So you were five and lived in Saskatoon.
But you read books and know what's what.
If you knew anything at all about what happened you would know that most, if not all the books and tv specials are complete and utter fabrications.
Kings Ransom is a joke. That isnt what happened at all. It takes about five seconds to deduce Pocklington's cya story about not being able to sign Wayne to a new deal as to the reason for the "trade" er "sale is complete and utter nonsense.
If that were truly the case then we would have received a fair return in assets, not a bunch of crap and 15 million dollars.
*hint- it was about the money.
Had nothing to do with a hockey deal, a new contract or anything else.
No kidding, I wasn't talking about Kings Ransom. I watched it and didn't learn a thing from it. What I did find interesting was the four books I did read about the trade. Peter Puck's book gives his take, Bruce McNall's gives his take, Gretzky's newest book gives his take and Stephen Brunt's book gives an independent take. I would say that getting four perspectives on it gives you a clear idea of what happened.
I have a history degree from University, so I know all about the biases inherent in historical writings. That multiple independent sources are necessary to build the whole picture. I am quite aware that the $15,000,000 was the driver behind the deal. In fact, I believe the early form of the deal was Gretzky for the $15,000,000 straight up. Glen Sather was the one who told Pocklington that he needed some players in return. The players the Oilers sent along was a collaboration between Gretzky and McNall. Also, what the Oilers received in return from a hockey standpoint was not terrible either at the time. Jimmy Carson was touted to be a superstar and had put up quite good numbers on a substandard Kings team. The first round picks, should have led to decent players, it was the Oilers management that blew those ones.
What in your mind would have been fair compensation from the Kings? Beyond Carson and Robitaille, the Kings really didn't have much in the way of scoring talent. Robitaille was deemed untouchable by McNall, so that was out. There wasn't much in the way of defencemen the Kings had to offer, so they couldn't have found a replacement for Coffey out of this. They didn't need a goalie and the best the Kings had at that time was Glen Healey and in November or so of 1988, he was traded to LA for Kelly Hrudey. So he was definitely not even a valuable asset for the Kings.
From a non-financial, on-ice standpoint, I don't think any team had the talent pool to come up with anything that would leave both sides satisfied for Gretzky. I think even Lemieux for Gretzky wouldn't have been fair then. The draft picks were really what the Oilers needed at that time. Since the core stars were aging, the Oilers needed young players to build upon before the core stars couldn't contribute any longer. So multiple first round picks are what was needed, now of course you can't guarantee that they will all be high picks when you send Gretzky at near the apex of his career (he was starting the downside by then but was still the top player in the league until about 1991 when his back started to be a problem) that team will instantly shoot up the standings. So the Oilers knew they were likely to get mid-teens at best from the 1st round picks. So that doesn't necessarily mean a blue chip prospect at that stage, but generally there is a quality player available at that stage.
If you look at the deal as Gretzky for $15,000,000 and McSorley and Krushlyniski (sp?) for Carson et al. The Kings were hosed in this perspective. The Gretzky for $15,000,000 seems fair. The rest of the deal benefits the Oilers. McSorley and Krusher were decent players at the time, but by no means worth the draft choices, Jimmy Carson and Martin Gelinas. McSorley developed into more than simply Dave Semenko's replacement, once he went to LA, but at the time he was more or less the muscle.
So play GM based on '87-'88 not what things turned out to be. Pocklington comes to you and says I have a deal with LA Gretzky for $15,000,000 but McNall is insisting of Krusher and McSorley too. What do you do? Robitaille is off limits according to McNall, so based on the Oilers needs at the time what do you do? You essentially need a second line centre (since Messier can be moved up to take Gretzky's spot on the first line) and possibly a offensive defenceman to replace Coffey.
However, you can vilify Peter Puck all you want over that deal. However, in Bruce McNall'a autobiography he mentions how before he owned the Kings he was friends with Dr. Jerry Buss, then Kings owner. He said Dr. Buss in 1985, had approached Pocklington about acquiring Gretzky and Peter Puck turned him down. So he wasn't willing to move players willy nilly, so there is a bit of truth about the impending free agency Gretzky would have had following the '88-'89 season had he stayed with the Oilers, that played into Pocklington's decision.
At any rate, my point is this. The crowd who was in attendance Friday night, including me, gave Peter Pocklington a standing ovation. If some want to continue to brandish torches and pitchforks towards the guy go ahead. But in reference to his time with the Oilers, I think his legacy has been largely forgiven by the Oiler fanbase. He might have some legal trouble, but it is nowhere near as bad as what others have done. Bruce McNall seems to be well liked by the Kings fanbase as a whole and he stole over $200,000,000 and nearly caused the demise of the franchise as a result.