On This Date in Sports August 9, 1988:The Day the NHL Stood Still
It is a trade that created an earthquake felt across all of Canada and the NHL as Wayne Gretzky is dealt to with the Los Angeles Kings with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski. The Edmonton Oilers, who had won four Stanley Cups in five years, would receive Jimmy Carson and Martin Gelinas in return, along with three draft picks in 1989. 1991 and 1993, along with $15 million.
Wayne Gretzky was the NHL in the summer of 1988. Born in Branford, Ontario, on January 26, 1961, he was a hockey prodigy growing up. He got his first chance to play on the highest professional levels as a 17-year-old with the Indianapolis Racers in the WHA. As the Racers struggled to stay in business, they were forced to sell their young star to the Edmonton Oilers. He finished his rookie season and was a part of the team as it was one of four teams to join the NHL as the WHA folded.
As soon as he joined the NHL, Wayne Gretzky became the top player in the league, winning the Hart Trophy as league MVP in his first eight seasons. In 1982, he set the single-season scoring and goals record with a mind-boggling 92 goals and 212 points. Four years later, he broke his own scoring record with 216 points while setting a new assists record with 163. The Oilers began winning Stanley Cups in 1984 and lost just one playoff series over the next five years, which included a dominating showing in the 1988 Stanley Cup Finals.
After winning the Stanley Cup in 1988, reality set in for Edmonton Oilers Owner Peter Pocklington, who was struggling financially due to other failing business ventures. Knowing that Wayne Gretzky was soon due a new contract, he began fishing offers for the biggest star the NHL had ever seen. Los Angeles became the desired location for Gretzky, who was involved in the trade talks as he had recently married actress Janet Jones in a royal-like wedding that aired live on Canadian Television. Wayne Gretzky had one major request that the Oilers include Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski in any deal.
When the deal was announced, it felt like the world stopped spinning for many hockey fans in Canada, as they blamed his new wife for making Wayne Gretzky turn his back on his home country while Jones was compared to Yoko Ono for breaking up the Oilers. Fans protested outside of Northlands Coliseum, burning Peter Pocklington in effigy as they tried to get the Canadian government to step in and block the deal.
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When the Great One returned to Edmonton with the Kings, cooler heads prevailed, as he received a thunderous standing ovation from Oiler fans. Wayne Gretzky helped make the Los Angeles Kings the hottest ticket in the NHL as they had their first success after playing two decades in near anonymity. He would win a ninth Hart Trophy in 1989. However, he could not bring a Stanley Cup to Hollywood as the Kings lost their lone appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993. The Oilers, meanwhile, continued to win without Gretzky taking home a fifth Stanley Cup Championship. Wayne Gretzky, meanwhile, became the NHL’s All-Time Leader in scoring, goals, and assists.