Nineteen years ago today I was a young lad on a family trip in Ottawa. There are moments from your childhood that will always stay with you and for me, this was one of them. I don't remember a lot about our trip but I do remember finding out that my favorite player had been traded.
Wayne Gretzky was no longer an Oiler?
Wayne Gretzky was a King?!?
Even today when you put yourself back into the moment, its hard to comprehend, especially without the Internet and 24-hr sports radio to overanalyze it to death.
The Oilers had just won their fourth Cup in five years and Gretzky was 27, coming off a year where he put up 40 goals and 149 points in 64 regular season games and 12 goals, 43 points in 19 playoff games.
I don't think we fully understood the ramnifications at the time but the hockey world would never be the same.
At the time there were just 21 teams in the league, seven in Canada. Since that day, the number of teams in the US has grown by 71% - from 14 to 24.
We also saw a change with how jerseys were designed and marketed, after the success of that stunning black, silver and white Kings jersey that Gretzky put on first the first time nineteen years ago.
And of course since that day, loyalty and player security pretty much went out the window. If The Great One could be dealt, it really could happen to anyone.
The Oilers would go on to win one more Cup but that really was the day that hockey's last great dynasty fell apart. Who knows how many more Cups they would have won had Pocklington not sold the greatest player of all-time to Bruce McNall.
Here's what happened to all the players that were involved in the deal, and all the subsequent deals that followed involving acquired players. At the end you can see the stats that each player put up in their time in either Edmonton or Los Angeles. It's very interesting to see how the assets were managed on both sides and the trades that occurred. There are also some great names from the past that you probably haven't heard in a while...
August 8, 1988: Wayne Gretzky traded to LA Kings by Edmonton with Mike Krushelnyski and Marty McSorley for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, LA Kings' 1st round choices in 1989 (later traded to New Jersey New Jersey selected Jason Miller), 1991 (Martin Rucinsky) and 1993 (Nick Stajduhar) Entry Drafts and cash, August 9, 1988.
* WAYNE GRETZKY
-Gretzky spent 8 years with the Kings (539 GP, 246 G, 918 PTS)
-Traded to St. Louis by LA Kings for Craig Johnson, Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat, St. Louis 5th round choice (Peter Hogan) in 1996 Entry Draft and 1st round choice (Matt Zultek) in 1997 Entry Draft, February 27, 1996.
-Tardif was signed as a free agent by Buffalo, September 9, 1997
-Vopat was traded to Colorado by Los Angeles with Los Angeles' 6th round choice (later traded to Chicago, later traded to Ottawa - Ottawa selected Martin Prusek) in 1999 Entry Draft for Eric Lacroix, October 29, 1998.
-Lacroix was traded to NY Rangers by LA Kings for Sean Pronger, February 12, 1999.
-Pronger was signed as a free agent by Boston, August 25, 1999.
-Matt Zultek re-entered the draft (unsigned by LA) and was selected in the 2nd round of the 1999 draft by Boston
-Peter Hogan split the season between Cleveland and Utah in the AHL and Florida and Richmond in the ECHL
-Craig Johnson was signed as a free agent by Anaheim, September 9, 2003
* MARTY MCSORLEY
-McSorley spent 7+ years with the Kings. He had 4 years of 10+ goals, and 2 years of 7+ goals. He also had 3 years of 300+ PIMS.
-Traded to Pittsburgh by LA Kings, for Shawn McEachern, August 27, 1993.
-Traded to back LA Kings by Pittsburgh with Jim Paek for Tomas Sandstrom and Shawn McEachern, February 16, 1994.
-Traded to NY Rangers by LA Kings with Jari Kurri and Shane Churla for Ray Ferraro, Ian Laperriere, Mattias Norstrom, Nathan Lafayette and NY Rangers' 4th round choice (Sean Blanchard) in 1997 Entry Draft, March 14, 1996.
-Kurri only played 14 games for NYR - Signed as a free agent by Anaheim, September 10, 1996.
-McSorley only played 9 games for NYR - Traded to San Jose by NY Rangers for Jayson More, Brian Swanson and San Jose's 4th round choice (later traded back to San Jose - San Jose selected Adam Colagiacomo) in 1997 Entry Draft, August 20, 1996.
-Churla played 55 games for NYR (0 goals) before retiring
-Paek was traded to Ottawa by LA Kings for Ottawa's 7th round choice (Benoit Larose) in 1995 Entry Draft, June 25, 1994.
-Lafayette spent parts of 4 seasons with the Kings, before spending two years in the minors (AHL & IHL). He retired after the 99-00 season.
-Blanchard spent last season with the London Knights of the BISL
-Ferraro signed as a free agent by Atlanta, August 9, 1999, after spending 3+ years with the Kings (197 GP, 48 G, 98 PTS)
-Laperrierre signed as a free agent by Colorado, July 2, 2004
-Norstrom was traded to Dallas with Konstantin Pushkarev, a 3rd round selection in 2007 and a 4th round selection in 2007 to the Dallas Stars for Jaroslav Modry, Johan Fransson, a 1st round selection in 2008, a 2nd round selection in 2007 and a 3rd round selection in 2007.
