Phoenix Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky has denied ever placing a bet with the illegal sports gambling ring his assistant Rick Tocchet is accused of financing, and that he won't walk away from Team Canada.
In a report appearing on the Globe and Mail's website late Thursday evening, Gretzky said he's never wagered on an NHL game in his life and that he has no intention of stepping down as executive director of the Canadian Olympic men's hockey team set to compete at the Torino Games.
"No way," Gretzky told the Globe when asked if he planned to give up his post. "If I had ever bet so much as a penny on sports I would call Bob Nicholson (president of Hockey Canada) and resign."
"If I did one thing that would embarrass Team Canada or the country or hockey I would resign," he said. "It didn't happen.
"If I bet on sports – I would never embarrass Team Canada or the country or hockey – I would phone (NHL commissioner) Gary Bettman and Bob Nicholson right now and say you know what, I resign, it's over, even if I made a $1 bet," Gretzky said.
"I wouldn't even go into a sports book in Vegas," Gretzky added. "Even though it's legal, I would never do that. That's how serious I am."
The former Edmonton Oiler great also refuted a report that quoted a law enforcement source as saying Gretzky was heard on a wiretap discussing the betting ring.
Gretzky said he had no knowledge of the gambling operation until the New Jersey attorney general issued a press release on Tuesday.
Gretzky's wife, Janet Jones, also issued a statement Thursday night stating categorically that she has never placed a bet of any kind for her husband.
"At no time did I ever place a wager on my husband's behalf, period. Other than the occasional horse race, my husband does not bet on any sports," read the statement.
Comments from Gretzky and his wife came after a story appeared earlier Thursday on the Newark Star-Ledger's website. According to the website report, law enforcement sources said state wiretaps indicated Gretzky discussed the multimillion-dollar gambling operation run by Tocchet, his friend and assistant coach.
Though there is no evidence that Gretzky placed any bets, the Star-Ledger story claims secret phone recordings reveal that he knew of the operation before the story made headlines earlier this week.
When contacted by CBC News, a New Jersey state police spokesman would neither confirm nor deny the report.
The hockey world has been in a state of chaos ever since Gretzky's wife and a handful of NHL players were implicated for their alleged involvement in the gambling ring.
New Jersey state police Capt. Albert Della Fave told the New York Daily News there was no evidence that NHL players provided information about injuries or other locker-room gossip to gamblers. He also said there was also no indication NHL games were fixed.
"At this point, this is a bookmaking investigation," Della Fave told the Daily News.
Police authorities say from Dec. 29 through Feb. 5, bettors placed a total of $1.7 million US in wagers with the gambling ring run by a New Jersey state trooper, Tocchet and a New Jersey man.
The gambling ring was tied to organized crime in Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, authorities said.
Tocchet and the two men face charges of promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy and are scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court on Feb. 21, the state Attorney General's office said Thursday.
The police have not officially identified any of the players who placed bets, but did confirm they did not wager on NHL games.
Even though the unnamed players did not bet on hockey games, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league "will monitor the proceedings closely."
The NHL has a "no betting on hockey" policy regarding gambling, a league spokesman said.
In the midst of these developments, the man at the core of the ever-escalating story, Rick Tocchet, was granted an indefinite leave of absence on Wednesday evening from his duties as an assistant coach with the Coyotes.
The move was requested by Tocchet, who attended a meeting at the NHL head office in New York earlier in the day and was granted the leave by Bettman.
The leave comes with certain conditions.
He must cease all contact and communication with league and team personnel during the length of the leave. Bettman also apparently retains the right to change the terms of the absence at any time.
"We view the charges against Mr. Tocchet in the most serious terms," said Bettman in a statement. "We have pledged our full co-operation to the New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey Attorney General's Office."
The release went on to say that the league was conducting its own investigation.
The Associated Press reported that the league had hired former federal prosecutor Robert J. Cleary, who headed the Unabomber case, to investigate this case.
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