EDMONTON, Alberta -- Wayne Gretzky's wife has angrily denounced Edmonton Oilers' owner Peter Pocklington, blaming him for letting her become the scapegoat for his controversial trade of Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings.
'The story of the trade as presented by Peter Pocklington is false,' actress Janet Jones told the Edmonton Sun newspaper in an interview published Friday. 'Pocklington is the reason Wayne's gone.
'To see Wayne hurt like this hurts me. That's why I'm making the call to you.'
Jones, a Los Angeles actress who married Gretzky July 16 in a extravagant wedding which made headlines across Canada, called the Edmonton Sun to present her side of the story.
'I've been called Jezebel and Yoko Ono,' she said. 'I expected to take some heat that way. But it hurts.'
Jones' call came after the Edmonton Journal newspaper printed an interview with Pocklington, who said Gretzky 'has an ego the size of Manhattan.
'If people had told me how great I was day in and day out for 10 years, I'm sure my ego would be a pretty generous size too,' said Pocklington, who also suggested that Gretzky faked his tears when he broke down at an Edmonton news conference announcing the trade.
Pocklington issued a statement saying his comments to the Edmonton Journal 'were taken totally out of context.' He reiterated statements he and Gretzky made Tuesday that the trade to Los Angeles was Gretzky's request.
Gretzky was traded with Mike Krushelnyski, Marty McSorley and John Miner for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, Craig Redmond and first round draft picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993, as well as an unspecifiend amount of money, which Jones said was $18 million.
'I'll tell you one thing,' Jones said. 'You don't make deals for $18 million to satisfy Wayne Gretzky's wife. If this is to help my movie career, I wouldn't be expecting a child at this time.'
Jones also said Gretzky cannot reveal details of the trade or the events which led to the deal. But she said that Pocklington told Gretzky in May, after the Oilers won their fourth Stanley Cup, that he was considering an offer from the Vancouver Canucks. Before their wedding, Pocklington told Gretzky rumors that he would be traded were false, she said.
'I brought my car to Edmonton and we had every intention of living the rest of our lives in Edmonton and spending time in Los Angeles in Wayne's off-season when we could,' Jones said.
Jones said that Gretzky was surprised when Kings' owner Bruce McNall called to talk, with no warning from Pocklington.
'There was no call from Pocklington,' she said. 'You play for a man for 10 years and he doesn't even have the courtesy to call and tell you what is happening. To get a phone call, out of the blue, from another owner on your honeymoon.'
Gretzky's father, Walter, and three friends and former players with the Oilers - Eddie Mio, Paul Coffey and David Lumley - have challenged Pocklington's claim that Gretzky requested the trade.
Gretzky, a 10-year veteran of the Oilers, holds or shares 41 NHL records and is the third-leading scorer in NHL history. He has won the Hart Trophy as MVP eight times, the Art Ross Trophy for scoring seven times and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP twice.
