Has it really been 30 years?

[oilerfan71]

August 9, 1988, Wayne Gretzky was traded (or for Oilers fans, SOLD!) to Los Angeles along with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15 million cash, and three 1st round picks (1989,1991, and 1993). Can't believe it was 30 years ago!

Just a mind boggling bad trade, although it's hard to argue the ripple effect the trade had on the game. Expansion from 21 to (almost) 32 teams, international growth of the game as well. Not to mention the financial growth. The NHL today is a multi billion dollar industry, with over 700 NHL players. I wonder if Gretzky had stayed an Oiler for his whole career, would the NHL have acheived what it has, and also, how many more cups would the Oilers have won?

 

[capsfan30]

Why do you think it was necessarily a bad trade? Oilers won another Cup, while LA, while they made a finals appearance, did not win.

As for "what ifs," I'm not sure if hockey in the US would have grown as much as it has. Would LA still have a team if it weren't for the 7 years Gretzky was there? Who can say? He's transcended the sport, and made it a thing in the USA.

 

[oilerfan71]

Valid points, capsfan30. I guess I was referring to the return the Oilers got. It's rumored Sather was after Robitaille, but that was a deal breaker for McNall. The trade was all about Pocklington needing the cash to pay off the unions after the Gainer's strike nearly bankrupted him. The return for Gretzky ended up to be lacking, IMHO. BTW, the Oilers '90 cup was mainly due to Messier being a beast, and Ranford being unbeatable.

You could say that one good thing that came from 'The Trade', was that Messier, who was already a star, was able to emerge from Gretzky's shadow, and became 'The Captain'.

I agree with your point that hockey may not have blossomed in the US like it has, but considering there hasn't been a Canadian Cup champ since 1993, is that a good thing?

 

[JayKayZee]

I agree with your point that hockey may not have blossomed in the US like it has, but considering there hasn't been a Canadian Cup champ since 1993, is that a good thing?

That seems to insinuate that U.S. teams winning the Cup is "bad"...



I don't think it's accurate to say the trade caused the blossoming of hockey in the U.S.
Hockey thrived in the northern states long before Gretzky was moved. Not to mention, the LA Kings were founded in 1967. It's not like they were some new expansion team and Gretzky was "given" to them to anchor the sport there. I think it was the beginning of the great sport of hockey SPREADING OUT across the continent.

Was it good? Of course, it expanded the fanbase exponentially!

Would we see the different international games without this growth?

Was it bad? My opinion - would we have seen teams leaving Quebec, Hartford, Winnipeg, and Minnesota for cities where the fans need to go to the arena just to SEE ice without this new fervor? No disrespect, but places like Arizona and Nevada don't see ice unless it comes in their drinks..

I also think it helped turn the NHL into less of a league of teams and more of a business, worrying about profit, "buy-ins" and bottom line.

- Do we needTWO teams in Florida? (Both expansion teams from the '90s)THREE in California?(Two of which are also expansion teams from the '90s).
(I'm not dumping on these teams, I've been a Bolts fan since they started, I just plain love the Sharks, and I miss when the Ducks were MIGHTY)

I do think the NHL has been SERIOUSLY neglecting their roots, and they need to start filling out the league with Canadian teams again, but that doesn't mean that hockey doesn't "belong" elsewhere....

Sorry for the rant...

 

[oilerfan71]

No insinuation intended, JayKayZee. With the growth of the league into the US, combined with the loss of teams like the Nords and Jets, many Canadian hockey fans lament the inability for the Canadian franchises to compete for Cups. It's not a bad thing for US teams to win, it would just be nice to see the Canadian teams in the mix.

As for the NHL becoming a business more so than a game, the Gretzky trade absolutely is responsible for this. Before the trade, hockey was still a game, full of tradition, almost innocent in a way. After the trade, expansion became more than just talk, salary disclosure happened in the US, which started the rise in salaries, and the business of hockey took over. By the mid '90's, teams in Canada, and smaller markets in the US (Hartford), could no longer compete. The growth of the NHL may have occurred anyway without the trade, but the trade definitely helped speed up the process.

 

[capsfan30]

I would actually argue that hockey became a business about 10 years or so before Gretzky was sent to the Kings. I'd argue that it actually became a business when the rival WHA opened shop, and started handing 7-figure contracts to its stars (Bobby Hull comes to mind). That's when money started becoming a huge part of the game, and contract negotiations. Before that, guys were plenty happy to stay with one team for their entire career. Now, that's not just a rarity, it's almost unheard of, with the extreme exception of a small few.

 

[oilerfan71]

Great point, capsfan. The WHA handed out ridiculous contracts that they couldn't afford, to attempt to lure players away from the NHL. The NHL had to become predatory in attracting and keeping players in it ranks. From a fan's perspective, the business side of the game wasn't really obvious until the trade.

 

[30ranfordfan]

I wouldn't call it a brutal trade, at all..... because it was really about the money, and enough decent assets to make it a semi legit trade.

15 million, adjusted for inflation, is worth about 32 million today. I'm not sure about 1988... but i found an article mentioning salaries during the 90-91 season (i think when they first became public). 15 million would have covered the Kings payroll twice over in 90-91...they had the highest payroll... when only 3 players in the entire league made over $1m.

15 million was a lot of cash to be changing hands. Can you imagine a player being dealt today... for enough money to cover a cap maxed payroll for two years?

I also have to add my usual bit about not caring in the slightest, that no Canadian based NHL clubs have won a cup since 1993. I'm grumbly that my team hasnt won since 1990.... but the others? As a hockey fan, and a Canadian... I can honestly say that the Senators winning a cup would do nothing for me...it would give me the same amount of pleasure that a Tampa or Arizona or Minnesota or Columbus win would....which would all be preferable to Vancouver or Calgary winning

 

[TheGriceBoys]

My birthday was a few days prior so you can imagine what that did for a young man living on the beach in LA and being a die-hard Kings fan.

We never won a Cup with him but as mentioned, it laid the foundation for an explosion of growth for the NHL in the US.