Franchise History Lookbacks: The Gretzky Trade, the darkest day in Edmonton Oilers history

This week’s Lookback will not be as long as the previous three. It focuses on one single inflection point, and doesn’t have to get into stats, results, or accolades. As a result, it will only worry about background, trade day, and the immediate aftermath. Not even that milestone 1988–89 season will be discussed in this here.

What even was going on while the Oilers won Stanley Cups?

On the surface, things seemed perfectly hunky-dory throughout most of the 1980’s. The Oilers blossomed into the fastest expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, a record that still stands today. Players seemed happy with not just each other, but the city, and in turn Edmonton loved the players back. Apart from a hostage situation involving Pocklington in 1982, there was no drama around the Oilers during their first three Cup wins.

The first sign of imminent trouble for Pocklington wasn’t even hockey-related. In 1986, a union strike occurred at the Gainers meat-packing plant, which Pocklington owned. While Pocklington was able to bring in replacement workers during the strike, and eventually an agreement was reached, this would change the course of the business significantly. A sizable portion of Gainers’s annual revenue would have to go to repaying a loan from the Alberta government.

Additionally, Pocklington sought extra measures to help sustain his business financially. This, however, caused the Alberta government to balk at those demands. The loan, initially interest-free, was increased in size but would now contain interest.

The financial troubles that would result didn’t take long to start affecting the Oilers. In the preseason of 1987–88, defenceman Paul Coffey was seeking a renegotiated contract with a much higher value than the reported $320K he had on his then-current contract. Pocklington would not renegotiate the contract, and things beyond money would get involved. At first it seemed like just personal beef and contract disagreement. But in hindsight, it was a harbinger of things to come the next offseason.

August 9, 1988: The trade occurs

The Oilers would win their fourth Stanley Cup in five seasons in 1988, even without Coffey. By this point, there was enough playoff experience in Edmonton that they could sustain such a blow with ease. However, more was happening off the ice that would set things in motion.

A couple of things have been stated before, surrounding what led to the Gretzky trade. Apart from the financial woes Pocklington faced, it was also said that Gretzky’s new significant other, Janet, was not a fan of living in Edmonton, and wanted to move following their forthcoming wedding. There was one other key side tale told, however.

Before Gretzky knew anything about a potential trade, his dad Walter was alerted of such a premonition. Former Indianapolis Racers owner Nelson Skalbania was the one who looped the elder Gretzky into what was going on. Wayne himself would not be told until after the 1988 Stanley Cup Final.

Where to?

Critically, Wayne would be given a choice of destination. Vancouver was one of the candidates, which in hindsight could have maybe helped them win the Cup in the ‘90s. Former NHL GM Brian Burke, then an assistant to future Oilers Head Coach Pat Quinn, has explained before why that never worked out.

Gretzky’s preference has been stated to have been Detroit initially, which makes sense. The franchise where his idol, Gordie Howe, played all but one of his NHL seasons, and not all that far away from his own Brantford hometown. Walter, however, encouraged Gretzky to choose Los Angeles, with the greater opportunity legacy-wise. Gretzky obliged, especially after a call with then-Kings owner Bruce McNall.

Day of the trade

The day itself proved to have a lot of very intriguing context within it. For one, Wayne Gretzky was at actor Alan Thicke’s Los Angeles residence, babysitting Thicke’s son, Robin. (Yes, that Robin Thicke.) When the trade was officially announced, Gretzky would have to take off, leaving the house all to Robin.

Several little-known media personalities would have a hand in covering the story. Current TSN personality Gord Miller would be one of the early figures to break the news that Los Angeles was the place Gretzky was headed, and current Oilers beat writer Mark Spector, then an Edmonton Journal reporter, would interview Walter Gretzky via phone call. Of course, they were just two of the many media figures that would cover this matter.

The fateful press conference was held at Molson House, the replica fur-trade fort built next to the historic Molson Brewery building. The line “I promised Mess I wouldn’t do this,” uttered by Gretzky, still stands out. It felt like a moment that would never happen, yet was anyway in the most surreal fashion.

The full trade had been revealed. Gretzky, along with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski (two players Gretzky requested to be included) going to L.A. Coming back the other way, Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, three first-round picks, and (because you could trade cash back then) $15M.

The aftermath of the trade would be swift and strong

To say this was seismic would be a complete understatement. The only comparable trade, really, in any of the four major sports leagues to take place since was the NBA’s Luka Doncic trade this past winter. And that in and of itself has completely different context.

This was a move so major, the Canadian Parliament discussed getting involved to prevent it. Overnight, Pocklington, who was lauded previously for his success, became vilified for making the deal. If there was ever a day that broke the spirit of Edmonton sports fans, this was it.

On the other end, this undoubtedly made hockey in the Sun Belt of the United States far more popular, right away. Something the Kings hadn’t had a lot of, apart from Marcel Dionne and Luc Robitaille, was star power. Gretzky brought that and then some. It gave Angelenos a reason to watch Kings hockey.

However, as will be discussed in a future Lookback, this moment would also prove motivational. A locker room that wasn’t complete without Gretzky would now have to chart a course without him. The captaincy would now belong to local hero Mark Messier, and he would have his biggest task ahead of him. He would have to help inspire the Oilers to keep pushing for more Cups, even without the greatest talent.