Canadians are upset with Wayne Gretzky after he broke a standard Canadian rule

Wayne Gretzky is a Canadian Icon. Anywhere you go in the Great White North people know his name and probably even know how to spell it.

Most of the time, when a Canadian does spell it, they’ll say “Zed”.

That tendency has caused a kerfuffle among Canadian hockey fans, as a new (Goosebump-inducing) spot from the NHL came out where former Stanley Cup Champions spell out the letters that they have engraved on the Stanley Cup. For Gretzky that went something like this “GEE-ARE-EEE-TEE-ZEE-KAY-WHY”. If you’ll notice the fifth letter in that sequence, Gretzky said Zee instead of Zed.

Of course it doesn’t really matter and it’s likely due to the fact that he has lived in America longer than he ever lived in Canada. More than that, the NHL just had two different spots prepared, one for Americans and one for Canadians. There is a version out there where Gretzky and Yzerman said "Zed". Still, it had some Canadians bummed out.

Realistically we all say “ZEE” every once in a while. If you’re singing the alphabet and you say “ZED” at the end, it just doesn’t sound right.