Gretzky roasts Leafs' playoff elimination with zinger

May 19 2023, 4:13 pm

Wayne Gretzky and Paul Bissonnette got into a little friendly banter on the NHL on the TNT panel Thursday night.

“I don’t want to hurt any feelings here about the Edmonton Oilers, Wayne,” said Bissonette, after accusing the Oilers of trying to go “a little too top heavy” and not giving adequate ice time to the third and fourth lines.

The Great One laughed off the comment but quickly returned with a quip about Bissonnette’s favourite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“Why are you taking a run at the Oilers?” asked Gretzky. “You got guys in Toronto that are on milk cartons,” he added, alluding to the idea that the Leafs’ top forwards went missing during their second-round series against the Florida Panthers.

He wasn’t wrong either. Toronto’s “core four” which is comprised of John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, were all great in Round 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but only combined for a total of three goals in Round 2 ā€” two of which were scored by Nylander.

Funnily enough, the Leafs’ jersey sponsor also happens to be the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s Milk logo, giving the joke extra points for wit.

The duo laughed it off, ultimately agreeing that neither Canadian team played well enough to move on. “You’ve got to have everyone going,” said Gretzky. “There’s no question about it.”

Biz and Gretzky also had some fun later in the show, reenacting the Panthers’ overtime goal that ended the Leafs season with fellow former NHLer Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes.

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