Wayne Gretzky praises Sidney Crosby 🙌 'He's our Tom Brady. He's our LeBron James' | Pat McAfee Show

Indexed: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]Ladies and gentlemen, the great one, Wayne Gretzky.

[00:00:05]>> How you doing, Wayne?

[00:00:06]>> Thank you. Hey, nice to be on the show.

[00:00:08]Great to be here. And I want to thank you guys for how great you've been for hockey. It's just wonderful to see.

[00:00:16]>> That feels good, >> doesn't it?

[00:00:17]>> Yeah. Wayo, you're going to you're going to experience this. I think you experienced this the last time you were on when we were at uh TST. I think any compliment you say to us is a massive ordeal because it does feel like an entire league and a sport is talking to us through you. So, thank you for that.

[00:00:29]Thank you for being such a great representative of sport and goats. I think everybody has such massive respect for you. And on that note, let's talk about the NHL right now in the league that you are obviously a massive pillar of building and growing.

[00:00:41]>> Uh up and to the right, everything uh viewer crazy and we're talking about some teams now. Obviously, Colorado has stars all over the place. Vegas has been here before, but whenever we were going into the playoffs, there's a lot of big names that weren't going to be in the playoffs and aren't. Feels like the sport is thriving right now. Why do you think that is, Wayne? And do you think that's only going to continue?

[00:01:01]>> It's only going to get bigger. And let me say this, we have so many wonderful guys in the game of hockey. Not only are they great athletes and good players, they're good people, and they understand the responsibility of not only playing the game, but helping sell the sport.

[00:01:17]So, I'm very proud to say I'm part of the National Hockey League. And listen, we're disappointed. We're devastated we didn't win gold medal in February in Italy.

[00:01:26]>> But in the United States with the Americans winning, hockeyy's gone to another level. And and let's say this, every time the US wins, Mike only gets paid for another four years.

[00:01:38]>> Hey, we love whatever he gets. He was on our show.

[00:01:41]>> He was on our show. Obviously, he was >> He's I'm telling you, he's the highest paid player ever who scored one goal in his life.

[00:01:49]>> It's a big one.

[00:01:52]Couldn't happen to a better guy, though.

[00:01:54]He's just a wonderful young man. So, good for Mike. But no, hockey is growing. You're right. And it's fun to watch, isn't it? Fun.

[00:02:00]>> Yes.

[00:02:00]>> And it's physical. It's hard.

[00:02:03]>> Um, it's demanding, >> but my goodness, is it fun to watch. And these kids today, they're such great athletes. They're such good players.

[00:02:11]It's so much fun to watch.

[00:02:12]>> Yeah, I love hockey. I have I've been very lucky that I grew up in a hockey town, you know, in that hockey town, we had a lot of great players. We had Le Magnafi, you know, Mario Lemieux. And growing up, I thought him and Yormer Yoger were obviously the standard of excellence. And then as I got older, you know, I continued to watch Sydney Crosby do his thing. And I'm like, "Yep, there's the greatest of all time." I multiple times I've said other people the greatest of all time. Then as >> you know what's amazing is twice now Pittsburgh Penguins used to have their training camp in Brford 1967 to 74. In those days, the teams would be in southern Ontario. So, I used to go to their camps once or twice a week. My dad would get me out of school so I could go watch the the practices. So, I have this sort of relationship with Pittsburgh.

[00:02:58]But isn't it amazing? Obviously, Mario's one of the greatest players who ever lived in the game and played the game and he was so good for a game. He saved a franchise there.

[00:03:06]>> And then you think years later, this young kid from Nova Scotia comes along and he does everything he's done. And it's hard enough to get one superstar in a city, but for this city of Pittsburgh to have two, not only two of the greatest players who ever played the game, but two wonderful young men who know what it means to be a Pittsburgh Penguin and what it means to play in the NHL. They the city, I'm sure, is very proud of both of them.

[00:03:31]>> Yeah, absolutely. Very proud of uh both of them and very lucky to have both of them. I think I speak for Penguins fans everywhere whenever we say that. I just was brainwashed into thinking though that they were the greatest of all time.

