When Pocklington told Oilers general manager and head coach Glen Sather about his plans to trade Gretzky to L.A., Sather tried to stop the deal, but when he found out that Gretzky had been involved in the negotiations, he changed his attitude and requested Luc Robitaille in exchange.
McNall in Pocklington sta se dogovorila o podrobnostih posla, zadnje dejanje pred podpisom pa je bilo, da je moral Gretzky poklicati Pocklingtona in zahtevati prestop.