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Wayne Gretzky reveals he was "genuinely nervous" returning to play against Oilers after shocking trade to Kings in 1988
Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky opened up about how nervous he was to face his former team, the Edmonton Oilers, after being traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988.
On August 9, 1988, the Oilers made a trade involving Gretzky and his teammates Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski with the Kings. In exchange, the Oilers received Jimmy Carson and Martin Gélinas, along with $15 million in cash and future draft picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993 from the Kings.
Speaking on the NHL on TNT’s Face Off show, Gretzky admitted he was nervous playing against his old squad.
"I couldn't sleep the night before and didn't sleep the day after, I was, I normally, you know, get excited about big games, right? I never really got overly nervous, I was genuinely nervous for that one game.” Gretzky revealed.
Gretzky explained that it wasn't just about playing his former teammates. What made him so nervous was playing in front of the passionately loyal Oilers fans.
He pointed out that Edmonton stands out from other cities due to its lack of corporate sponsorship and die hard fans who attended the games regularly.
"You knew it was around Christmas time, because some of the people go to Hawaii or Arizona and there would be someone new sitting there and you go 'Oh my gosh, who is that guy over there?'" he said.
But it was the fans were the same fans, basically same out of 35 out of 40 home games. So, you developed this relationship, for me like I said, it was tough going back there."
Gretzky spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Oilers, leading them to four Stanley Cups.
Wayne Gretzky's thoughts on playing for the Los Angeles Kings after being traded from the Oilers
Moving to the Kings, who had only made the playoffs once in the previous decade, was a definite change of scenery for Gretzky.
In reflecting on the trade, Wayne Gretzky admitted:
"It was tough at the very beginning, because I went from arguably one of the greatest team ever, maybe the most exciting team ever, to playing in the team that was 20 out of 21, that was difficult.... But everybody worked hard and pulled their weight and eventually I loved playing there."
Though it took some time to adjust, Wayne Gretzky says he grew to love playing in Los Angeles and helping grow the game of hockey on the West Coast.
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