[00:03:42]And then I'd like asked them and that you hear them talk and they're like, "Uh, no, go look at the record books.

[00:03:46]Wayne Gretzky is the one." Now, on that note, Wayneo, uh, Sydney's getting asked now a lot of questions, especially as he's continuing this international play.

[00:03:54]And what a guy that just absolutely loves sport. His dad's over there at the, uh, international ice hockey federation world championship that is currently taking place right now. And uh Sid was asked about, you know, how much longer maybe he wants to play and he basically said he wants to play till the wheels fall off. I is that just indicative of the love of sport or or how do you kind of feel like he views it here as a man who played 20 years in your sport as well?

[00:04:20]>> He wants to continue. And listen, he's our Tom Brady. He's our LeBron James. A guy that can still bring it at an older age. Now, let's face facts. He's not 18 anymore. He's he's getting older. I'll tell you a funny Sydney's Crosby story.

[00:04:34]They had this camp in California in LA, San Frernando Valley, and they had all these kids come in and they were uh 18 year olds. They're going to be drafted in the National Hockey League that June.

[00:04:45]And I just retired. I went to watch these kids play. And I said, "Yeah, they're all pretty good, but who's that little guy out there? He's the best player out there." He goes, "That's Crosby. He's only 14." I got my equipment the next day. I said, "I'm going on the ice with him." So, I jumped on the ice with the kids the next day. I wanted to skate with him because he was that good. So we came back to my house after the skate. His dad and Sid and a friend of mine, his agent at the time, Mike Bernett and Eddie Meal, I came said, "Come over to my house." It was only 10 minutes away. Come over and have lunch. So we're sitting there and his dad looks at him and he says, "Can I ask you a question?" I we had a twoon one. I passed it to him and he shot and he goes, "Don't you realize this guy had close to a thousand goals? You pass the puck back to him." Mr. Crosby, I said, "Mr. Crosby, it's okay. He's going to be fine. But we I could see it at then when he was 14 or 15 how good he was and how much better he was than everyone else at that age. But Sid's remarkable. He's going to play I I say the same thing.

[00:05:43]You play as long as you want to play.

[00:05:45]Make them tear that jersey off you because once you quit, it's all done, right? People say to me all the time, "Do you miss the game?" I'm like, "Of course I miss the game. Problem is, I can't play the game anymore. If I could play, I'd be out there. Trust me." in the sport of hockey obviously growing in a big way has been for a long time there was an initial move you know you going from Canada to LA huge deal I think for the NHL and for the sport of hockey as a whole I mean you're a guy who came into the league won the MVP and then won seven more I believe won eight straight MVPs just coming into the league >> pretty good >> yeah kind of phenomenal >> yeah kind of phenomenal so to get you more more eyes potentially I don't know if that was an actual decision that was talked about behind the scenes or not but you going to LA. Big deal for the growth of hockey. Let's now fast forward to now. Can we talk about Okay, go ahead, Weno.

[00:06:34]>> Well, I I was just going to say, let me say this. And when I went to LA, >> I was a part of it. But we had guys like Luke Groin and Kelly Rudy, Marty Mcurley. They they understood where we fit in too. They helped sell the sport.

[00:06:46]And then I got really, really lucky. The timing couldn't have been better.

[00:06:50]Messier was in New York with charisma and star quality and a great player, Hall of Famer. Stevie Eismer was in Detroit doing his thing and winning championships. And Brad Hall was in St. Louis and Mario was in Pittsburgh. Each corner of the of the country had a guy who not only was a Hall of Fame player, but understood his position and trying to sell the game and grow the sport. So, I caught a wave at the right time and we all pulled together and we all were a part of it. Well, I appreciate the NHL having the forethought to do that and make that decision and the players that you just mentioned, all legends and Hall of Famers understanding like, hey, we're working this thing. Like, hey, we are a league that we are trying to grow at this point. We now have come at an interesting time here in 2026 with another Canadian superstar who I don't think a lot of the world gets to witness until playoffs and if their playoff run is kind of cut short, it's like Conor McDavid being seen by people would be good for hockey. And I'm not saying that he's not right now because obviously in the playoffs he is, but that's a big conversation right now. How do you kind of view it versus like him potentially coming somewhere else or maybe moving or maybe Austin Matthews coming? What is your thoughts on players maybe moving for the good of sport maybe in league and also themselves obviously.

