Thought Experiment: What if Gretzky had not left Edmonton?

[iCanada]

I think many people became well aware of the fact that hockey was an economic game in the 70s with the WHA. Perhaps if you were someone whose awareness of the NHL began post-WHA, it may have seemed that there was a loss of innocence with the Gretzky trade but I really think it happened earlier.

According to Peter Puck himself in his book "I'd Trade Him Again", he paid a sum of approximately one million dollars for Gretzky in the trade that sent him from the Indianapolis Racers to the Oilers.

It was a good book actually, Peter apparently also bought the Oilers with a contract on a restaurant Napkin (Moulson Brewhouse i believe), and used his wife's ring as a down-payment.

Hockey was much more econmical in those days.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

While I'm not saying you're wrong, I do think that if the 90 Oilers managed to win a cup without gretzky, the 89 Oilers had a pretty good shot of winning again with him. Despite winning multiple championships, the Oilers were one of those teams that always seemed hungry in the playoffs. After winning that first one, they seemed like sharks that had a taste of blood.

That being said, the 89 Flames were a good team. They'd been a good team for several years before that, but 89 was when everything seemed to come together and they really peaked as a unit. It would have been an incredible series.

that calgary team was built to beat the oilers. mccrimmon, macoun, and the addition of ramage to stifle the oilers attack, otto on messier with gilmour there to take on gretzky. one of the all-time great powerplays to match the oilers' unit. big tough forwards to wear down the oilers' d, and speedy guys to cut through muckler's defensive system. cagey vets up and down the roster. man oh man that would have been a series for the ages.