Bailing Out Peter Puck

"It's easy to be friends with somebody when they're on top."

That's what Wayne Gretzky said about Bruce McNall when the former Kings owner fell on hard times.

"In life, nobody's perfect," Gretzky added. "Bruce was punished for the things he did wrong, but he did a lot of things right too. Ask any player who ever played for the Kings."

"At the end of the day, Bruce has a big heart and I wanted to stay by his side."

I always admired Gretzky for that stance. It proves that he is a class act, and a great friend. It's something I think we all must remember whenever any of our friends fall on hard times.

A couple of Gretzky's old pals were put to this test this week. Glen Sather pledged a million dollar piece of property in Minnesota to bail out Peter Pocklington, the former owner in Edmonton.

Good on Mr. Sather for standing by his friend.

As I understand it, Slats has made a killing in real estate ventures dating back 30 years now. He may have more money than Pocklington ever did, at least in the post-Oilers era.

There is certainly no shortage of Pocklington articles in the online news right now, but I wanted to remind you of a Globe And Mail article that appeared just before Christmas. It remains a great read.