Beerfish
Registered User
- Apr 14, 2007
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Yeah it was a horrendous deal in hockey terms. Your 'granted' part makes it so let alone the poor trade value for the best player who every played who was at his peak.
27 years later...
- Thread starter zar
- Start date
Yeah it was a horrendous deal in hockey terms. Your 'granted' part makes it so let alone the poor trade value for the best player who every played who was at his peak.
It was brutal in pure hockey terms. If the $15 million was used to support the rest of the roster that was left over then maybe that argument could be made. But no, instead he sold off Messier as well.
The "Gretz wouldn't sign an extension" talk is also untrue. Pocklington didn't even attempt to make a worthwhile offer. According to Stephen Brunt's book, Wayne and Janet were seriously looking at purchasing the Denver Broncos owner's home in Edmonton that summer, which obviously changed when he caught wind of the sale.
We could have had 4 more cups if that team was kept together.
wicked username
Registered User
August 9, 1988.
27 years ago, will go down as thesaddestfrustratingmost depressing day of any long-time Oiler fan's life. I remember where I was when I heard the news... do you? (If you were alive).
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/tsn-rewind-oilers-trade-gretzky-to-kings~675389
...and now we embark on, in my opinion, the most exciting time in Oiler's history since that difficult day.
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
Supermassive
HISS, HISS
Fourier
Registered User
Exactly. There is no way to turn this into a move by Pocklingtion that was in the team's interest.
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Was a year old. Future me was heartbroken for my past self.
edit: shoop, you offend me - Pocklington always was and is a hack.
edit: shoop, you offend me - Pocklington always was and is a hack.
Jimmy Carson should have been better than he was. If the rest of that team was kept together, they could have won a few more cups even without Gretzky. Of course, the Oilers became the smallest market team in the league, so that wasn't gonna happen. Pocklington ripped the best team to ever play the game away from Edmonton.
In kings ransom I think gretzky was kinda saying he was insulted when he first heard that edmonton could trade him. His dad mentioned it to him a few days after they won the cup in '88 but he told his dad something along the lines as "yea right they would never trade me". So even wayne
didn't think it was a possibility. But when wayne found out that pocklington was secretly shopping him he was quite pissed and everything changed. I get the feeling that he kinda left for spite.
didn't think it was a possibility. But when wayne found out that pocklington was secretly shopping him he was quite pissed and everything changed. I get the feeling that he kinda left for spite.
He was ready to go when Bruce McNall called Pocklington on speakerphone. Pock absolutely slandered Wayne in the call and Gretz was ready to go after that.
Well never know one way or the other whether Gretzky would have stayed in Edmonton....
but Pocklington dint want to take that chance, so it really doesnt matter. I cant blame him for a good business decision.
My feeling is that Gretzky would have been gone anyways. Its not like the family moved back when he stopped playing.
but Pocklington dint want to take that chance, so it really doesnt matter. I cant blame him for a good business decision.
My feeling is that Gretzky would have been gone anyways. Its not like the family moved back when he stopped playing.
I was 6 years old didn't really know much about trades and the business about hockey obviously but knew who Gretzky was I came downstairs the morning after the trade and my Dad said the Oilers traded Wayne Gretzky and shows me the headline in the EDM Journal. My first reply was "What is a trade?"
I've been reading the sports section since that day.
I've been reading the sports section since that day.
