A look back at the historic Gretzky trade

August 6, 2008   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

The Wayne Gretzky blockbuster trade from Edmonton to LA changed the NHL landscape forever resulting in post expansion.

August 9 will be here before you know it. On that day, it will mark the 20 Year Anniversary of the most shocking trade in the great sport of hockey. The day that the Edmonton Oilers agreed to trade the greatest player in the game Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings in a blockbuster deal along with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, three first round picks and $15 million.

Amazingly, this really happened on Aug.9, 1988 thanks to the cheapness of then Edmonton owner Peter Pocklington. I can kind of recall that tearful Gretzky press conference where he said goodbye to the former WHA expansion team he was largely responsible for most of its success winning four Stanley Cups while shattering scoring records and changing the game forever.

At the time, I was an awe struck kid who couldn’t believe the magnitude of such a deal. It was hard to comprehend as I hadn’t been a hockey fan too long. All I knew was the greatest thing since sliced bread was moving from Western Alberta to Hollywood forever changing the dynamic of a then 21 team league into the Post Expansion 30 team Era which includes three teams in California and two in Florida while branching out to other unchartered territories.

Back then, I never pondered teams such as Winnipeg, Hartford and Quebec relocating to other cities. Maybe that’s what I liked about those carefree days when anything really seemed possible. The NHL was a normal league before Gary Bettman got his hands on it regionalizing the sport a la the NBA. A topic for another day.

Gretzky was The Great One. No.99 made anything seem possible. Suddenly, the Kings were the team to see with Hollywood’s big actors and actresses turning out at The Great Western Forum to see Gretzky form a dynamic combo with Luc Robitaille and emerge into a Cup contender. His name transcended the sport popularizing it in the United States like never before.

That’s why this week, the NHL Today is commemorating the most historic trade in league history with articles on the very big topic taking us back to a time before Genesis and Super Nintendo, Xbox and Ipods existed. I’ll tell ya what I remember playing a lot of back then. Blades of Steel on my Nintendo. Very good game too which I beat time and time again.

Ahhh…being a kid was fun! Suddenly, I’m getting that feeling of deja vu. When you’re young, anything really seems possible.

In SI.com Michael Farber’s piece, he takes a look back at what the Gretzky trade signaled.

Here’s an excerpt which proves symbolic:

If nothing else, Gretzky’s exile to Los Angeles produced one of hockey’s immortal phrases, something trotted out every year at the trade deadline. Like death and taxes, it is a stone-cold lock that someone changing addresses on that day will say, “Even Wayne Gretzky got traded.“

Since we’re looking back in time, let’s conclude this entry by taking a glance at just how different an NHL it was:

1988-89

CLARENCE CAMPBELL CONFERENCE

Norris Division

GP W L T GF GA PTS

Detroit 80 34 34 12 313 316 80

St. Louis 80 33 35 12 275 285 78

Minnesota 80 27 37 16 258 278 70

Chicago 80 27 41 12 297 335 66

Toronto 80 28 46 6 259 342 62

Smythe Division

*Calgary 80 54 17 9 354 226 117

Los Angeles 80 42 31 7 376 335 91

Edmonton 80 38 34 8 325 306 84

Vancouver 80 33 39 8 251 253 74

Winnipeg 80 26 42 12 300 355 64

PRINCE OF WALES CONFERENCE

Adams Division

Montreal 80 53 18 9 315 218 115

Boston 80 37 29 14 289 256 88

Buffalo 80 38 35 7 291 299 83

Hartford 80 37 38 5 299 290 79

Quebec 80 27 46 7 269 342 61

Patrick Division

Washington 80 41 29 10 305 259 92

Pittsburgh 80 40 33 7 347 349 87

NY Rangers 80 37 35 8 310 307 82

Philadelphia 80 36 36 8 307 285 80

New Jersey 80 27 41 12 281 325 66

NY Islanders 80 28 47 5 265 325 61

Leading Scorers

Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh 76 GP 85 G 114 A 199 Pts 100 PIM

Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles 78 GP 54 G 114 A 168 Pts 26 PIM

Steve Yzerman, Detroit 80 GP 65 G 90 A 155 Pts 61 PIM

Bernie Nicholls, Los Angeles 79 GP 70 G 80 A 150 Pts 96 PIM

Rob Brown, Pittsburgh 68 GP 49 G 66 A 115 Pts 118 PIM

Paul Coffey, Pittsburgh 75 GP 30 G 83 A 113 Pts 193 PIM

Joe Mullen, Calgary 79 GP 51 G 59 A 110 Pts 98 PIM

Jari Kurri, Edmonton 76 GP 44 G 58 A 102 Pts 69 PIM

Jimmy Carson, Los Angeles 80 GP 49 G 51 A 100 Pts 36 PIM

Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles 78 GP 46 G 52 A 98 Pts 65 PIM

Sure makes ya think, doesn’t it? A different time and a very different game. Who wants to get out the time machine a la Marty McFly and Doc Brown? Count us in!