Maple MAGA: A Hockey Break - MAGAReport 4/7/25
Wayne Gretzky has gone MAGA. What do Canadians think?
I’m indulging myself with some hockey writing today, but before we get there: things on the MAGA forums continue as they have been. The bad news just isn’t being discussed; the participants just look for stories where their side seems to “win” and cheer about those. I have a fun new academic project on this topic that I’ll share more about soon.
But until then, my academic MAGA world has intersected with my hockey fan world a little bit this week. Here’s a little story I wrote about it.
Wanye Gretzky looked down on the ice at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC on Friday night. Alexander Ovechkin scored his 893rd goal in the first period and, with a patented one-timer from his office, put away number 894 in the second, tying The Great One's career goal scoring record. As the crowd erupted, cameras turned to Gretzky who smiled and applauded. Standing beside him in the skybox was newly-appointed FBI Director, Kash Patel.
It was the latest in a series of visible appearances Gretzky has made alongside Trump and his allies. The coziness between the Canadian Hero and American President, particularly as Trump undoes the close friendship between the two nations, has rankled many Canadians, impacting their feelings about Gretzky's records being broken and leaving them questioning his loyalty.
Wanye Gretzky played for 20 years in the NHL. When he retired in 1999, he held 61 records. His career goals record of 894 stood for 25 years, but Ovechkin has been steadily closing the gap. Speculation about whether the record could be broken has shifted to a countdown over the last couple years. Despite missing 16 games for a broken leg in November, Ovi has scored 42 goals this season. He tied Gretzky on Friday and broke the career goal record on Sunday, scoring his 895th goal on the road.
As Ovechkin has been racking up goals in 2025, Trump has been upending the U.S.-Canada relationship. He has threatened to make Canada the 51st state and imposed rounds of tariffs that led Prime Minister Mark Carney to announce that the old relationship Canada had with the United States is "over". Gretzky's friendship with Trump is hardly fresh news - he has been seen wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat, attended Trump's Inauguration in January, and was a guest at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. But in light of Trump's recent actions, Gretzky's failure to support Canada and fight back has rankled many back home.
In March, someone smeared feces on the face of the Gretzky statue that sits outside the Rogers Center where the Edmonton Oilers play. During the 4 Nations Face Off in February, Canadians took to social media to criticize Gretzky for seeming to support the American team and snubbing the Canadians at the final.
Kim from Calgary was never much of a Gretzky fan, but respected what he meant to the country. "I never doubted Wayne’s Canadian patriotism," she said, "but the pictures of him and Janet [his wife] at Mar-a-Lago, and his being at the Trump inauguration have changed all that…His actions (or inactions) at the Four Nations Cup just solidified my thought that Wayne isn’t really a symbol of Canada anymore."
On social media, the backlash to seeing Gretzky with Kash Patel in the DC skybox was quick. "I've taken shits that I've respected more then that traitor Maple MAGA loser Wayne Gretzky," wrote one user after the game. "Gretzky needs to stop bitching about Canadians being mad at his treachery if he’s gonna double down and hang out with Kash Patel," wrote another. Others jumped to Gretzky's defense, with one user with the display name "Canadian Maple Maga" calling the criticism "fragile" and "sensitive".
The Canadians I interviewed shared complex feelings, a mix of love for their country and for hockey, and a profound sense of disappointment.
It's not just Gretzky's personal political leanings. It's what's expected from him as an unofficial representative of Canada. "Being conservative is one thing," said Andrew Robillard an Ottowan living in Vancouver. "Making public appearances with the guy threatening your country is another level."
David Mattiello has photos of Gretzky and a framed, autographed Gretzky t-shirt hanging on the wall in his Edmonton home. He cried after Gretzky was traded to the L.A. Kings in 1988. He calls himself a "Gretzky homer" but says his feelings about #99 have changed. Mattiello recalls Gretzky as a true representative for Canada – noting that he served as executive director of the 2002 Olympic men's hockey team and that he lit the torch at the 2010 Olympics. But now that Gretzky is aligning himself with Trump? "It questions how much Canadian Gretzky is anymore. Which is hard to see," he said.
Mattiello's views on the hockey, though, are mostly separate from his politics. "What [Ovechkin] has done to tie Gretzky record is unbelievable and doing it at his age is incredible," he said. "Ovi is probably the greatest scorer of all time."
Others echoed respect for Ovi's accomplishment alongside a parallel disappointment in Gretzky. "I’m very happy that Ovechkin will dethrone him," said Anne from Montreal. "[Gretzky] was a good scorer but if he hadn’t been protected, he wouldn’t have lasted. He ceased to be Canadian for me when he went to the LA Kings. Now, I think he’s an opportunistic traitor who doesn’t care about Canada."
For others, Gretzky's politics had a more direct impact on their feelings about his records being broken. Becca from Edmonton has been an Oilers fan since she was a kid in the peak of the Gretzky era. "It's weird being happy that his records are being broken, but I am now that we know he's such an awful human being," she said. "To see a guy who is Canadian, who was such a symbol of 'our' game for so long, and who was so adored up here by generations of fans and players alike, align himself with someone who stands so opposite pretty much everything Canada is about - welcoming others, inclusion, helping our neighbours - it turns the stomach."
Ovechkin has his own complicated politics. His profile picture on Instagram is a shot of him with Vladimir Putin, and he helped form pro-Putin social media movement in 2017 called "Putin Team". The Beaverton ran an article yesterday with the headline “Ovechkin dedicates his record-breaking goal to the brave men and women bombing Ukrainian hospitals.” That said, those celebrating Gretzky’s record being toppled aren’t generally doing it because they are pro-Ovechkin. It is because Gretzky has been a Canadian icon and his failure to stand up for Canada during a historic moment is one that many Canadians see as a betrayal.
The sadness, disappointment, and anger were palpable in many conversations I had with Canadians in the last few days. As one eloquently summed it up: “Gretzky should be fired out of a cannon and remnants of his body discarded in a river under a bridge in Montreal.”