Was it me, or did Wayne Gretzky look years younger Sunday than he did just a week ago?

The disbelieving stare Gretzky wore during his team's embarrassing tournament-opening loss to Sweden gave way to an ear-to-ear smile as he deliriously jumped up and down at his seat, celebrating Canada's first Olympic hockey gold medal in 50 years. You go through those kinds of transformations when the weight of a nation is lifted off your shoulders.

Wayne Gretzky had said 'nothing short of the gold medal will be acceptable.'(AP)

Gretzky's elation over Canada's 5-2 win over the U.S. was obvious. It was no doubt shared across the hockey-crazed country to the north, but few could possibly feel as good about the result as the man whose nickname changed from "The Great One" to "The Great Whine" during the course of this tournament.

After all, this was his team, created in a way he believed would win. If it didn't, he would have to bear the brunt of the blame, so if there was ever a time to feel vindicated, this was it.

Naturally, Gretzky chose not to indulge.

"I'm proud of this group," Gretzky said moments after the game. "They all deserve the accolades."

But none more than Gretzky, who was placed in charge of assembling Canada's Olympic team more than a year ago, and then had to endure criticism, second-guessing and the threat of a permanent stain on his untarnished reputation.

The pressure seemed to come to a head earlier this week when Gretzky unleashed a tirade at a press conference against all those attacking Team Canada and its play. It was an uncharacteristic performance which made it a big story, big enough to divert attention from the Canadian players as they struggled to get the "A game" clicking in time for the games that counted.

Though likely a tactical maneuver, Gretzky's outburst was somewhat clumsy and it brought him the kind of criticism he had never received before on either side of the border. Americans saw him as a whiner and Canadians began debating whether he had led them down the wrong path.

In what seemed like an instant, the golden halo the public has seen over Gretzky's head for more than two decades had faded from view. And it was because of the expectations he created and was consumed with meeting.

"Nothing short of the gold medal will be acceptable," Gretzky said in the months leading up to the Olympics and again throughout the Games.

Gretzky took the job promising to end his homeland's long gold medal drought by putting together a roster that was best suited to winning on the international stage. From a public relations point of view, hiring Gretzky to help restore Canada's lost hockey glory was brilliant, but his appointment raised questions because of his inexperience in team construction.

Still, the NHL's all-time leading scorer never flinched. He called on old buddy Kevin Lowe, the Edmonton Oilers GM, to help and then threw himself into every detail of the organization from selecting the uniforms to selecting the players who could create a skilled, offensive-minded team that would reflect his image as a player.

One Gretzky's first controversial moves was naming Toronto's offensive-minded Pat Quinn as coach. Many in Canada believed that Detroit's Scotty Bowman, an eight-time Stanley Cup winner, should have been named coach rather than Quinn, who had never won a title. Gretzky, however, wanted Quinn and got his way.

It didn't get easier for Gretzky as Team Canada spent the first few months of the season scouting players to be named for the final roster in December. First he was blamed in many parts of Canada for failing to prevent Colorado goaltender Patrick Roy's defection from the team, then he was blasted for not naming young Boston star Joe Thornton when the final roster was announced.

Gretzky refused to retreat and was given a pass until the Games got under way, but when the Swedes had Canada looking dazed and confused in the tournament opener, it was open season on the team and Gretzky's handling of it.

Still, Gretzky did not hide. He faced the media on a daily basis, insisting each time out that the team was coming together and improving with every game and on track with its plan to peak by the gold medal match.

Many observers wondered if he Gretzky was watching the same games they were, but Canadian Hockey Association president Bob Nicholson, the man who hired Gretzky, never lost his faith.

"A lot of people doubted what he was doing, but I don't think they realized how well he was suited for this," Nicholson said. "He really knows the players, he knows the game and he knows what it takes to win."

No one doubts that now.