[00:08:00]>> Yeah, I don't think the players think about that. I honestly think they, you know, I look at Connor and I know talking with Connor, he truly loves playing in Edmonton. Austin Matthews, I'm told, likes playing in Toronto. You know, the the world's such a small world today, right? Yes. Um you can see every game on TV. Um I don't think where you play now is a difference of selling the game or making the game bigger because the world is a smaller place. My first two years in Edmonton, I'll bet 40 of the 80 games weren't even on TV. Was on radio, right? The radio announcers were making more than the TV color commentators.

[00:08:37]>> YOU SHOULD SEE THIS GUY. YOU CAN'T. YOU CAN'T. BUT THIS GUY'S UNBELIEVABLE.

[00:08:42]YEAH. YEAH, that's a fun.

[00:08:43]>> I I I don't think where the player plays now is a big has a big thing to do with it. Um, now when there's voting that goes on, not a lot of the East writers see guys that play in LA because the later games and guys in Vancouver and Edmonton, that could hurt a little bit.

[00:08:57]Uh, as far as voting for awards go, but as far as selling the game, it doesn't matter what city you're in now, it's going to sell.

[00:09:03]>> All right. Well, tell Connor if you talk to him, he needs to be coming to Pittsburgh >> or Boston. Whoa. Whoa. or boss original six. Yeah.

[00:09:13]>> I I I I I think that's a conversation you guys have with Connor yourselves.

[00:09:18]>> No, no, don't throw us in. That's what we utilize. Yeah.

[00:09:21]>> I kind I kind I kind of like my statue in Edmonton. I don't want to see it burnt down.

[00:09:27]>> Wait, don't say Do not let us ruin anything in uh the great one's life.

[00:09:31]Okay, let's pivot to uh current serieses that are happening. Obviously, tonight the Eastern Conference uh will drop puck in for the finals for the first time and the Caniacs are back playing after a long layoff, but last night felt like a gigantic surprise to a lot of people that the Vegas Golden Knights were able to get one and not just get one, they look dominant early. Now, Avalanche were able to come back. They were out with Macar. What is your thoughts on the Western Conference that happened last night and how do you think these two teams kind of match up?

[00:10:00]Well, listen, I I really like Colorado all year, and one of the things I like about Colorado is they faced some adversity during the season, and they still finished first overall. I'm not sure if you remember a few years ago in Boston set that record and were on fire all year long and they had no adversity and all of a sudden they lost game seven to the to the Panthers. So, I like Colorado, the fact that they face some adversity. I don't like the fact that Macar didn't play game one because now is he going to play game two or not?

[00:10:28]like taking him out of the lineup and and the great Eric Johnson told you guys that's a big hole to fill and Eric does such a great job in analyzing. I'm so happy for him. But you don't replace Kale Mar. It's just as simple as that.

[00:10:41]So, am I surprised at Vegas? No. They're a veteran team. Uh they play properly.

[00:10:46]They're unselfish. They play hard and they're getting great goalending from Carter Hart. Good for him. And so no, Vegas, and I said this when they won the Stanley Cup, Jack Idol was a superstar in that playoff run. And he's been good for them and solid for them this year also. And so Vegas is going to be a tough out, but Colorado's good.

[00:11:06]>> Yeah, Colorado very good. Some are talking about maybe, hey, we might talk about this team as being the most talented or the best of all time. Then they lose one to Minnesota and it's like, oh, Carolina didn't lose, which we will certainly get to in a second.

[00:11:16]>> Seven games. You know, that's the thing about playoffs, and Tom Brady and I were talking about this when we were watching the gold medal game in Italy, and >> Tom said, you know, the Super Bowl and the gold medal game, anything could happen. The best team usually wins in a four to seven series. Eventually, the cream rises to the top, right? So, if Colorado's as good as their record indicates, they'll be fine. But Vegas is going to be a tough battle.

[00:11:42]>> Yeah, Vegas is going to be a tough battle, especially with the new skipper.

