a few motorcycle forums and your helmet painting is loved all around. I read you here daily and never made the connection until this post. Great work and 'tis a small world.

The Canadian players didn't even come close to playing as a team.To keep things in perspective,their play was godawful.Indeed a sad,sad day for Canadian hockey fans.
HOWEVER,I think it is a glorious time for European hockey.I haven't chosen which team to root for yet but firmly believe we should have the class to be "good losers" and cheer on the remaining Olympians.

Gushue won gold. I told you so :P

Do ya think there were a few jitters there on the draw for 7?

I just love those Winnipeg girls -- Hughes and Klassen, whoo hoo!

As for the Women's Hockey Team, I was ecstatic about their win as were many Canadian expats abroad in Thailand. We laughed at the US team complaints about running up the score against the host team Italy. The girls were absolutely right. If total goals breaks a tie, then go for it. I think the US Girls have too many "let's have an affirmative action Olympics" democrats. It's the Olympics for crying out loud.

As for the men. The Canadian Team has had the highest percentage of professionals who play 80+ games per year compared to the other international teams. Me thinks someone does not want to get hurt while playing for free and possibly ending what is already a short career. I am in favour of going back to our Juniors across the Country. Their love of the game and incentive to impress scouts is still alive.

Sweet paint jobs on those helmets!

I think Canada had an easy ride last time. Belarus got lucky and ousted the Swedes.

This time, well, if Canada had done better in the round robin, they might have gone against an easier opponent in the quarter finals. I'm not surprised they lost to the Russians. On paper, Canada should have done better, but, as they say, that's why they play the games.