One challenge for former players turned national analysts is balancing their new role of leaguewide analysis with their past playing for particular teams. The latest interesting thing there is NHL on TNT (although not every week) analyst Wayne Gretzky‘s pre-playoffs bracket, which wound up predicting eight of eight first-round series correctly:
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
But what’s really notable about this is Gretzky’s prediction for the second round, where he has the Calgary Flames beating the Edmonton Oilers (who he played for from 1978-88). That led to quite the comment from the Oilers on Instagram:
Wayne Gretzky's bracket, which he filled out before the playoffs began, has the #Flames beating the Oilers. https://t.co/CayKuE3VI5
— Ryan Pike (@RyanNPike) May 17, 2022
Interestingly enough, Gretzky addressed this specific series in an interview with Edmonton radio station 630 CHED’s Bob Stauffer Mondayk:
“This is going to be a seven-game series and truly be the Battle of Alberta.”
“(The fans) have waited a long time patiently for this kind of a series. So it should be really exciting and should be a lot of fun.”
That’s less dramatic and definitive than his bracket prediction, but it’s still interesting. And we’ll see if Gretzky’s bracket can keep up its perfection in the second round of the playoffs, even if that means a loss for one of his former teams.
[Ryan Pike on Twitter, Global News, image via Tim and Friends on Twitter]
