“Very Lackluster List”: Hockey World Left Divided as Wayne Gretzky’s Bizarre Exclusion in His Dream Team Resurfaces

When there are too many good hockey players, there is bound to be controversy about team selection. This is exactly what happened when Wayne Gretzky chose his dream team of hockey players. Fans gave epic reactions to Wayne Gretzky’s choices of hockey players and his omission of a legendary hockey player. 

The reactions were also interesting because Gretzky did not include himself in the list. While some fans praised Gretzky’s choices, others fans remarked that Gretzky was biased. Various fans also made intriguing remarks about Gretzky as a coach. 

The dream team of Wayne Gretzky received mixed fan reactions 

As reported by The Hockey Beast, The Great One included Grant Fuhr as the goalie and Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey as the defencemen. Along with this, Gretzky chose Gordie Howe, Mark Messier, and Jean Beliveau as forwards in the team. Commenting on this list wherein Gretzky left himself out, a fan wrote, “Why would he pick himself? He is a humble guy.” Other fans also praised his selection. A fan wrote, “This is an excellent team, creatively and sentimentally procured with his own desires of a dream team.”  

Afterward, fans reacted to the fact that hockey legend Mario Lemieux did not make it to this list. Lemieux was a Canadian hockey player who scored more than 80 points in Pennysylvania in more than 4 NHL seasons.  “To be fair, the article can’t decide whether Gretzky was asked to pick the best or his favorite. Looks to me to be his favorites, which might explain while Lemieux isn’t included”, a fan reacted. The fan tore down Gretzky as being biased and referred to the fact that Gretzky has praised his preferences including Bobby Orr in many interviews.

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Another fan commented on Gretzky’s surprising change of opinion while selecting players for the Dream Team. “Very lackluster list. Also, hasn’t Gretzky gone on record to say that Hextall was the best goalie he’s ever played against?”  This seemingly refers to a 1987 interview with The Morning Call where Gretzky calls Hextall the best goaltender. 

Additionally, a fan also gave a shocking remark. “This is why Gretzky failed as a coach too. He always selects his friends.” In contrast, other fans respected Gretzky’s unique point of view. A fan reacted, “I don’t interfere with his own opinion, because it’s only about his own choices….”  Among the ones who did not take the list kindly, there was also a category of fans who accepted Gretzky’s opinion even though it might have been different from their own. 

Along with this, other fans also gave interesting opinions about which players they would replace in the list and include their own choices, if possible. A fan responded, “I would replace Coffey with Lidstrom, and Messier by Lemieux. If I went by his picks alone.” These words depict how fans prefer Lidstrom and Lemieux as more suitable players, worthy of being on their dream team.

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What do you think about Gretzky’s Dream Team selection? Let us know in the comments below.