The news of Wayne Gretzky being traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the L.A. Kings in 1988 turned the hockey world upside down, and no one was more shocked than Wayne himself. Have you ever wondered what he was doing the very moment that he found out? We’ll bet you didn’t think he was babysitting an 11-year old Robin Thicke.
Gretzky was housesitting for Growing Pains star and fellow Canadian amigo, Alan Thicke, who recounted the story to Luke Fox of Sportsnet last summer. The story has since been resurrected and now gone viral. Per Alan Thicke via Sportsnet:
I was reminded of it a few days ago on the occasion of the anniversary of his trade from Edmonton to Los Angeles (on Aug. 9, 1988). He was house-sitting at my house in L.A. the night he got traded. I was in Norway with my other son (Brennan), and Wayne and Janet were house-sitting for my son Robin (11 years old at the time). I called from Norway because I picked up the Oslo morning paper and saw pictures of Gretzky — but I couldn’t understand the text, of course. And I thought maybe there had been a fire, a mudslide, a drive-by shooting, who knows? So I called home, and I learned Wayne left early in the morning; he got traded last night. He got the call at about 9 p.m., and he was gone by 6 the next morning. So we had to find a substitute nanny instantly, which is not as bad as what Edmonton had to find to replace him.”
Pretty cool story, but it does make you wonder how in the world Alan Thicke became such close friends with the greatest hockey player of all time.
