djhn579 said:
I don't know Tom, you've already made several factual errors, so your credibility is a bit low...
Point them out.
So, if free agency wasn't available to Gretzky, why would Pocklington bring it up?
How popular a move do you think it was in Edmonton? Pocklington was making $20 million cash on the deal. You don't think he wasn't grasping at a straw or two? Spinning, spinning, spinning? Pocklington wanted the money because his other business was verging on bankruptcy.
That doesn't mean that free agency wasn't somewhere in the equation.
Alan Eagleson was head of the NHLPA at the time. The year before Eagleson conspired with the owners to rip the players off on the Canada Cup. The Eagle skimmed the board revenues, and the owners pocketed the pension money the players were supposed to get. Yep, Eagleson was about to get real free agency for hockey players.
Gretzky had to sign a standard player's contract just like everyone else. At the time that meant Gretzky could have been Oiler property for as long as he played in the NHL. He had four years remaining on a contract when he was dealt. At that point he would become a free agent but prior to the 1995 agreement, teams had the right of first refusal on free agents and compensation if they went elsewhere.
It was inevitable that hockey players were eventually going to be able to become unrestricted free agents - athletes in every other sport were winning those rights - but it sure wasn't going to happen when Eagleson, Bill Wirtz and John Ziegler were running the league.
And your asking if there is any thing that I won't swallow, meanwhile your swallowing conspiricy theories. "The NHL wanted to sell hockey in LA..." That sounds almost as far fetched as "The NHL gave the Cup to Dallas because they wanted to sell hockey in the south..." Is the gov't hiding a spaceship in area 51?
The NHL is by definition a conspiracy and at the time they were conspiring like crazy. The NHL was expanding to the southern United States. San Jose was coming into the NHL, and Anaheim was going to follow.
Everybody realized what was going on. Bruce McNall, the LA Kings owner (he later served time for fraud) made no bones about it. He made the deal to put hockey on the map in California. The best part from his perspective is that he got his money back and more when Anaheim had to pay him to share the market. Gretzky knew that was his job.
Pocklington insisted that Gretzky initiated the trade. Gretzky denied that through his friend and teammate Eddie Mio. Pocklington even claimed Gretzky's tearful farewell was an act. "Wayne believes he can revive hockey in the United States or make it a sport to be watched by millions more. Wayne has an ego the size of Manhattan."
At the press conference Gretzky said, "We need the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL and hopefully I can go down there and get some enthusiam and a winning attitude that they haven't had down there in 20 years."
Tom