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The Gretzky family are close friends of Trump, and were at his victory party on the night of the U.S. presidential election in November. Janet Gretzky, Wayne’s wife, also shared and linked to Trump’s original Truth Social post on Instagram.
Though Gretzky apparently told Trump he had “no interest” in the position of Canada’s leader, such a move would not be completely without precedent. Ken Dryden played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1971 to 1979, during which time the team won six Stanley Cups. He went on to serve as a Liberal Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011, three of those years as minister of social development.
Another former Canadien, Jean Beliveau, twice declined Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s offer of a Senate appointment, and in 1994 turned down the post of Governor General of Canada when it was offered by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
Frank Mahovlich played for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, including the last time the team won the Cup, in 1967. He was subsequently appointed to the Senate in 1998 by Chretien, and retired in 2013 at the age of 75.
But perhaps the most impressive Canadian hockey-player-turned-politician was Red Kelly, who played 13 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings starting in 1947, and then another eight with the Leafs, from ’59 to ’67. However, he spent four of those same years as a Liberal Member of Parliament for the Toronto-area riding of York West, while still managing to help win the Stanley Cup twice.
Perhaps today’s Leafs need more MPs on their team — or vice versa.
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