* MIKE KRUSHELNYSKI
-Krushelnyski spent 2+ years with the Kings (156 GP, 43 G, 109 PTS). Had 62 points and 26 goals in his first season as a King
-Traded to Toronto by LA Kings for John McIntyre, November 9, 1990.
-McIntyre was traded to NY Rangers by LA Kings for Mark Hardy and Ottawa's 5th round choice (previously acquired, LA Kings selected Frederick Beaubien) in 1993 Entry Draft, March 22, 1993.
-Hardy played 27 games with Los Angeles over the next 2 seasons before finishing his career in the IHL and later returning as an assistant coach of the Kings for six years.
-Beaubien has played in the QMJHL, IHL, ECHL, WCHL, WPHL, UHL and spent this year in the QSPHL with the St-Hyacinthe Cousin
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* JIMMY CARSON
-Carson played one year and four games with Edmonton (84 GP, 50 G, 103 PTS)
-Traded to Detroit by Edmonton with Kevin McClelland and Edmonton's 5th round choice (later traded to Montreal Montreal selected Brad Layzell) in 1991 Entry Draft for Petr Klima, Joe Murphy, Adam Graves and Jeff Sharples, November 2, 1989.
-Graves signed as a free agent by NY Rangers, September 3, 1991.
-Klima was traded to Tampa Bay by Edmonton for Tampa Bay's 3rd round choice (Brad Symes) in 1994 Entry Draft, June 16, 1993.
-Sharples was traded to New Jersey by Edmonton for Reijo Ruotsalainen, March 6, 1990.
-Ruotsalainen played 10 regular season games, and 22 playoff games (13 playoff points) winning the Cup and then going to play in Europe.
-Murphy missed majority of 1992-93 season after failing to come to contract terms with Edmonton. Traded to Chicago by Edmonton for Igor Kravchuk and Dean McAmmond, February 24, 1993.
-Kravchuk was traded to St. Louis by Edmonton with Ken Sutton for Jeff Norton and Donald Dufresne, January 4, 1996
-Dufresne finished his career in Edmonton (64 GP) and retired in 1997.
-Norton was traded to Tampa Bay by Edmonton for Drew Bannister and Tampa Bay's 6th round choice (Peter Sarno) in 1997 Entry Draft, March 18, 1997.
-Bannister was traded to Anaheim by Edmonton for Bobby Dollas, January 9, 1998.
-Dollas was traded to Pittsburgh by Edmonton with Tony Hrkac for Josef Beranek, June 16, 1998.
-Beranek was traded to Pittsburgh by Edmonton for German Titov, March 14, 2000.
-Titov was signed as a free agent by Anaheim, July 1, 2000.
-McAmmond was traded to Chicago by Edmonton with Boris Mironov and Jonas Elofsson for Chad Kilger, Daniel Cleary, Ethan Moreau and Christian Laflamme, March 20, 1999.
-Kilger was traded to Montreal by Edmonton for Sergei Zholtok, December 18, 2000.
-Zholtok was traded to Minnesota by Edmonton for future considerations, June 29, 2001.
-Laflamme was traded to Montreal by Edmonton with Matthieu Descoteaux for Igor Ulanov and Alain Nasreddine, March 9, 2000.
-Nasreddine spent 2+ years with Hamilton (AHL Affiliate)
-Ulanov was signed as a free agent by NY Rangers, July 20, 2001.
-Cleary was signed as a free agent by Phoenix , July 15, 2003
-Moreau is still on the Oilers
* MARTIN GELINAS
-Traded to Quebec by Edmonton with Edmonton's 6th round choice (Nicholas Checco) in 1993 Entry Draft for Scott Pearson, June 20, 1993.
-Pearson was traded to Buffalo by Edmonton for Ken Sutton, April 7, 1995.
-Sutton was traded to St. Louis by Edmonton with Igor Kravchuk for Jeff Norton and Donald Dufresne, January 4, 1996. (see above)
* 1st Round Pick in 1989 #18 (JASON MILLER)
- draft pick traded from Edmonton to New Jersey for Corey Foster, June 17, 1989
-Miller Played 6 games with New Jersey and has spent the last 5 years in Germany playing for the Nuernberg Ice Tigers
- Foster played 45 NHL games split between Philadelphia, NY Islanders and Pittsburgh. He spent most of his career in the AHL and in Japan, also playing in the IHL, DEL, QSMHL and UHL.
* 1st Round Pick in 1991 (MARTIN RUCINSKY)
-Traded to Quebec by Edmonton for Ron Tugnutt and Brad Zavisha, March 10, 1992.
