Paul Connors / AP

It’s been a difficult and tragic year for NHL legend and Phoenix Coyotes coach/owner Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky, who has attended the funerals of both his mother and his grandmother in recent months, now has deal with allegations that his wife and assistant coach are involved in a gambling ring.

These developments couldn’t have come at a worse time for the NHL, trying to win its fan base back after a labor dispute wiped out the 2004-05 season.

Some prominent NHLers weren’t buying that argument and simply sought to downplay the allegations.

"I don’t think this is going to be as big as everybody believes it will be," Wings captain Steve Yzerman said.

We’ll lay odds he loses that wager.

That one of the people alleged to have been making these illegal wagers is Gretzky’s wife makes this a big deal.

The NHL’s all-time scoring leader and hockey’s greatest ambassador linked to an illegal gambling ring, albeit at this point only by association, is a headache the league doesn’t need on the eve of the Winter Olympics, at which Gretzky will be in charge of the defending champions from Canada.

Do you actually think the world’s media is going to be asking Gretzky questions about Canada’s gold-medal chances in Italy?

Sure they will. Just like they kept asking Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan about their short programs during the 1994 Winter Games.

Maybe it will all slide off of Gretzky’s back. At least the NHL can hope for that to happen.

After all, Gretzky’s proven adept at avoiding controversy in the past.

In the heyday of the Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers during the mid-1980s, Sports Illustrated published allegations that the Oilers were drug-using party boys, but nothing ever came of the story.

Following his 1988 trade to Los Angeles, Gretzky grew close to Kings owner Bruce McNall, even entering into business partnerships with McNall. But when McNall went to federal prison for bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy and some of his associates also did time, there was never any suggestion that Gretzky had done anything illegal.

The Teflon One slid through it all unscathed.

Gretzky’s most scandalous moment to date came Nov. 19, 1983, when he accused the New Jersey Devils of, "putting a Mickey Mouse operation on the ice" after the Oilers hammered the Devils 13-4.

Shortly after he retired from the game in 1999, there was mild unrest in Canada after Gretzky filmed ads recommending a prominent brand of arthritis pain relief medication brought to him, then later revealing he didn’t even suffer from arthritis.

That’s as close as he’s come to being burned by controversy.

Gretzky remains tight with McNall and frequently visited him in prison. He’s known for sticking by his friends through thick and thin and he’s given every indication that his loyalties remain with Tocchet. "He’s a great guy and a good friend," Gretzky said. "He’s just going through a tough time right now."

Should these gambling allegations against Tocchet prove worthy of conviction and if Mrs. Gretzky is indeed involved in any significant way, then loyalty, Gretzky’s greatest quality, could prove to be his worst enemy.

This could be the one that finally sticks to the Teflon.

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