Edmonton Oilers fans were a little taken aback when their beloved Wayne Gretzky took to Instagram and wished one of his former teams good luck in the ongoing Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Spoiler alert: It wasn’t the Oilers.
On Wednesday, the Great One dedicated an Instagram post to the anniversary of his final NHL game on April 18, 1999. At the time, Gretzky was a member of the New York Rangers. And so, he included a series of photos with the following caption: “Seems like yesterday. Good luck Rangers in the Playoffs!”
View this post on Instagram
Edmonton fans were quick to chime in via the comments section. “Kings and Oilers fans: Am I a joke to you?” wrote one user jokingly. Meanwhile, others speculated that since Gretzky played for both the Oilers and Los Angeles Kings, he would not be announcing allegiance to either team.
“What about the Oilers, Wayne?” asked another, to which the Great One actually replied with the following comment:
In the end, the whole misunderstanding ended with the Great One making a great recovery. But if he wants to fully win over the hearts of Edmonton fans, he should perhaps make a post commemorating one of the five Stanley Cups he lifted with Edmonton over his nine seasons as an Oiler.
Gretzky had 583 goals, 1,086 assists, and a plus-minus of +553 in 696 games for the Oilers in his career, where he won four Stanley Cups and eight Hart Trophies as league MVP across nine seasons, before he was shipped to Los Angeles in the most famous trade in hockey history.
Meanwhile, he had 57 goals and 192 assists in 234 games with the Rangers, where he spent the final three years of his storied career before retiring.
Follow Channels and Categories