"Just lifting the Stanley Cup the first time … no question my favorite playoff game ever," Gretzky said. "We had no way to compare it to anything because nobody had ever lifted the Stanley Cup.
"When we were kids we saw it or maybe had a picture with it. But nobody ever picked up the Stanley Cup. It's one of those things you don't do until you win the Stanley Cup. We didn't know what to expect."
Gretzky said there were many things racing through his mind in the final minutes of Game 5 when it became clear the Oilers would win.
"First and foremost, probably disbelief that this is really going to happen to us," he said. "We've dreamt about this our whole lives and we've talked about it the whole time we've been professional players. We had gone down that road the year before, unfortunately to lose to a better team."
The Oilers had been swept by the Islanders in the 1983 Final.
"From losing the fourth game in '83, to getting back, to get back to Game 5 in '84 really made it all worthwhile," Gretzky said.
Gretzky said he thought about the joy of the parents and grandparents on hand. Oilers coach and general manager Glen Sather made it a priority to make sure family members were around to enjoy the playoff moments, considering them part of the organization.
"The one thing about the Stanley Cup is that, as parents, we all live our lives through our kids," Gretzky said. "And for Doug Messier and Walter Gretzky and Jack Coffey … all the parents and grandparents that were around, maybe in some ways it was more exciting for them than it was for us."