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.
PHOTO: AP
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.
Avalanche 4, Blue Jackets 1
At Columbus, Ohio, Marek Svatos scored twice in a 3-minute span of the third period to lead Colorado over Columbus.
With the score tied 1-1 and the Avalanche on the power play, Svatos took a quick centering pass from behind the goal from Brett McLean and went high over goalie Marc Denis' glove side at the 1:08 mark. Joe Sakic then dug the puck off the wall and sent an ideal setup pass to Svatos in the high slot that he converted for his 32nd goal of the year at 3:58.
Antti Laaksonen scored the fastest first goal ever for the Avalanche and Brad Richardson had an empty-netter as Colorado improved to 17-0-1-1 against the Blue Jackets.
Jan Hrdina had the only Columbus score.
Penguins 4, Hurricanes 3
At Raleigh, North Carolina, John LeClair whipped in a rebound for the go-ahead goal in the final minute of the second period, Sidney Crosby added his 27th of the season and lowly Pittsburgh won on the road for the first time in more than a month.
Sebastien Caron stopped 34 shots for the Penguins, who still have the worst record in the NHL.
Eric Staal had two goals and an assist for Carolina. Cory Stillman also scored for Carolina. Eric Boguniecki and Mark Recchi had the other goals for Pittsburgh.
Flyers 5, Capitals 4
At Philadelphia, Sami Kapanen scored the go-ahead goal and Brian Savage had two power-play scores, leading injury-depleted Philadelphia over undermanned Washington.
Playing without star center Peter Forsberg and six other regulars, the Flyers won their second straight game.
Simon Gagne scored his 36th goal and Donald Brashear also scored for Philadelphia, which is 6-7-3 after a 9-0-2 stretch.
Rookie sensation Alexander Ovechkin scored his 35th goal and Brian Sutherby, Brian Willsie and Dainius Zubrus added goals for Washington, which is tied for the third-fewest points in the NHL.
Wild 6, Oilers 3
At Edmonton, Alberta, Pierre-Marc Bouchard set a team record with two goals in span of 16 seconds to help Minnesota beat Edmonton for the third time in four meetings.
Marc Chouinard, Pascal Dupuis, Andrei Zyuzin and Wes Walz had the other goals for the Wild.
Dwayne Roloson made 23 saves for the Wild.
Raffi Torres, Radek Dvorak and Todd Harvey scored for Edmonton, finished 0-for-9 on the power play and lost its second straight.
Mighty Ducks 3, Canucks 1
At Vancouver, British Columbia, Andy McDonald had a goal and an assist and Ilya Bryzgalov made 14 of his 27 saves in the third period, lifting Anaheim over Vancouver.
McDonald set up the Ducks' first goal and scored the second, extending his point streak to 10 games as Anaheim built a 3-0 lead in the first period and held on for its second win in five games. Joe Dipenta and Joffrey Lupul also scored as Anaheim moved within two points of idle Los Angeles for eighth place in the Western Conference.
Markus Naslund scored the lone goal for the Canucks.
Flames 3, Blues 2, OT
At Calgary, Alberta, Dion Phaneuf scored twice, including the game-winner in overtime, to lead Calgary over St. Louis.
After Blues defenseman Barret Jackman took a hooking penalty 1:37 into the extra period, the Flames controlled the puck and fired six shots at goalie Patrick Lalime before Phaneuf finally got one past him at 2:40. Andrew Ference also scored for Calgary.
Rookie defenseman Dennis Wideman and Mike Glumac scored for St. Louis.
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