Future of EDM/LA/NHL if Gretzky retires in 1988?

[pdd]

What happens to the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings if the 1988 Gretzky trade had never occurred, and he had instead simply retired?

How would it have affected each franchise and the players involved, and what do you think would have been the outcome in the next few seasons with regards to those teams/players and the scoring race?

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[Ruston*]

What happens to the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings if the 1988 Gretzky trade had never occurred, and he had instead simply retired?

How would it have affected each franchise and the players involved, and what do you think would have been the outcome in the next few seasons with regards to those teams/players and the scoring race?

According to Barry Melrose in ESPN's SportsCentury documentary on Gretz, "the trade" saved the NHL, and while I don't know if it would have reached that extreme, I'm certain the NHL would not be one of the US's Big 4. Heck, it barely is now.

 

[Killion]

Boy thats a complicated question. What wouldve happened to Peter Pocklington, the Oilers themselves? He was scrambling, desperate for cash. And then theres Bruce McNall. Acquiring Gretzky, his elevation within the ranks of the BOG's, Disney & Anaheim, he too maxing it out & breaking the rules, again, hard to say. The mind reels.

 

[pdd]

Boy thats a complicated question. What wouldve happened to Peter Pocklington, the Oilers themselves? He was scrambling, desperate for cash. And then theres Bruce McNall. Acquiring Gretzky, his elevation within the ranks of the BOG's, Disney & Anaheim, he too maxing it out & breaking the rules, again, hard to say. The mind reels.

*adds coolant* *turns on fan*

There, did that help?

 

[Bear of Bad News]

This belongs in the other "Gretzky retires in 1988" thread.