-Zavisha played 2 games for Edmonton and the remainder of his career in the minors (AHL, IHL, BISL, ECHL), retiring after 1997-98 season
-Tugnutt was claimed by Anaheim from Edmonton in Expansion Draft, June 24, 1993.
* 1st Round Pick in 1993 #16 (NICK STAJDUHAR)
-Played 2 games with Edmonton and the remainder of his career in the minors (AHL, IHL, ECHL, WCHL, UHL, CHL) retiring after 2000-01
$15,000,000 CASH (Canadian) - went toward paying off Pocklington’s debts.
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LOS ANGELES’ RETURN ON THE DEAL
Wayne Gretzky (539 GP, 246 G, 918 PTS)
Craig Johnson (429 GP, 62 G, 141 PTS)
Patrice Tardif (15 GP, 1 G, 1 PT)
Roman Vopat (57 GP, 4 G, 12 PTS)
Peter Hogan (0 GP)
Matt Zultek (0 GP)
Eric Lacroix (117 GP, 25 G, 48 PTS)
Sean Pronger (13 GP, 0 G, 1 PT)
Marty McSorley (472 GP, 71 G, 234 PTS)
Shawn McEachern (49 GP, 8 G, 13 PTS)
Jim Paek (18 GP, 1 G, 1 PT)
Ray Ferraro (197 GP, 48 G, 98 PTS)
Ian Lapperiere (595 GP, 61 G, 165 PTS)
Mattias Norstrom (780 GP, 14 G, 142 PTS)
Sean Blanchard (0 GP)
Benoit Larose (0 GP)
Nathan Lafayette (94 GP, 10 G, 22 PTS)
Jaroslav Modry (19 GP, 0 G, 8 PTS) ** still on active roster
Johan Fransson (prospect)
2nd Round Pick in 2007
3rd Round Pick in 2007
1st Round Pick in 2008
Mike Krushelnyski (156 GP, 43 G, 109 PTS)
John McIntyre (178 GP, 15 G, 44 PTS)
Mark Hardy (27 GP, 0 G, 6 PTS, six years as Assistant Coach)
Fredrick Beaubien (0 GP)
Other assets dealt: 6th Round Pick in 1999 (Martin Prusek), Tomas Sandstrom, Jari Kurri, Shane Churla, Shawn McEachern, Konstantin Pushkarev, 3rd Round Pick in 2007, 4th Round Pick in 2007
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EDMONTON’S RETURN ON THE DEAL
Jimmy Carson (84 GP, 50 G, 103 PTS)
Peter Klima (258 GP, 118 G, 203 PTS)
Joe Murphy (222 GP, 69 G, 169 PTS)
Adam Graves (139 GP, 16 G, 46 PTS)
Jeff Sharples (0 GP)
Brad Symes (0 GP)
Reijo Ruotsalainen (10 GP, 1 G, 8 PTS)
Igor Kravchuk (160 GP, 27 G, 88 PTS)
Dean McAmmond (303 GP, 61 G, 161 PTS)
Jeff Norton (92 GP, 6 G, 33 PTS)
Donald Dufresne (64 GP, 1 G, 8 PTS)
Peter Sarno (0 GP)
Drew Bannister (35 GP, 0 G, 3 PTS)
Bobby Dollas (30 GP, 2 G, 7 PTS)
Josef Beranek (124 GP, 28 G, 66 PTS)
German Titov (7 GP, 0 G, 4 PTS)
Chad Kilger (87 GP, 9 G, 14 PTS)
Daniel Cleary (220 GP, 31 G, 86 PTS)
Ethan Moreau (475 GP, 84 G, 159 PTS) ** still on active roster
Christian Laflamme (61 GP, 0 G, 6 PTS)
Sergei Zholtok (37 GP, 4 G, 20 PTS)
Igor Ulanov (67 GP, 3 G, 23 PTS)
Alain Nasreddine (0 GP)
Martin Gelinas (258 GP, 60 G, 120 PTS)
Scott Pearson (100 GP, 20 G, 42 PTS)
Ken Sutton (44 GP, 3 G, 12 PTS)
Jeff Norton (see above)
Donald Dufresne (see above)
1st Round Pick in 1989: (pick traded - Jason Miller)
Corey Foster (0 GP)
1st Round Pick in 1991:
Martin Rucinsky (2 GP, 0 G, 0 PTS)
Brad Zavisha (0 GP)
Ron Tugnutt (29 GP, 10-13-2)
1st Round Pick in 1993:
Nick Stajduhar (2 GP, 0 G, 0 PTS)
$15,000,000
Other assets dealt: Boris Mironov, Kevin McClelland, 5th Round Pick in 1991 (Brad Layzell), Tony Hrkac, Jonas Elofsson, Matthieu Descoteaux, 6th Round Pick in 1993 (Nicholas Checco)
So who do you think won the deal?
Danny -
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