during a preseason game at Staples Center on September 22, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

Wayne Gretzky convinced Milan Lucic to join the Oilers

In modern sports, it’s pretty common to see the elders in any given sport give advice to their younger counterparts. You saw it during NBA free agency when Jerry West gave Kevin Durant guidance. Now it has come out via a report that the NHL has gotten in on the fun as well.

During the RoenickLife Podcast, Milan Lucic talked about how Wayne Gretzky gave him counsel when trying to make his decision. Here is the transcription:

“I talked to him on the phone before I made my decision to go to Edmonton,” Lucic said. “He just talked about what it was like for him to live in a place like Edmonton, and how it is to deal with their fans and he talked about how great their fans were and the friends. It was obviously really cool. The way I see it is, when the Great One calls you and tells you to go to Edmonton, you go to Edmonton, you don’t go anywhere else.”

I don’t know how tough it was for Lucic to leave California since he signed a seven-year, $42 million dollar contract with Edmonton. A lot of people have done crazier things for less money. Not to mention he gets to spend some time on Connor McDavid’s wing, which is a pretty exciting place to be. Having Gretzky sway him was just the cherry on top.

About Sam Blazer

Sam is a self proclaimed chess prodigy. He once placed seventh in the state of Ohio in Chess when he was in kindergarten. He will rarely if ever mention though that only eight people were entered in this tournament. Contact him at sblaze17@gmail.com

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