NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Former NHL star PK Subban dismissed criticism directed at hockey legend Wayne Gretzky for his association with President Donald Trump earlier this month.
Gretzky was seen at Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, when the US president took office for his second term. In 2024, Trump teased Canada with the possibility of appointing “The Great One” as governor of the “51st state.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Wayne Gretzky arrives at the inauguration ceremony before Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC on January 20, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool via Imagn Images)
Trump’s jab at Canada caused heightened tensions between the two countries before the president later backtracked, calling Gretzky a “free agent.”
The heightened tensions fueled intense competition between the U.S. and Canada hockey teams at the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, and many expect that to continue into the Winter Olympics if the two teams meet this month.
Subban defended Gretzky’s relationship with Trump against critics in an interview with the Toronto Sun.
“I want to know what they’ve contributed to the country and what they’ve contributed to the game of hockey,” he told the magazine. “We’re in an opinion-based world; everybody has an opinion, and that’s great. But my job is not to listen to everybody’s opinion… Wayne has paid his dues.
FBI Director Kash Patel, left, talks with former NHL player Wayne Gretzky, right, during the first period of an NHL hockey game between the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
U.S. OLYMPIC SKATING STARS CONSIDER APPEAL OF REFEREE’S SCORING THAT DENIED THEM GOLD
“He’s been in the trenches. He went to Nagano. He’s put together Hockey Canada. He’s played for Hockey Canada. He’s represented the country. He’s represented the league. He’s done it all. I’m sorry for people who feel (he betrayed Canada). So I’ll say this: ‘You have no credibility to comment and the way Gretzky is taking it’.”
Subban suggested that the back-and-forth between Trump and Canadian leaders was why the 4 Nations Face-Off was a rousing success.
“Just him talking about it … led to a whole bunch of people asking, ‘Why is Trump talking about this hockey game?'” he told the Toronto Sun. “So sensitive of a time it was and so influential the president and prime minister are … I didn’t imagine how big the game could get or to have world leaders involved in a tournament like that … But it changed the course of the game … It would be cool to watch (the documentary) with Don Cherry and get his two cents on it.”
PK Subban #76 of the New Jersey Devils handles the puck against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on April 9, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. (Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
Subban is the executive producer of the new documentary series, “Rivals: The 4 Nations Face-Off.”
