Wayne Gretzky will not coach at the Spengler cup

"It was a nice surprise when Sean Burke called,” Gretzky told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. “I thanked him. I was excited about it. Team Canada is pretty special. I think the Spengler Cup is the oldest tournament that we know of. It’s a pretty nice honor."

However, Gretzky later informed Burke that he could not accept the position and will therefore not be coming to Davos over Christmas. 

While Gretzky has helped to build two Canadian Olympic teams (2002 and 2006) as well as the team for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey entry, it would have been his first time coaching a Canadian national team.