Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux won the 1987 Canada Cup together. But one of the greatest moments in Canadian sports history might not have ended the way it did if it hadn’t been for six words Wayne Gretzky said to Mario Lemieux earlier in the tournament.
Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux are considered by many to be the greatest hockey players of all time. Together, they hold numerous NHL records and could easily fill a garage with their combined silverware.
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Wayne Gretzky in Canada Cup
Wayne Gretzky had been part of Team Canada for the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cups. In 1981, Canada lost the final 8–1 to the Soviet Union. By the time of the 1987 tournament, Mario Lemieux had established himself as one of the best players in the world, even though he was still young.
The tournament started somewhat shakily for Team Canada. After a few games, coach Mike Keenan decided to put Gretzky and Lemieux on the same line.
Six, magical words
Speaking to Graham Bensinger in 2016, Wayne Gretzky recalled how everything played out:
“What happened was, in the first game we played together, we got a 2-on-1 and I gave him a pass. Mario has such great hands, like Mike Bossy or Brett Hull. He never misses—but he passed it back to me. Although I was a goal scorer, quite frankly I would tell you that Mario had an opportunity to snap the puck from the slot. His shot is probably harder and better than mine. I wanted him to be the shooter, so when we got back to the bench, I said, ‘Listen, Mario, if we ever get 2-on-1s, believe me—you’re going to be the shooter. You’re going to score the goal, because frankly, you’re a better goal scorer than I am,’” Gretzky recalled.
After that, the duo accounted for 29 percent of Team Canada’s goals. And what happened in the third and decisive final game against the Soviet Union? A defining moment in Canadian hockey history.
Canada won the game 6–5 with 1:26 left in the third period, when Gretzky set up Lemieux on a 2-on-1.
You can watch Gretzky recall the memory below.
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