“Kings Ransom” – The Gretzky Trade
Easily one of the most monumental trades in NHL history happened on August 9th, 1988 – the Edmonton Oilers dealt arguably the greatest hockey player of all time to the L.A Kings. ESPN just aired a documentary about the trade, appropriately titled ‘Kings Ransom’:
Do you remember the trade? Do you remember where you were? Canadians everywhere (not just Oiler fans) lamented the transaction; their homegrown superstar had deserted the homeland for the bright lights of Hollywood.
The backlash from hockey fans spared no one – Gretzky’s wife, Oiler’s owner Peter Pocklington and even the Great One himself were all condemned for the trade: (From the AP)
“The trade so upset Canadians that one elected official demanded the government block it, Pocklington was burned in effigy, Gretzky was called a traitor by some of his countrymen for leaving, and Janet Gretzky was branded hockey’s Yoko Ono.”
The near-uniform rage surrounding the deal was reasonably justifiable; the Oilers had just won four Stanley Cups in five years, and Gretzky was in record-breaking form. Had Wayne resigned in Edmonton – the Oilers would have easily won more Cups. The Edmonton dynasty had already cemented its place in hockey history by winning in such a dominating fashion throughout the 1980’s – ‘84, ‘85, ‘87, and ‘88 were all championship years with Gretzky. During the last year of Gretzky’s contract with the Oilers, Edmonton won the Stanley Cup by sweeping Boston in the final – having only lost two games during the entire post-season. The Oilers had obliterated the rest of the league for half of a decade; which made the trade hurt that much more.
Literally two hours after Edmonton had won the Cup in ‘88, Wayne discovered from his father, Walter, that the Oilers were planning on making a deal. Interested teams included Detroit, Vancouver, New York and the franchise that would eventually land the superstar, Los Angeles. The course of NHL history would have drastically changed had Gretzky signed anywhere else; but he had only agreed to play in L.A or Detroit initially:
When Pocklington told Gretzky he could go wherever he wanted, No. 99 said he would go only to Detroit or Los Angeles, where he lived with Janet, then an actress.
“Janet was always my biggest backer and my biggest fan,” he told the crowd.
Later, Gretzky told Pocklington he wanted to go only to LA.
Then the Great One revealed something he said he had never before shared publicly.
“My wife told me, just so the record is straight, ‘You should go play in Detroit — it’s a hockey city,’” he said.
Wayne Gretzky would never win another Stanley Cup after the trade. Edmonton would win another championship in 1990, rounding out their total Cup wins to five overall – tying them with the Boston Bruins for fourth in all-time Cup wins the NHL. A truly astounding record, considering the Oilers first joined the NHL in 1979.
If you haven’t caught the documentary yet, take some time out and watch the film. It captures every aspect of the heartbreaking and monumental trade, and reminds the hockey world just how incredible Wayne Gretzky was.
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Good article, good documentary. Gretzky will always be the greatest player in my opinion.
[...] Kings Ransom: The Gretzky trade [The Puck Doctors] [...]
@ Jeff
Yeah, I agree with you; I’ve always maintained he was the greatest – Mario was outstanding, and Orr had the same kind of dominance, but no one put up the kind of numbers Gretz did.
I agree too, but its too bad both Orr and Lemieux never had the longevity Gretzky did, it would have been interesting to see what kind of numbers they would have had with extended careers.
The trade was a little bit before my time, but what I am wondering is if the NHL is better because of the trade or worse? Its seems like things are in place that will prevent a trade like this from ever happening again.
As far as Gretzky to Detroit, well that would have been some trade.
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