As the embattled Wayne Gretzky and his wife, Janet Jones, prepared to go to the Winter Olympics in Italy, the former federal prosecutor hired by the NHL to do an internal investigation said on Friday that any wagering done by players in the league had apparently been limited to other sports.
"It does not appear to us that there has been betting on hockey games at all," the prosecutor, Robert Cleary, said in a telephone interview.
Cleary was retained Wednesday by Gary Bettman, the commissioner of the NHL, to investigate whether a betting ring that law-enforcement officials said was based in New Jersey and financed by the Phoenix Coyotes assistant Rick Tocchet might have influenced games.
NHL players are prohibited from betting on hockey, but not other sports, though placing bets would be illegal. Nearly a dozen players were said to have placed bets with the ring. Tocchet planned to plead not guilty, said Kevin Marino, his lawyer.
Gretzky, the NHL's career scoring leader, is the coach of the Coyotes and a friend of Tocchet's. On Thursday night, Gretzky, known as the Great One, denied involvement in the betting ring. Various reports have said that Jones was involved in the ring, but Gretzky did not address reporters' questions about Jones.
The Star-Ledger of Newark on Friday quoted a law-enforcement source as saying that Gretzky was overheard on a wiretap talking to Tocchet several weeks ago about how authorities found out about the betting ring and about how they could minimize the fallout for Jones and themselves.
Gretzky and Jones have not been charged, but the newspaper reported that officials were investigating whether Gretzky might have placed bets through Jones. Gretzky told reporters on Tuesday that he did not know about his wife's or Tocchet's possible involvement in the ring.
Gretzky said he planned to continue coaching the Coyotes. He is also the executive director for Team Canada, the defending Olympic men's hockey gold medalist, and he said that he planned to travel to Turin for the 2006 Games. A spokesman for Jones, Elliot Mintz, said that Jones would accompany Gretzky.
Although the appearance of Gretzky and Jones in Turin could create a spectacle during a competition that is a showcase for NHL players, Bettman had not talked to Gretzky about not going, said Bernadette Mansur, a spokeswoman for the NHL. That would be a matter between Gretzky and Canada, she said.
Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, who is expected to be the starter for Team Canada, said Friday that he did not expect Gretzky's presence to be a distraction.
Rangers 4, Maple Leafs 2
Jaromir Jagr scored twice and added an assist in New York's four-goal second period, and rookie Henrik Lundqvist won his 25th game Friday as the Rangers rallied to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2.
Jagr connected twice on the power play and got New York even at 1 and 2 in a 2:45 span of the middle frame. His first goal moved him past New York Islanders great Mike Bossy into sole possession of 16th place on the NHL career list. His second -- No. 575 -- was his league-leading 38th of the season.
Chad Kilger gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead for the eighth straight game, but Toronto is only 3-3-2 in those contests. Darcy Tucker restored the Leafs' advantage just 48 seconds after Jagr's first.
The game was tied again 1:57 later, and the Rangers were on the way to their fifth consecutive victory and sixth in seven contests. They blew the game open on goals by Jagr, Tom Poti and Petr Sykora.
RSS