Wayne Gretzky received a standing ovation in Edmonton two Saturdays ago, one of hundreds he’s received in the city he put on the map, where he won four Stanley Cups, set the all-time NHL points record, scored 50 goals in 39 games, and generally amazed fans for almost ten years.

But Wayne Gretzky wasn't in Edmonton – he was in New York. Still, in Edmonton, during the first intermission of the Flames-Oilers regular-season finale, as the Jumbotron played a montage of his greatest moments, I and 17,000 others stood and celebrated a man thousands of miles away.

Even the Bethlehems of hockey, Toronto and Montreal, face troubles competing with American teams. As regular Moneyline viewers no doubt know, the Canadian dollar happens to be worth about 60 percent of the U.S. dollar. Not exactly even footing. And then there are the taxes – the Ottawa Senators, the third best team in hockey this past regular season, pay taxes on the off-ramp that leads fans to their arena. And so those fans face an exodus of talented players to U.S. teams, and maybe even a mass exodus, team and all.

I was also in Edmonton on June 1, 1987. That afternoon, the Oilers beat the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Seven to win their third Stanley Cup in four years. They would win the Cup again the next year (and then trade Gretzky during the summer). Those four championships with #99 all took place on beautiful late-spring days, all right in Edmonton. The city was on top of the world. It was our game and we ruled it. Gretzky was the crown prince.

This year, the majority of the top scorers in the league weren't from Canada. We lost at the Olympics. For Canadian teams, winning the Stanley Cup is becoming a dream instead of an annual occurrence.