Wayne Gretzky’s appearance alongside Trump-backed FBI director Kash Patel at Alex Ovechkin milestone sparks backlash from columnist 

By Zachary Roberts

Modified Apr 18, 2025 18:35 GMT

Follow Us

Share

0 Discuss

Over the last few months, hockey legend and Canadian Wayne Gretzky has been seen plenty of times with and around American president Donald Trump. Famously, Trump has said he wants to annex Canada as the 51st state and make Gretzky the governor.

Now, Gretzky has been spotted with those close to Trump. He was with the president's chosen FBI director Kash Patel when Alex Ovechkin tied Gretzky's goal record. Ovechkin would shortly thereafter break the record.

That sparked some attention from sports analyst Pablo Torre, who said it gave him pause. On Torre's podcast, NHL columnist Bruce Arthur took it even further. He believes the Trump administration's cabinet members paint this picture differently:

"Let's just zoom out for one second. If this had happened in almost any administration before 2016, and it's a member of the cabinet or someone like that in the box with an NHL player, especially for a Washington player, nobody blinks twice, right? But times have changed. Things are different."

He went on to question how this has gone largely unnoticed:

"I just didn't understand why him. We had seen Gretzky hanging out with Trump because he's known Trump forever, but he's always said, 'I'm not interested in politics.' So how are you hanging out with the other guys as well now? And how's the NHL saying yes to that?"

Patel and Gretzky were in a suite for the Washington Capitals game when Gretzky scored his 894th goal to tie Gretzky.

---

Trump FBI director praised Alex Ovechkin after tying Wayne Gretzky

Kash Patel and Wayne Gretzky sat in a suit together as they watched Alex Ovechkin score his 894th goal against the Chicago Blackhawks. Afterward, Patel took to social media to congratulate the star forward.

He said:

"Congrats to The Great One Wayne Gretzky and huge props to #8 [Alex Ovechkin]. The greatest game on earth, honored to be with them on this record tying night... 894 goals. #Legends."

Alex Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky (Imagn)

As the next game, where Ovechkin broke the record against the New York Islanders, was on the road, Patel, who works in Washington, D.C. alongside President Trump, was not in attendance.