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Former NHL star PK Subban dismissed criticism aimed at hockey legend Wayne Gretzky for his association with President Donald Trump earlier this month.
Gretzky was spotted at Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, as the US president took office for his second term. In 2024, Trump teased Canada with the possibility of appointing “The Great One” governor of the “51st State.”
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Wayne Gretzky arrives for the inauguration ceremony before Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States in the rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC on January 20, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool via Imagn Images)
Trump’s attacks on Canada led to heightened tensions between the two countries before the president backed down and called Gretzky a “free agent.”
Heightened tensions have fueled intense competition between the United States and Canada hockey teams in the 4-Nations Showdown in 2025 and many expect that to continue at 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 would like to know what they brought to the country and what they brought to hockey,” he told the outlet. “We’re in an opinion-based world; everyone has an opinion and that’s great. But my job is not to listen to everyone’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)
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“He’s been in the trenches. He went to Nagano. He founded Hockey Canada. He played for Hockey Canada. He represented the country. He represented the league. He did it all. I feel sorry for the people who think (he betrayed Canada). So I would say this: ‘You have no credibility to comment on Wayne Gretzky and the decisions he makes.'”
Subban suggested that the exchanges between Trump and Canadian leaders were the reason the 4 Nations showdown became a resounding success.
“Just the fact that he’s talking about it… has made a whole bunch of people wonder, ‘Why is Trump talking about this hockey game?'” he told the Toronto Sun. “That’s what a sensitive time it was, and that’s how influential the president and the prime minister are…I didn’t imagine how big the game could get or how world leaders would be involved in a tournament like that…But it changed the trajectory 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)
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Subban is executive producer of the new documentary series “Rivals: The 4 Nations Face-Off.”