[00:11:45]Go ahead, Ty.

[00:11:46]>> Yeah. Bueno, what I think this happens in hockey, maybe more so than other sports where a a coaching change does happen, you know, maybe right before the playoffs like Vegas, largely the same team, but what is it about tors that has kind of gotten Vegas to to play at another level because they do look like a much different team now that he is uh at the helm than they did before he was there?

[00:12:08]>> I I first of all, let me say what what he's done is miraculous. I mean, it really is. You go in with eight or nine games left in the season and you take over a team like that. It's an older team, a veteran team and you got to go in there and in hockey you earn respect from the players. You don't buy it or they don't hand it to you. And he's earned the respect of his players. You can see that on the bench. I think he's really settled in and really enjoying coaching this hockey club. And I think this is the happiest I've probably ever seen him on the bench since he won the Stanley Cup for Tampa Bay in 0 what five or six. So, you know, it was the right call at the right time and he's doing a tremendous job. Good for him.

[00:12:47]>> So, what is he? He's a perfectionist.

[00:12:49]Just super accountable. He can always find something that's miserable and fixable. We have a lot of those coaches.

[00:12:53]Is that kind of his thing?

[00:12:55]>> I think his thing was he was a big teacher to young players and this is a veteran team and I think he's taken a step back and said, you know what, I don't have to tell them how to do this or do that. And I'm just saying this and seeing it from the outside like you guys. I'm not in the inside by any means, but that's what it looks like is that he's standing behind that bench and whether they're up one nothing or down one nothing, his players get the feeling from him that he's still extremely positive and that they're in a good spot.

[00:13:24]>> Good for the lads over there in Vegas.

[00:13:27]They need it, man. I mean, every team needs it. And then let's pivot to tonight. There's a rest versus rust conversation, especially at one particular position. Go ahead, Tone.

[00:13:34]>> Yeah, definitely. Wayne, let's talk about the rookie verse the vet in net tonight. Doash, the rookie for Montreal, who's been incredible, especially after a loss, and then Freddy Anderson, who's been in the league for 12 plus years.

[00:13:45]>> How do you think the rest verse Russ at that position is going to be tonight?

[00:13:49]And then as a goal scorer for you, would you rather be facing a rookie or would you rather be facing a vet who maybe you know more and have like more tape on?

[00:13:58]>> Well, first of all, I'd probably rather face the rookie because everyone's human, right? And until you get in that position, you're going to be a little bit nervous. But good for him. He's played unbelievable. I can't figure out this 8 n day rest thing cuz I happened a few times in my career where we had the eight days off and we took a couple days off and then practice and then there was a couple times where he skated the crap out of us. I can remember all of us yelling, "We're going to go seven games next series because we don't want to skate this much in practice."

[00:14:30]So, I don't I don't have the answer for that one. Right. I I think though what Carolina has to do is come out the first 10 minutes, put their toes in the water, just get comfortable again, get back into that game mode because it doesn't matter how much you practice. It's not the same feeling as a game. They'll be okay. They got a veteran coach. They got a veteran team. They just got to withstand the first 10, 12 minutes.

[00:14:54]Montreal, they're going to be fine.

[00:14:55]They're playing on high octane right now. Their enthusiasm and their energy, their best players are playing well, and you can feel it. You can feel it in the TV watching them that they're that they don't believe they can lose. They they got beat 83 at home in game six and came back and won game seven in overtime in Buffalo, which I couldn't believe. So, Marty St. Louis did an incredible job.

[00:15:17]Rody Bridenmore, he's done an incredible job. This is what it's all about. It's exciting for hockey and everybody's excited about it.

[00:15:24]>> Yeah, Montreal is jacked up. I mean, >> we got we're going we're going there Sunday and we got the F1 race as a bonus. the F1 races in Montreal and Stanley our Eastern Conference Finals game there.

[00:15:35]>> Race race Sunday game Monday, Wednesday.

