Bruce McNall has given his side on the 1988 trade that sent Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to his Los Angeles Kings. And you know what? Bruce insists he was not a villain that stole the Great One. Wily, yes. Bad, no.
Edmontonians know who the real villain is. C'mon, Space Coyote, don't play coy...is this the villain of whom you speak?
posted by msacheson at 10:38 PM on July 15, 2003
Nah. The true villain was Peter Pocklington. Something as suh-weet looking as JJG can NEVER be the villain.
posted by grum@work at 11:24 PM on July 15, 2003
Oh yes, we Edmontonians know who the villain is. I think Pocklington is the perfect argument for bringing back ostracism. He cost the citizens of Alberta millions. There was the $209 million bailout of Gainers after the acrimonious strike. We lost at least $22 million. How about the $50 million plus he owed the Alberta Treasury Branch, which is owned by the provincial government. (More corrupt plutocrats, both the ATB and the government... It was rumoured but never proven that Premier Ralph Klein and Pockets had a secret deal. See also Banksters and Prairie Boys by Monier M. Rahall.) Then there was the one dollar a year lease on the Coliseum (and he thought he was persecuted in Edmonton - that came later), the frequent threats to move the Oilers and Trappers, putting his dad's name on the Stanley Cup, and the ludicrous and failed Progressive Conservative leadership bid. There's more, but I'll stop for now before I bust a blood vessel. Add the above, though, to selling off the man who is unquestionably the greatest hockey player ever, and I think we Edmontonians (and all Albertans) have a legitimate beef against the man. To sum up: Peter Pocklington is a corrupt thieving poxy motherfucking sodomizer of small woodland creatures. May he rot in hell.
posted by alex_reno at 09:53 PM on July 16, 2003
Edmontonians know who the real villain is.
posted by Space Coyote at 09:30 PM on July 15, 2003