WEST VALLEY CITY ? Perhaps he was just trying to light the fire within ? or, more accurately, beneath ? his team. Maybe he is feeling the pressure, knowing Canada has not won men's Olympic hockey gold in 50 years. Or, most likely, he was scheming to divert attention from his still-trying-to-get-it-together team.
Whichever, Wayne Gretzky delivered a Monday-night monologue that sure was a Great One following Canada's 3-3 tie with the Czech Republic.
Without prompting, a rather out-of-character Gretzky ? Team Canada's executive director ? whined about everything but the E Center hot dogs. He even complained about the joy he senses others have in watching Canada struggle, proclaiming "American propaganda" is at the root of criticism heaped on his homeland.
"It almost sickens my stomach to turn the TV on because I'm such a proud Canadian, " said Gretzky, whose 1-1-1 club has a single-elimination quarterfinal game against Finland on Wednesday night. "It makes me ill to hear what's being said about Canadian hockey.
"Americans love our poor start," Gretzky added. "Nobody wants us to win but our players and our loyal fans. . . . The whole world wants us to lose, except for Canada and Canada fans.
"I don't think we dislike those other countries as much as they hate us. They don't like us, they want to see us fail, they love beating us. They may tell you something different, but when you're on the ice, that's what they say."
What had Gretzky even more-riled was a crosscheck delivered by Czech Republic defenseman Roman Hamrlik in the game's waning moments. Recipient Theo Fleury didn't even complain afterward, saying, "that's the price you have to pay" for playing in front in the net.
But Gretzky, who called for Hamrlik's suspension from the Olympics, felt otherwise.
"If a Canadian player had done (that), he would have been suspended. . . . Am I hot? Yeah," he said. "I'm tired of people taking shots at Canadian hockey. When the Europeans (play rough), it's OK. If we do something like that, we're hooligans."
Gretzky even blasted the media for not asking about Hamrlik: "If a Canadian player did it, that would have been the first question European journalists would have asked me."
The tirade overshadowed a great game in which Canada, even though it was playing only one country, wound up with best of both worlds.
On one hand, the Canadians head into medal play with a degree of momentum. The back-and-forth affair started with Mario Lemieux ? back after missing one game with a hip/groin injury ? and Martin Havlat trading two goals apiece. Canada struck last, tying it at 3 when Fleury passed from the left corner to the slot, where Joe Nieuwendyk beat Dominik Hasek with three minutes and 24 seconds to go.
"I think we've made a great deal of progress," Fleury said. "We're a team, and that's what we wanted."
On the other hand, by tying, Canada draws Finland rather than Russia in the quarterfinals. Canadian players said that didn't really matter ? "We're gonna (eventually) have to play the best team anyhow," Fleury said ? but the Finns are arguably less-feared than the Russians.
"We are more physical than Finland," Canadian defenseman Chris Pronger said.
Meanwhile, Gretzky pledged Canada ? which could conceivably meet the Czechs in a gold medal-matchup ? hasn't had the last word. And he vowed there would be retribution for what happened to Fleury, even if it comes when NHL play resumes.
"They should remember there's payback in this game," Gretzky said, "and it won't be pretty."
E-MAIL: tbuckley@desnews.com