[00:15:39]Uh >> oh, Montreal ticket >> uh to the Canadians and that environment that we got a chance to witness from home and hockey environments are awesome all over the place. I think there'd be a lot of fans especially across the Canadian provinces that would say our barn's the best barn right now. The Montreal barn is going to be showcased after Carolina. I think it's the right one too. The watchalongs filled arenas, people going crazy. What do you think people are about to learn about this Montreal fan base? And uh how should this be up there and how should we expect it to kind of go for this run from F1 to game one, game two of the finals? Jesus, >> it's I it's remarkable, isn't it? It just shows you the passion that people have for the sport in our country. Uh, I can remember playing in Edmonton and coming out after the warm-up for the first before the anthem and and the people standing in the stadium and cheering and clapping for minutes on minutes before they even started to play the national anthem. And Montreal looks like the exact same thing. It's just chaotic there. These people live, die, breathe, think hockey. It's a a national pastime obviously and you know they're a story franchise. They're up there with the Yankees and Montreal Canadians. Uh and they've waited a long time for this.

[00:16:55]Uh I think the last time they won the cup was in 1993. So these people are ecstatic and excited about it. I I know I'm not going to go too far with Biz.

[00:17:04]We're just going to kind of sneak into the arena and sneak out. So that's all I know.

[00:17:08]>> Yeah. Smart. I love what Biz has really built himself into in the hockey world.

[00:17:13]I see his ass in commercials. I see him in arenas. I see players. I I mean, Biz is the right one for it all. You guys are great over there.

[00:17:20]>> Thank you. It's fun. You know, we got a great group. I was saying to someone today, you know, we've been together four years. I don't think we've ever had an argument. Liam is our quarterback. He directs the traffic. It's fun group.

[00:17:32]It's a good group. There's no egos. We love the game. We try to promote the game. And it's just a lot of fun. You know why there's no egos, Wayne?

[00:17:41]>> I don't know. You check them at the door.

[00:17:43]>> So I That probably happens a lot with you if I had to guess. Yeah, that's like in the room.

[00:17:47]>> That's like when I'm with when I was with Payton. When I was with Peyton, it's like everybody kind of drops their egos at the door whenever Pton Manning walks in. All of a sudden it's like, "Oh, okay. Yeah, we're all kind of on the same level here." And that's doing this one right here. So, uh, I think that's because of their captain pal.

[00:18:00]Okay. And I think it's because of you. I think you've done a great job doing TV.

[00:18:04]And I also appreciate the fact that you give back to the game a lot. I really do. Now, you are forced to pay attention to the game. I I think you probably do that anyways, but for TV, you are. I assume there are some thoughts in that competitor brain of yours. Connor has a question for you.

[00:18:17]>> Yeah, Wayne know Pat mentioned it earlier on like you having 61 records in the NHL when you retired is ridiculous.

[00:18:22]And just going through them is crazy.

[00:18:24]But when you watch the game today, I mean, yeah, look at this. Alltime leader, points, goals, assists, basically every single thing that actually matters.

[00:18:31]>> Playoffs included, I think, in these ones, too. Yeah. So, there's just 200 point game uh seasons. four 200 point seasons. The only guy to have one is Wayne Gretzky. He did it four times, but and this is probably very awkward for you to listen to.

[00:18:44]>> No. Yeah, BUT TAKE IT ALL, WAYNE. IT IS WHAT IT IS.

[00:18:46]>> SIT THERE AND take it all, brother.

[00:18:48]That's what you Okay. All right. Sorry.

[00:18:50]Go ahead.

[00:18:50]>> But looking at the game now, when you do watch, do you have like a Yeah, I'd probably score a 100 goals in a season if I were playing right now. Is there a team or a player you would want to play with it? like Crosby, you mentioned McDavid, even Celabbrini now kind of seemingly the next guy for Canada. What is your thoughts when you're watching and what do you think? Do you think you'd have probably averaged three points a game, you know, four or five goals?

[00:19:18]>> I don't think like that, but I tell you what I do think like uh how good these guys are and what a pleasure it would be to play with them and against them. I when I watch the game, I more look at the rules than I do the individual players. So like Mario was a big big backer of he got rid of hooking and holding in hockey. He basically said we got to get this out of the game and the commissioner agreed with him. We got hooking and holding out of the game. Um they took out the red line. I would have loved to been able to play hockey without a red line. My goodness, how much fun that would have been. Um but the athletes are better today. So, there's some things that I think I could benefit from. And then there's other things. Well, these guys are bigger, faster, stronger, way better than we were in the 80s and 90s. So, no, I just appreciate the game more than anything.

