20 Years Ago: Kings Trade Wayne Gretzky

[Ziggy Stardust]

Do you remember where you were when the Kings traded Gretzky to St. Louis? I remember vividly, following the reports of Gretzky's imminent trade on AOL's Grandstand Sports forums and in their chat rooms.

Gretzky was the reason why I became a fan of hockey and the Los Angeles Kings, so seeing him go was like the end of a chapter in Kings history, but sadly that era had to come to an end at some point. The Kings were a very old team trying to hang on the past, and that trade finally signaled a long overdue youth movement that the organization needed.

And so we approach the 20th anniversary of the second Gretzky trade, which netted one player who'd be an NHL regular in Craig Johnson, two throwaway prospects in Roman Vopat and Patrice Tardif, and a 1st round pick that would turn into a bust in Matt Zultek.

http://articles.latimes.com/1996-02-28/sports/sp-40995_1_wayne-gretzky

Wayne Gretzky, whose arrival propelled a faltering franchise to hockey respectability and brought the Kings within three games of a Stanley Cup in 1993, left Los Angeles having fallen short in his ultimate mission Tuesday when he was traded to the St. Louis Blues.

It was the second trade in Gretzky's illustrious NHL career. The first brought him from the Edmonton Oilers to the Kings in 1988 and had Gretzky in tears. This time, Gretzky's primary emotion was relief as the months of rumors became reality. He goes to the Blues for three young forwards--Roman Vopat, 19; Craig Johnson, 23, and Patrice Tardif, 25; a first-round draft pick in 1997 and a fifth-round choice next summer.

"It's a tough day for everybody," said Gretzky, the NHL's all-time leading scorer and nine-time MVP. "I didn't think when I left Edmonton, I would go through another day like that. But it's time to move on, that's the bottom line.

"The hardest part was that [owner Edward Roski] was so classy. After meeting with him, my heart was telling me to stay. But my gut was saying it was best to move on. I don't know, it was just a gut feeling."


But Gretzky, while talking about his torn emotions, was almost giddy at the prospect of playing with his close friend, star right wing Brett Hull, and for General Manager and Coach Mike Keenan of St. Louis. In fact, Hull was one of the first to call Gretzky, long before the trade was announced.

Earlier in the day, there were mixed signals as Gretzky and his agent, Michael Barnett, had a one-hour meeting with Roski and Robert Sanderman, the team's representative to the league's Board of Governors. Then Gretzky and his wife, Janet Jones, met with Barnett and weighed the decision.

No one could completely explain why Gretzky chose to move on. He said it never came down to money. But Sanderman, at a news conference Tuesday night, said the Kings had offered Gretzky a contract at their mid-day meeting at the Forum.

"He went away and discussed it with his family and let us know late in the afternoon that he preferred not to remain with the L.A. Kings," Sanderman said. "The offer we made included both his remaining playing days and a substantial period after he was done as an active player, in a senior capacity with the Kings' organization."

But the Blues made the deal without signing Gretzky to a contract, a point Gretzky expects to become moot within a few days, saying he did not foresee any contract problems.

Click to read more...

 

[rajuabju]

sigh.

Two days I'll always remember:

Gretzky coming
Gretzky going

 

[KingsFan7824]

Who knew that Kurri and McSorley would land the Kings far better players than Gretzky would?

They probably should've traded him in the summer of 1995 at the latest. Prolonging what was the inevitable didn't work at all.

 

[LAKings88]

I became a fan in 89 and Gretzky was a huge part of that.

McNall's legal problems are what eventually ruined the Kings.

LA sold low on all it's vets and the craptastic days began.

The Ziggy era was the transition to this team.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

The Kings indeed were a mess during that time, and you guys are right, they hung onto Wayne way too long and had no real direction until Anschutz/Roski took over and Taylor was hired. McDisaster acquired a pile of garbage for Gretzky, yet somehow managed to obtain some gems from New York and also ripped off Pittsburgh in getting a young Glen Murray for an aging Eddie Olczyk.

What's astonishing to me about the 1995-96 Kings is the amount of players they went through that season. The Kings had 47 different players dress up in a Kings uniform that year. That's like having two combined rosters!

As sad and disappointing it was to see the Gretzky era come to an end, I think I could tell even at a young age that the walls were starting to crumble after the 1993-94 season when the Kings missed the playoffs and they did nothing to improve the roster. That's a reason why Gretzky finally got fed up, the organization wouldn't make improvements, and they couldn't thanks to Bruce's financial problems and the eventual sale of the Kings to Sudikoff and Cohen, who then sold the Kings to Anschutz and Roski.

http://articles.latimes.com/1995-09-23/sports/sp-49220_1_king-owners

King owners Jeffrey Sudikoff and Joseph Cohen will not be involved with the team after they sell it to Denver billionaire Philip F. Anschutz and developer Edward P. Roski Jr., a transaction expected to close in October.

Cohen, who has been the team's chairman, will join Madison Square Garden, it was announced Friday. A King spokesman said Cohen was en route to New York and unavailable for comment.

Having started his business career at the Garden in 1970, Cohen will return as an executive vice president in charge of the MSG Network, sponsorship sales and new business development.

Bankruptcy court documents state Cohen will receive one year of severance payments worth $550,000. In addition, Majestic/Anschutz Venture (MAV) will assume and pay Cohen's outstanding vacation pay of $24,000 and a bonus of $125,000.

Sudikoff, the founder of IDB Communications, remains under a cloud of legal problems.

Here's an article with comments from Barry Melrose where he acknowledges the team's ownership issues prevented them from making improvements to the roster:

http://articles.latimes.com/1995-06-17/sports/sp-13965_1_king-spokesman

That the Kings were having financial problems was no secret last season, although team officials maintained it was business as usual. Coach Barry Melrose said that the team was unable to make a deal at the trading deadline because it couldn't afford to add one or two more salaries. "Things happen with this team that no one can think of," Melrose said in April when he was fired after almost three seasons in Los Angeles.

Things were so bad at the time, the Kings weren't getting new sticks sent to them from Sherwood.

http://articles.latimes.com/1994-03-01/news/mn-28580_1_recent-developments

McNall has seemingly tested the patience of some creditors, the SkyDome being one. The Kings have even been late in paying one of its hockey stick suppliers, the Canadian manufacturer Sherwood, which is known to have twice put a hold on shipments to the Kings before Sherwood was paid about $30,000. Asked about Sherwood, McNall said that there is "nothing that is extraordinarily late" in terms of unpaid bills for the Kings.

 

[Basilisk]

I hated everything having to do with "win now" mode.


I became a Kings fan in 1986 and literally was driven away by 1994. LoL, I didn't come back until Larry Robinson was fired and Andy Murray was hired.

 

[triplcrown]

Frankly, for me, this was a worse day:

http://articles.philly.com/1991-05-31/sports/25796926_1_russ-farwell-steve-duchesne-steve-kasper

 

[Vamos Rafa]

So are we gonna get David Backes? He follows the Rams. Wherever they go, he goes?