Rare Resurfaced Picture Reignites Wayne Gretzky’s Eventful Comeback to Edmonton Featuring Booing for Their Own Team

Wayne Gretzky and his controversial transfer from Edmonton Oilers to Los Angeles Kings remains the most-talked topic in NHL. However, his return to his beloved city is a close second. While fans debated whom to blame for the unexpected trade, the NHL legend prepared to return to Rogers Place, but as an opposition.

An ice hockey page on Facebook recently brought back memories from this unforgettable game.

Wayne Gretzky’s iconic comeback to Edmonton

Instead of facing booing and disappointed looks from fans, Gretzky’s comeback to Edmonton was rather pleasing. In a recent post by Hockey Beast, an old photo of Kings’ Gretzky and Oilers captain Messier resurfaced on Facebook.

The caption read, “When Wayne Gretzky returned to Edmonton for his first game after the trade to Los Angeles, he received a 4-minute standing ovation from the Oilers fans. When Mark Messier later in the game took a penalty against Gretzky, the new Oilers captain got booed by his own fans…”

For years, Gretzky played with Oilers as their hero. Hence, although the legend returned to the stadium as an opposition, fans were excited to see him at the stadium.

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After numerous controversies, headlines, and debates [which are still ongoing], Gretzky resumed his NHL career as a Kings player. Gretzky helped his team in many important games. But for him personally, playing against his former team Edmonton Oilers, was a task. But even after such a warm welcome, Gretzky hated playing in Edmonton.

Wayne Gretzky revealed his true feelings

For the celebration of his 99th NHL anniversary, Gretzky was featured on the Graham Bensinger show. Of course, none of Gretzky’s interviews are complete without the mention of the Oilers and the epic trade.

Hence, while talking about playing at Edmonton as a rival, the GOAT confessed that he never felt comfortable at his “home” stadium. The place held a lot of memories and playing against his fans and former teammates became extremely difficult for Gretzky.

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No matter how good his then-present team did, for Gretzky playing at Edmonton always remained difficult till his last game. Even today, “The Great One” is famously recognized as an Edmonton Oilers player.