In ice hockey-mad Russia and Canada, there are few players held in more reverence than Tretiak, a three-time Olympic gold medallist considered one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport and who, in 2008, was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation's Centennial All-Star Team.

The 70-year-old, a State Duma deputy, was last week included on a different list, one much less prestigious. 

His name was among 129 individuals and 63 organisations on a sanctions list published by the Canadian Government to coincide with the first anniversary of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. 

Penalties include blocking all financial dealings, freezing Canadian-held accounts and restricting travel to the country.

Tretiak was the only one on the list who had been awarded a "Meritorious Service Medal" for his role in fostering good relations between Canada and Russia, an honour given to him in 2006 by the Governor General of Canada.

Tretiak's appearance on the sanctions list drew an angry response from Russia’s Ambassador to Canada, Oleg Stepanov. 

"The inclusion of Tretiak, a world legend who is remembered and respected in Canada, whose name is in local museums of hockey glory is a demonstration of blind Russophobia and disrespect for ordinary Canadians who are proud of the history of this sport," Stepanov said.

Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series, an ice hockey tournament played between Canada and the former Soviet Union. The Series has become the subject of Canadian cultural myth-making since a winning goal in the final match in Moscow saw them gain victory over the Soviets.

The Summit Series involved eight matches, half played in Canada and half in the Soviet Union. The Canadians were all National Hockey League (NHL) players. The Soviet Union were supposedly amateur. 

Despite falling down three games to one, Canada won the final three games in Moscow to win the series four games to three, with one having ended in a tie.

More than almost any other international sporting contest, the Summit Series continues to occupy a heightened role in the Canadian cultural consciousness, despite the half-a-century that has passed.

For many in Canada, the Summit Series entered the realm of national mythology instantly, causing its key moments and figures to become larger than life, including the performances of Tretiak, who had entered it not being taken seriously by his opponents, but ended it on his way to becoming one of the sport’s legends.

As a teenager earlier that year, Tretiak had already won an Olympic gold medal with the Soviet Union at Sapporo 1972. But it was during the Summit Series his reputation was really forged.

A few weeks before the Series started, Canadian scouts had witnessed Tretiak conceding eight goals during an intra-squad contest. They went back to tell the coaches of Tretiak's poor goaltending, leading the Canadians to believe they had an easy win ahead of them. What the scouts did not know, is that Tretiak had been out late the night before celebrating for his wedding the following day.

This mistake would cost the Canadians dearly in the first game of the Summit Series. In the first two minutes of the first period Tretiak allowed two goals. From then on, he only allowed one more goal as the Soviets won 7-3. The Canadians were stunned, but now knew with whom they were dealing. The Canadians did go on to win the series, but not without a fight.

Tretiak was one save short of a victory for his team in the final game of the series. He referred in his autobiography to that last minute goal in the deciding match from Paul Henderson as the "most maddening of all goals scored on me in hockey".

According to Anatoly Tarasov, the coach widely considered to have turned the Soviet Union into the dominant force they were, in his book The Father of Russian Hockey: Tarasov, the Canadians admired Tretiak’s "intuitive perception of hockey".

Tretiak's prowess was apparent in a notable game on New Year’s Eve in 1975. The Central Red Army squad skated to a 3-3 tie with the NHL's Montreal Canadiens in a match where the Soviet team managed only 13 shots to the 38 of their opponents, who were repelled time and time again by Trietiak.

As a result of Tretiak's outstanding performances, many NHL teams wanted to draft him and his chance seemed to have come in 1983 when the Canadiens offered him a contract. 

Tretiak wanted to take up the opportunity but the Government in Moscow blocked his departure. He retired less than a year later, shortly after winning a third Olympic gold medal at Sarajevo 1984.

Tretiak was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989, the first Soviet player to be honoured, in 2000 was voted Best Russian Hockey Player of the 20th century and has been President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation since 2006.

Tretiak’s position as a Russian legend was officially acknowledged in 2014, when, together with three-time Olympic figure skating gold medallist Irina Rodnina, he lit the Olympic Flame during the opening Ceremony of the Winter Games in Sochi.

Post-retirement, Tretiak has spent long periods in the United States coaching with NHL club Chicago Blackhawks and running goaltender master classes for aspiring goalies.

Throughout, Tretiak has remained a Putin uber loyalist. He was elected to the State Duma as a member of United Russia in December 2003 after receiving huge financial and administrative support from Putin’s party.

In return, Tretiak has shown his support at every opportunity, including in 2012 voting in favour of the "Dima Yakovlev Law", legislation banning the adoption of Russian children by US citizens. It was Russia’s response to the Magnitsky bill, whose purpose was punishing officials responsible for the death of Russian tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison in 2009.

In 2017, Putin, never afraid to jump on the hockey bandwagon, presented Tretiak with his "For services to the Fatherland" II degree award.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine ended a proposed tour of Canada last summer helping to mark the 50th anniversary of the Summit Series. 

If the war had not happened, the odds are that Tretiak would have returned to the country where he made his name and been feted as one of the all-time ice hockey greats that he remains.

It was not only a generation of Canadians who were captivated by that Summit Series. 

In 2018, Putin was guest of honour at a special dinner in Moscow attended by players from both sides of that Series, including Red Berenson, a member of Canada’s team.

"Putin put on quite a dinner for our group; there were multiple toasts," Berenson told Michigan Live last year. 

"One of the memorable toasts was when Putin stood up and said - in Russian through an interpreter - 'I was 17 years old when the series was played, and I was so taken by this event and how two countries could battle so hard and yet maybe through sport we can understand each other better.'"