[00:20:07]And I love watching it. These kids are such great athletes. But it's it's it's like that in every sport, right?

[00:20:15]Athletes are just getting better each and every year. And it doesn't matter what sport it is.

[00:20:19]>> It's not just the athletes. I think the sports, the strategies, the techniques, you you mentioned it, the rules are changing. Yeah. the whole sport kind of changes, you know, like we we >> look at I was going to say look at Tom Brady. I'm sure he would have loved to played in the era where you couldn't really run over the quarterback. Guys like Terry Bradshaw, Kenny Stabler, they got killed back there, but it's a different era, right? You can hit the quarterback, but there's a certain amount you can't. And I'm sure Tom would love to play in this game today if he was 22 years old.

[00:20:46]>> Hold on. Speaking of getting hit and everything like that, when did Okay.

[00:20:51]Were you first Goon guy? Were you first goon guy in NHL or was there goon guy before you?

[00:20:56]>> What does that mean? I don't know what that means.

[00:20:58]>> You know what that means? I know.

[00:21:00]>> No, I don't. A protector.

[00:21:01]>> Yes. Sorry. Sorry. I I was just using strictly movie reference.

[00:21:05]>> Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I figured out halfway through the conversation, but you know, back in those days, back in those days, every team had one or two. That was part of the deal. Like each team had their guy to protect their guy, right? And it was just part of the game. And it What was ironic about it was the real tough guys you didn't worry about because they were honest. They didn't want like Dave Seamo didn't want to hurt Mario Lemieux. Uh Tim Hunter and Calgary didn't want to run over me. But it was the middle guy that you worried about that thought, okay, I can get away with this. And that's why you had the tough guys because you eliminated those guys from getting those extra shots in, right? Yeah. And so that's why every team had one or two protectors and that's how that kind of all started.

[00:21:52]>> Yeah. Hey Capo. Yeah, you ain't talking to him but okay. They talk to each other. You you do not you do not travel up there. They are uh yeah that okay that is a that is a great thing. I think what they did with the game though after the lockout I believe they changed some of the rules kind of open it up a little bit and then obviously they went a little bit aggressive on fighting to kind of change the I think they tried to change what the pace of the game was.

[00:22:14]>> But now we're at a we're at a spot fighting still exists. Still a lot of physicality, a lot of speed. Feels like we're at a great spot rules-wise for a sport that is on the up and to the right. I think >> I I think the rules are fine. Um it's a physical game. It's a hard-nosed game.

[00:22:28]The league and the players association did one great thing. They didn't eliminate fighting. Okay. And people say, "Well, you didn't fight anyway."

[00:22:36]But, you know, we're the only sport where you got a lethal weapon in your hand. And it's so But what the league did was you can't fight in youth hockey anymore. You can't fight in college hockey. You can't fight in junior hockey. So all these guys coming up now, they've never been in a fight.

[00:22:50]>> Oh my god.

[00:22:51]>> Whereas when we were pro Yeah. When we were pro hockey, all those guys grew up fighting at 15, 17, 18. So we've pretty much eliminated fighting. It's not in the game as much. Periodically, it appears, but all in all, it's not in our sport anymore.

[00:23:05]>> Man, those young guys just happening to stroll into one of those games.

[00:23:10]>> Just the Oh, you don't even know about this move. Boom. Oh, that's fun. If you can't even that some of the experienced fighters in there, it's very obvious. I mean, the the grab right to here for the left jab, just the constant and then the overhand timing >> and not scared to look like this either.

[00:23:28]Some people might be too much in.

[00:23:31]>> Yeah. And then and then Yeah. Yeah.

[00:23:34]>> I I was in LA that first year and one of my friends who didn't know much about hockey, he said, "Is is fighting real?"

[00:23:40]I said, "Well, if it wasn't, I'd be in more of them.

[00:23:44]You're the best.