Wayne Gretzky Was Offered 25% of Vancouver Canucks

Published on September 25th, 2024 9:16 am EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


It was the morning of May 27th, 1988, and Wayne Gretzky was celebrating his fourth Stanley Cup victory with his parents in his Edmonton apartment.

It was 6 am in the morning and Walter Gretzky, Wayne Gretzky's father, dropped a bomb - the Edmonton Oilers were looking to trade "The Great One".

That's ridiculous, Wayne Gretzky said. We just won the Stanley Cup!

Walter Gretzky looked Wayne in the eyes and said that it was true.

At that moment, the phone rang. Who could be calling at this hour?

It was Nelson Skalbania on the other end. Skalbania and Gretzky had a long history together, stretching back to Gretzky's days with the Indianapolis Racers.

Skalbania had a simple question for Gretzky - would he be interested in becoming a Vancouver Canuck?

Gretzky's brain did not compute what he was being told. A Vancouver Canuck?

Skalbania sweetened the pot - if you become a Vancouver Canuck, he said, I'll give you 25% of the team and a $3 million/year salary.

This was the pitch that Skalbania gave Gretzky, but there was only one problem - Skalbania didn't own the Canucks.

According to Skalbania, he was going to buy the Canucks from the Griffiths family and immediately gift Gretzky 25% of the team.

This was obviously an unreal offer. In addition, the $3 million/year salary would have been almost 4x the highest NHL salary at the time. Gretzky was the league's highest paid player, and he was making $800,000/year.

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Gretzky was only six hours removed from hoisting the Stanley Cup and asked Skalbania to call him back later.

Skalbania's purchase of the Canucks did not happen but Gretzky WAS traded later in the summer to the Los Angeles Kings.

Gretzky's father had been right - the Oilers were actively looking to move Gretzky. Peter Pocklington, the former owner of the Oilers, was looking for money, and selling Gretzky to the Kings was a way to generate some quick funds.

There were a number of teams that Gretzky entertained a trade to that summer, including the Kings and Flyers, but the Canucks weren't one of them.

If Gretzky HAD been traded to the Canucks, can you imagine a Gretzky/Bure/Mogilny line?